Chapter 2
“All right, let’s do this!” Twilight urged herself on, drawing a deep breath for that last surge of effort. Even with Starswirl’s genius aiding her, doubling her strength, it took all her effort to finish his enchantment. Her horn flared so bright that it was like a purple sun was shining down into her library. The flames around her reared so high that she could not see her library’s entrance. The sunburst on the ceiling vanished behind a cloud of black and purple smoke. Twilight was now surrounded by a sphere of flaming runes, hovering in the air. Where another might be shaking with fear, Twilight was quivering with excitement. She was working a spell beyond what any other unicorn could cast! Commanding the kind of magic that first inspired her to study!
A lesser wizard might have trembled with fear at the sight of the forces before Twilight. A prudent wizard would have halted her efforts, realizing the cataclysmic damage such a spell could do if cast improperly. But in Twilight’s state of mind at that particular moment, she would not have cared even if destruction were its intention. This spell was power. It was magic. It was her changing the world just through her intellect and will. It was beautiful, no matter what it was for.
And suddenly, it was over.
Twilight almost fell forward with surprise, so swift was the spell’s conclusion: no flash of light, no burst of sound, no explosion, nothing so grand as the casting. The flames around her simply went out. Twilight’s horn blinked out a few moments later, after she let out a startled squeak of shock. Her eyes had long since adjusted to the brilliant magical fire, and where once she saw blazing light of all colors, she now saw only muted flashes. Spots danced in her vision, the outline of the flames still visible to her long after they had gone out. The transition was so jarring that it left her dizzy almost to the point of losing her hoofing, and for several long seconds, all Twilight could do was hold her eyes shut.
As Twilight waited for her eyes to recover, her breath came in shallow, nervous starts. She had to force herself to slow down, to calm her racing heart. She drew a deep breath and tasted acrid smoke, but she couldn't tell if it was from her candles or the magical flames. She felt her legs shiver, but couldn't tell if it was the spell or nerves. She heard a clatter on the floor, and for a moment, she was certain that she was somehow now wearing horseshoes. It was only after a panicked pat down of her own hooves that she realized she was hearing things and started to force herself to calm down.
Slowly, Twilight raised her head and peered in the gloom. Her candles had gone out, and with the blinds drawn to stop anypony from worrying about the fire, the only light in the library was an occasional sliver of a sunbeam. The sun’s fleeting rays formed a clearly visible shaft of light in the gloom, illuminating motes of brightness through the slowly dispersing smoke. Such rays cast long, flickering shadows, illuminating and obscuring the library at once.
“No reflection...” Twilight muttered to herself, reaching up to touch the mirror with a hoof. The mirror before her showed the library, but not her. When she briefly lifted a book, it appeared to hover in midair. Twilight quickly glanced down to make sure she was casting a shadow and that she had not actually turned herself invisible, but she saw her outline on the floor clearly enough. She considered, very briefly, that it might be an illusion, but soon dismissed the thought—a foal could cast that sort of spell. The epic magic she just worked... had she just destroyed her own reflection? Was that even possible?
In the back of her mind, something else struck her as odd, a sense from a few seconds past finally working its way into her awareness.
“Wait, is something wrong with my voice?” she asked the empty air, louder this time, ears twitching faintly as she strained to hear. Her voice clearly echoed around the empty room, reverberating in a way not justified by the room’s narrow size. The echo was so quick that it was like two ponies speaking at once, producing a strange harmonious hum when she spoke.
“Is the mirror making this sound?” she tried again, holding an alert ear up to the mirror and listening closely as she pronounced her words loudly and clearly. The mirror was vibrating with the resonant sound, and she could feel the little movements through her hooves when she touched the glass. But it didn’t feel like the source of the sound.
After a moment, Twilight slowly raised her head. Hesitantly, cautiously, she looked around the mirror’s side.
And her reflection looked back at her.
Each twitched an ear, in perfect symmetry, Twilight’s her right, the reflection’s her left. Each looked at the other with eyes wide, still confused, still disoriented by the heat and light and sudden end of the magic. Slowly, each raised a hoof, moving it forward in the empty air—until in the center, they met with a faint clop.
“Aaah!” both of them shouted in surprise, leaping away from each other at once. Hooves scrabbled on the wood as they backed away, wide eyes locked on each other. Each backed away so fast that they ended up on their flanks, pushing away with forehooves kicking.
“Who are you!?” each demanded of the other in a perfect chorus. “I’m Twilight! No, you can’t be Twilight, I’m Twilight!” they continued, no less balanced.
The situation was strange to say the least, but Twilight was at heart an academic, and strangeness did not bother her. She froze, unsure of what to do, but her calm gradually returned as she saw her counterpart do the same. With recognition came understanding. And with understanding, her fear of this strangle doppelganger seeped away. Her forehooves slowly lowered, and her flank rose, as she stood up to face herself calmly.
“So you’re my... reflection?” both spoke at once, and this time the reverberation throughout the room sent a little shiver of glee up Twilight’s spine. “And the reason the spell was easier was because you were helping me?” Twilight's fear was washed away the instant she saw her reflection nod with her, her curiosity reasserting itself. “Oh my gosh, this is amazing!” each said, with an almost gleeful squeak. “I had no idea this was even possible! You aren't scientifically possible!” each asserted, pointing a hoof at the other, their voices in danger of breaking out into giggles.
“Mmmm,” each murmured, after a moment. “This duality is getting kind of annoying though… I know! Are you right- or left-hoofed? Right-hoofed!” the two Twilights raised a hoof to each other, and as one, glanced at the other’s extended leg, each on the same side. “No, that’s your left. No, it’s my right! No, not your—uuugh!” they grumbled.
Pausing, they each flicked an ear, looking at each other oddly. After a moment, they both added “Ugggh!” again, this time with a pointed, curious expression.
“Wow, does my voice really sound like that?”
It was only after an uncomfortable pause that each raised a reassuring and dismissive hoof, “Oh, no no. Um. No. You sound… fine.” The ethical and practical implications of lying to your exact duplicate left each at a loss for a moment, a pair of awkward smiles passing between them.
“Well… I did have another idea,” they volunteered. “Since you seem to be left/right flipped, but all the books here are the right way around, some of the characters should look backwards to you. So all we have to do is each read a book…” Each looked to their hooves, and the books scattered all over the floor, an embarrassed blush rising to their faces at how unkempt the library was. Somehow, it seemed like the other pony would understand, but that didn’t make disrespecting a book any better.
Each picked up a book, their horns coming alight as they peered down into the pages, but while one smiled, the other frowned. Twilight glanced at her book—a copy of Predictions and Prophesies. It was newer than the one that had warned her of Nightmare Moon’s return, barely read more than once. She didn’t have to read from it, though, to see that her counterpart was no longer mirroring her, the other Twilight squinting at the book in confusion.
“Why is the writing all backwar—aaah!” She lept back from the book as if stung, dropping it to the floor as she scrambled away. The reflection’s eyes went wide, darting around to the library shelves and floor around her, looking uncomprehendingly to the titles. Her breath came faster with each passing moment, the mirrored Twilight on the verge of hyperventilating.
“This is amazing. I have so many questions!” Twilight pressed, enthusiasm shooting through her words, “What’s being a reflection like? Is it fun? Is there really a—” Her words were just getting up to speed when her reflection burst out laughing
“Ha ha! Very clever! You totally got me.” The out-of-place Twilight grinned, pointing a hoof at her counterpart. “Nicely done too. I had no idea there was actually a universe behind the mirror! It looks just like my library!” She glanced curiously around the library main space, peering at the mirror, waving a hoof to observe her lack of reflection.
“Uh…” the native Twilight answered her reflection, giving her a slow, confused look. “There’s not a world behind the mirror. That spell had strong elements of fabrication and a classical come-to-life enchantment. It’s much more likely it created a body out of—“
“Don’t be silly!” the mirrored Twilight cut off her counterpart, turning back to face her. “Obviously there’s a world on the other side of mirror. Where else would we be? Everything has to be somewhere, that’s just basic logic. Now—we’ll need to find a way to send a message to my Spike so he knows not to worry about me. Maybe a sign?”
“Uh… I don’t think you’re getting this,” Twilight insisted to her mirror image, after a moment, a pause hanging in the air. “There is no ‘your Spike.’ There’s no library on the other side of the mirror at all, for that matter. You’re my reflection. The spell just created a body for you with some kind of very advanced come-to-life spell.”
“No, no,” Twilight’s mirror assured her, with a self-confident smile and a raised hoof, patting her counterpart on the head. “I understand this can all be very confusing! You do seem to have all my memories, after all! But I’m Twilight. Wielder of the Element of Magic. Faithful student of Princess Celestia. I fought Discord, Nightmare Moon. It seems a little unlikely I’m your copy, don’t you think?”
“Sure,” Twilight agreed with a grumble, reaching up to rub at her mane where her copy’s hoof had mussed it. “Well! That all sounds very important. So why don’t we just go on and send you home so you can get back to all that. I’m sure you have that big paper on Starswirl’s spell to write and all.” Twilight wondered to herself if she ever sounded that condescending, but dealing with a runaway come-to-life spell just didn’t fit into her itinerary today. The unicorn’s horn started to glow as she prepared to dispel the simulacrum before her, her copy nodding enthusiastically.
“I do! And I have to say this journey will make quite the interesting hoofnote!” The mirrored Twilight nodded, nearly stepping in front of the building cloud of magic, the original Twilight’s horn beginning to hum with the rising power. “I’ll certainly never look at a mirror the same way again. Well then, au rev—”
The mirrored Twilight shrieked in surprise and fear as the dispel hit her, the spell’s impact hurling her across the room and sending her crashing to the floor at the base of the stairs. Her counterpart’s reaction was no less shocked—she’d been expecting the mirror-copy to disappear, to go away in a poof of magic and light. Not this.
At the base of the steps, the mirror Twilight shrieked in fear, legs trembling below her. Her eyes went wide as she saw the tips of her hooves start to fade away. The end of her tail and her mane were not far behind, gradually turning translucent and then vanishing entirely. She did not fade all at once, but by inches, the effect working its way in, from her extremities towards her body.
Twilight had heard ponies shout with fright before, but this was different. This was stark terror, persistent and all-consuming. Oblivion was coming for this pony, inching up her legs while she was forced to watch. And that pony was she. Twilight could do nothing but slink away, eyes wide with horror, a mute witness to what was happening before her.
“This isn’t happening! This can’t be happening!” the mirror Twilight cried out. Everything below her knees was gone. Nothing was left of her tail but a scrubby brush. Her voice shuddered with fear, tears in her eyes. Her life passed before her in a moment: her time with Princess Celestia, her friends in Ponyville, saving the world, twice. She had things to live for, and with that realization, her fear transmuted to anger, like fuel hit with a spark.
“This isn’t how it ends!” she snarled, her horn coming alight, flaring so brilliantly, her counterpart had to avert her eyes. “I won’t let it!” Below her, oblivion’s climb along her legs began to slow, and then halted. The whine from the mirror-Twilight’s horn grew with its glow, until with a purple flash, she vanished from where she lay. Across the room, she reappeared on all fours, whole again.
“Oh, thank Celestia!” Twilight breathed, stepping forward, only for her voice to cut out with a gasp as a telekinetic vice settled around her throat. Her mirror image whirled to face her, expression contorted into a snarl.
“You tried to kill me!”
Twilight’s legs kicked uselessly below her, her mirror image more than able to lift her off the ground. The mirror Twilight’s gaze was locked on the original. Her horn was ablaze, its purple light making the tears on her face shine. For a moment, the pony’s eyes were all rage, fueled by her fear, holding the mare before her helpless. She was able to stop the pony in her grasp from teleporting, able to stop her from fleeing, able to return what was done to her and then some.
“Please,” Twilight croaked, desperately trying to draw breath. “You’re hurting me.”
A moment later, she hit the ground flank first, her stiff tail crumpling under her on the floor. Twilight’s mirror image stumbled away, her face as horrified as Twilight’s was a moment ago: eyes wide, jaw agape, streaks from tears still down her face. “I… I…” she stammered, her gaze traveling to the bruises on Twilight’s neck with shock. “Oh Celestia, what have I done?”
Twilight tried to call for her to stop, as she turned, fleeing up the library stairs, but only a rough croak emerged from Twilight’s throat. She wheezed as she shakily rose to her hooves, trying to find her breath and her balance.
When Twilight did finally make her way to the top of the stairs, she found the door to her bedroom ajar, a quiet sobbing audible within. Nosing it open, she first saw her desk, the pictures there disturbed. A moment later she saw her counterpart, curled up into a ball on the bed, tail tucked up against her. She was stroking the stiff hairs of her tail with one hoof, holding it with the other, expression shocked and distant. When she saw Twilight, she whimpered in fear, curling into a tighter ball.
With a flash, Twilight was by her side.
But still with no idea what to say.
“You were right.” Her mirror-image spoke first, looking out the window and then down at her tail, instead of up towards her visitor. Her voice was weak, almost a murmur, as she continued, “I’m not Twilight.” Her voice cracked as last, and she all but sobbed, “Twilight wouldn’t hurt a pony.”
“It’s...” Twilight started to excuse her copy, a surge of pity rushing through her for the creature sobbing against her bed. “It’s not so bad. I—”
“Not so bad!?” her mirror image blurted out, rising to her hooves, eyes still bloodshot from crying. Twilight stumbled back with surprise, caught off-guard at her copy’s sudden motion. “Don’t you get it? We look just the same! I have all your memories, but I’m not you. I never learned about the magic of friendship! I’m a bad pony! We’re even stylishly left/right flipped! I’m your evil clone!”
“Whoa really now, ‘evil clone?’ I think that seems a little—”
“Think about it! Why do you think Starswirl never published this spell? Why do you think he tried to blot out the greatest discovery since movable type? Because it makes bad ponies,” Twilight’s mirror shouted, pushing forward. “You’ve gotta reverse the spell!”
“I don’t know how! And I am not just dispelling it again!” Twilight shuddered at the very thought.
“Then we’ll have to develop a counterspell!” Twilight’s mirror insisted, with a stomp of her hoof. “Pony lives could depend on it!”
Twilight hesitated, not sure what to do, taking a step back as her mirror-image’s expression turned imploring. “Please,” she begged. “I can’t face Spike and the others. Just… just help me put this back right and forget this spell ever existed.”
“Fine,” Twlight agreed, with a sigh. “Fine, I’ll help.”
“Horsefeathers!” Applejack shouted, slamming a hoof on the floor, as Twilight—the original—continued her story of how the extra figure at the table came to be. It had taken a while to rouse Fluttershy as well as for Spike to go and fetch Pinkie Pie. Rarity had used that time to clean up the library a bit, and the Twilights had used it to go clean away Rarity’s makeup. Now, they stood together in the library’s common space, Twilight’s hoof over her copy’s shoulder, as she explained. Applejack’s interruption brought that explanation to an end. She was as angry as Twilight had ever seen her, and all seven figures around her jumped faintly at the outburst.
“Applejack!” Twilight exclaimed, her mirror slumping further as though trying to hide behind her progenitor, “I’m trying to tell you—”
“Ah know what you’re tryin’ to tell me, Twilight!” Applejack sighed, all eyes on her as she trotted through the middle of the group, towards the lavender pair. “You ‘n’ her have been switchin’ places on us all day. That’s why y’all were so skittish and afraid of mirrors. We get the gist. But good gravy, girl, what’s with all this evil clone nonsense? I was waiting for the point in the story where y’all realized that was bunk. This is how you’re dealin’ with your problems? Hidin’ her away like she was somethin’ to be ashamed of?”
“But it’s true!” Twilight’s mirror image pleaded, desperation in her tone, clinging close to the original’s side. “I hurt Twilight! I lashed out in anger! I think I might look good in leather! I am a bad pony!”
“What y’all did ain’t nothin’ to be proud of. But it wasn’t anger you were actin’ in, way I heard the story. It was fear. You very nearly died, Twi… er.” Applejack pointed at the Twilight she meant. “You. That’ll drive anypony to things they wouldn’t do normally.”
“We’ve all done things we regret,” Rarity agreed, Fluttershy giving her own quiet nod of approval. “Particularly under stress. What matters is that when the time came, you knew right from wrong. This evening’s whole debacle put Twilight’s life in danger—and it all could have been avoided if I’d just shown a little more respect for my friend’s privacy. A mistake, certainly,” Rarity admitted, with some embarrassment, reaching a hoof up to fix her mane, “but it doesn’t make me a bad pony.”
“But don't you see?” Twilight's mirror asked, raising her head to meet Applejack’s oncoming gaze, as she pushed out from behind Twilight. “I am her copy! I’m not Twilight! I’m not even your friend!”
A silence hung in the room. Pinkie Pie started to interject, drawing a breath for some upbeat reassurance. But then she, like the others in the room, noticed Applejack’s eyes slowly narrowing, and swallowed the words without a sound, taking a quiet step back.
“Is that what you two think of me?” Applejack demanded, without missing a beat, eyes going from one Twilight to the other. “That I’m the kind of lowlife who’d think less of a pony in need just because of some weird magic she didn’t have no part in? Or are y’all sayin’ that I can’t choose who my friends are?”
Silence answered Applejack, from all quarters: Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and even Pinkie Pie looking to her for direction. Twilight lowered her head, unable to meet Applejack’s gaze. Her mirror just looked on, trying to speak and failing to find the words, gaze sinking the floor in turn.
“That’s what Ah thought,” Applejack finished, with a definitive snort.
“Applejack is quite right!” Rarity agreed and she stepped forward, the Twilights looking between her and Applejack, each as confused as the other. “I understand that this is a... stressful situation—” she accentuated her words by reaching up to brush her mane with a hoof. “—but that’s no excuse for thinking your friends are the sort of ruffians who would abandon an innocent pony out of petty fear! You should have come to us for help. And we are your friends, Twilight.” Fluttershy quickly took the hint.
“Of course we are,” the yellow pegasus assured the twins, stepping up to the Twilights in her turn. “If it weren't for the makeup, I couldn't even tell you apart! You have as much right to call me your friend as she does.”
“I still say this isn’t the weirdest thing you’ve done, Twilight,” Spike grumbled. “But you know I’m behind you all the way. Both of you!” It was only after an embarrassed pause that he added, “Um... excluding that bit earlier where I tried to help Applejack and Rainbow Dash kill you.”
“Duh!” Pinkie Pie agreed, bouncing up to the pair. “Why wouldn't I want to be your friend? Oh oh, I know! Because if we weren't friends, then I could throw a Welcome-to-Ponyville Party for you and we could become friends all over again! It’ll be great!”
Each of the Twilights cracked a weak smile at Pinkie Pie’s antics, a timid sort of warmth passing between them. Applejack’s gaze turned to the last member of the group not to speak: Rainbow Dash, hovering just over the ponies below her. “Ugh, this is too weird, two Twilights?” Her legs folded in front of her, as she stared down at the pair.
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snapped up at her, the pegasus spreading her hooves wide in response.
“What?” she demanded. “Of course I’m her friend! Element of Loyalty remember? I can still think its weird! We were barely able to contain the damage one of them did! With two, she’ll probably turn all of Equestria into talking potatoes or something!”
For a moment, silence answered her. A pause that could have been broken by Applejack snapping, or Rarity calling her tactless, or Fluttershy making assurances.
It was broken by Twilight’s giggling.
Six pairs of eyes turned to see Twilight’s copy starting to chuckle, trying to contain it and failing. The laugh soon spreading to her progenitor, both of them giggling at some joke only they got. “Actually, our being linked like this does seem to let us combine our powers.” The mirror compy glanced up at Twilight, and the two exchanged a nod.
“So—” For a moment, they caught each others eyes and grinned, looking up to Rainbow Dash with an, “Are you volunteering to go first?” A faint glint on each of their horns sent Rainbow Dash scrambling back and elicited laughter from each of them. It was a nervous, strained sort of laughter, but in the wake of the day’s events, welcome. It didn’t take long for that laughter to spread, smiles breaking out across the room.
“Wonderful, darlings!” Rarity’s tone was upbeat, an encouraging smile on her face. “See how much easier this all is when you stop being so silly about it? Now! We shall need something to call you. I shan't go around rudely pointing and shouting ‘No, the Twilight over there.’”
“Oh oh! I know!” Pinkie offered, with an enthusiastically raised hoof. “Midnight Glow! No, wait, Dawn Glimmer! No no no, Sunset Flash, Sunset Flash!”
“Oh, how about Dusk Shine?” Fluttershy suggested, with a trace of enthusiasm, despite the circumstances. “Although, I guess that is kind of a colt’s name.”
“Actually...” the mirror Twilight muttered, hesitantly looking back at her counterpart for a moment before pressing on. “Those are all good ideas, Pinkie, but I’d like to keep being called Twilight. It is my name.”
“Alrighty then.” Applejack agreed, pointing to the mirror-copy. “Then you’re Twilight.” Her hoof shifted to point out the original, “An’ you’re Sparkle.”
“Huh?” Sparkle started, surprised. She was about to ask why she had to take the second name when she caught Rarity giving her a very pointed stare out of her mirror’s sight and so instead, she just nodded. “Sparkle. I like it.”
“It makes you sound old,” Rainbow Dash asserted, rolling her eyes. “Ms. Sparkle, the Librarian.”
“It sounds absolutely dashing! Now, Twilight,” she addressed the newly renamed pony. “Come with me! This library is in absolutely ghastly condition and it doesn't have a proper guest room in any case! I insist you be my guest at the boutique until we get this all sorted out.”
Twilight started to object, but got no further than “I—” before Rarity cut her off with a simple, “I insist. Courtesy demands nothing less!”
Twilight looked around at the others, then back at Sparkle, finally returning her gaze to Rarity with a nod. “Well... okay. If you think that’s best.”
“Wonderful! Come with me then, dear. It’s frightfully late. We’ll get you situated and deal with this mess properly come morning!” Rarity opened the door to the library with a magical nudge from her horn, Twilight hesitantly looking back to the group again.
“Good night then, girls,” she muttered, Fluttershy smiling and waving her goodbye, until the door shut behind her and Rarity.
It was only once they were well gone that anypony spoke, Rainbow Dash looking down at Sparkle with her hooves crossed. “You really blew it this time, Twi. Sparkle. Whatever.”
Sparkle’s head sunk, her ears folding back. “I know,” she murmured in response.
“You really should have come to us. But, um…” Fluttershy stepped up to Sparkle and nuzzled against the unicorn’s side, comforting Sparkle with her presence. “I understand how rough this must be on you. You want some company tonight?” she offered. Sparkle shook her head.
“No, Spike’s here, I… thanks, everypony. For everything. At this point, I just want to clean up the library and get some rest.” Her voice came out in a tired murmur, Spike walking up to her and patting her side in turn.
“Yeah, show’s over.” Applejack agreed, turning to leave with the other ponies, save Pinkie, who merrily bounced to the exit, already planning just the thing to cheer the pair up.
“Don’t worry!” she called back. “It’ll aaaall work out! How often do you get to make a friend?”
It was only a few moments after they had gone, Spike and Sparkle alone, that she looked up with a: “Wait, did Pinkie just—“
“Yeah.” Spike grumbled. “She said that.”
The trot back to the boutique was a quiet one. The retelling of events had lasted well into the evening, and so by the time Rarity and Twilight emerged, Ponyville was asleep. Princess Luna had raised a full moon today, so bright, silver light illuminated the ponies’ path, as they made their way through Ponyville’s silent streets. Under other circumstances, Rarity and Twilight would fill such a gap with conversation, but at that moment, all that passed between them was an awkward smile, Twilight glancing down at the ground.
It was Rarity who finally broke the silence with a polite clearing of her throat. “I presume then that it was you I spent this afternoon with at the spa?”
“Yeah.” Twilight nodded, not raising her gaze to the white unicorn alongside her. “Yeah, that was me.”
“Well then! I insist we repeat the experience tomorrow!” Rarity asserted with a faint upturn of her head, horn held high. “Only without all of that skulking about. No small wonder you were so nervous, I suppose. But the point of the spa is to soothe, and you’re wound too tightly as it is, Twilight.”
“That’s… a pretty transparent attempt to be nice to me, Rarity,” Twilight answered. Her smile was still weak, but no longer awkward, her gaze hesitantly turning up to the unicorn next to her. “But I don’t have a reflection, and the spa is full of mirrors. I think—”
“Twilight, dear, there are some facts you’re simply going to have to come to terms with,” Rarity interjected, with a firm “hmph!” for emphasis. “You could walk into the spa with two heads and pegasus wings, and nopony would be that surprised.”
“Uh, I think you’re exaggerating a bit, Rarity.” Twilight replied, only for Rarity to smirk.
“Oh really? Do you remember a few weeks ago, when you locked yourself up in that library to finish your new gem-sorting enchantment?” Rarity started, pressing on before Twilight could do more than start to nod. “I had no less than three ponies assure me that you were hiding and needed all the gems because you’d turned yourself into a dragon.”
“Into a dragon? Really? That’s not even—” Twilight started, but she was silenced by a tap of Rarity’s hoof.
“Or the time that pegasus with the lavender coat moved in and everyone started noticing that you and he were never in the same room at the same time.”
“He lived in Cloudsdale! How was I supposed to—” Twilight tried to protest.
“Or the time you got a message from your future self?” Rarity pressed, leaning towards Twilight. But Twilight found her second wind, and returned the gesture.
“Well,” she replied, “I seem to recall hearing about a recent incident where a certain white unicorn thought I was a vampony.”
“Uh!” Rarity exclaimed, voice full of offense at such a grievous implication. “I never thought you were a vampony! That nonsense was all Rainbow Dash’s idea.”
“Oh really? Then just why were you poking around the library?” Twilight asked with a questioning stare. Rarity’s mind flashed back to the collection of romance novels and… publications, she would have to hide if Twilight were staying with her.
“Well, um, you see, the reasons for that were—oh look! We’re here.” Rarity quickly trotted forward to the boutique’s door, her horn coming alight as she pulled it open. “Come inside, Twilight. I’ve got just the thing to take your mind off of all this magical nonsense! A darling new outfit I’ve been meaning to find just the right pony for!”
Rarity turned, following Twilight with her eyes, letting the other unicorn trot in first. She felt a little bad about using the same lie twice in one day—but, well, this time it was for a good cause. Plus, now she knew that black was definitely not Twilight’s color.
“Hey, Twili—er… Sparkle,” Spike greeted, awkwardly rubbing his claw behind his head at the correction. Sparkle had returned to her bedroom in the wake of the others’ departure, walking to the side of her bed. She had not lain in it though, and instead, rested on her haunches beside it. She sat there, watching the impression left by her counterpart, the circular imprint in the blanket and the sheets. Her gaze was distant and thoughtful, the pony quiet. Despite the tense silence, Spike pressed on. “Man, those names are going to get a little confusing. Twilight. Sparkle. I mean, if this were a story, you know those two characters would get mixed up all the time.”
“We’ll get name tags or something.” Sparkle let out a sigh. Her heart was not in the conversation, the reaction little more than a rote reply. “Was there something else, Spike?”
“Just that I finished cleaning up downstairs. We could reopen the library tomorrow, if you wanted.” Spike watched for Sparkle’s answer, but she only nodded faintly. After a moment, she gradually became aware of something in the corner of her vision and looked up to see Spike sitting on the edge of her bed. He was offering her his best attempt at a smile, his tail crooked behind him.
“Oh Spike,” Sparkle sighed, leaning her head forward to rest against him. “This is all too much.”
“Yeah, I know, two Twilights. Who’s going to write the letters to Celestia?” he asked, reaching his claws out to hug the pony in front of him. She buried her head against his scales, her voice starting to crack as she spoke.
“She’s me! But… I’m me. I’m the one who struck first, Spike! I thought I was just dispelling an enchantment but… oh, Spike. I almost killed a pony! I really am her mirror image.” Sparkle sniffled, her voice finally breaking as teardrops came to her eyes. Spike held her close to comfort her, but shook his head.
“Only because you’re both being guilty over nothing! Sparkle, you thought that you were just sending her back to being your reflection! She was afraid and thought she was defending herself! You’re not a bad pony! Neither of you!” he insisted, lifting her head up to look her in the eye.
“But Spike…” Sparkle pleaded. “We’ve been at it all day. There’s nothing in Starswirl’s notes about a counterspell, and I don’t understand even how the basic parts of this spell fit together! It could take weeks! Months!”
“So?” Spike asked. “Tw—Sparkle, I’m not really keen of having two of you around. One of you keeps me busy enough. But other than my having to write twice as many checklists, would it really be so bad to have to put up with another you for a little while? This may shock you, but we actually kind of like having you around.”
“Well…” Sparkle hesitated, “I mean. I guess we could get twice as much studying done. And it is kind of nice to be able to combine our powers like that. But what about Princess Celestia? What about mom and dad?”
“Sparkle, they know you. They’ll understand.” Spike patted her muzzle, gently. “You need to learn to trust your friends more.”
“Yeah…” Sparkle hesitated, and then nodded more firmly. “Yeah, you know what Spike? You’re right! I can rely on my friends to get me through this!”
“Yeah, that’s the spirit!” Spike encouraged her, Sparkle pressing on in steadily bolder tones.
“And you know what else? I cast Starswirl’s last spell! And if something unexpected happened, so what? That something was an awesome pony! All the wizards of Canterlot will just have to laud me twice. And then, at the next Grand Galloping Gala, one of us can run interference so the other can talk to Princess Celestia and we’ll have twice as many hooves to deal with guests!” she asserted with a proud hoof raised to her torso, head held high.
“Wait, what?” Spike groaned, “Twil—Sparkle, I think you’re getting a bit off topic—”
“The only problem is that she doesn’t feel like she’s me,” Sparkle rose to her hooves, starting to pace back and forth in thought. “I need a way to let her know that she’s still part of the group. To make her feel like my accomplishments are her accomplishments! I need—” she stood tall, light flaring from her horn as she proclaimed with excitement, “—I need to release a world-threatening monster so she can banish it with the Elements of Harmony!”
“Or you could help Pinkie Pie throw a party,” Spike added.
“I need to help Pinkie Pie throw a party!” Sparkle corrected herself, adding, “But get my guide to the Tartarian Gates anyway. Just in case.”
When Twilight was stressed, she could not sleep, and when she could not sleep, she read. She couldn’t find any books at first. Rarity had already fallen asleep, forcing Twilight search the boutique. But after a bit of work she found some—a little stack of paperbacks that Rarity had left under some cloth—and settled down for the night.
The books were informative. But not conductive to rest.
“Spell… turns back with water… doesn’t recognize as a colt… couldn’t… fit that…” she mumbled, curled up in bed with books strewn all about her, before finally sitting up with a shout. “Magic does not work that way!” The hoof mirror she was using to read tumbled to the floor, landing atop the fallen book and narrowly avoiding being shattered. In Twilight’s sleeply haze, she didn’t even notice, putting her hoof past them as she swung out of bed.
Gradually, as the nightmares of things that Twilight was happier not knowing faded, she began to realize that it was morning. The sunlight was streaming in the window, down to her bed, and outside, Ponyville was waking. It occurred to her that Rarity must have let her sleep in, probably for the best, given how late they’d been up and how little she’d been able to sleep. She stepped out of bed slowly, tip-hoofing towards the bathroom. It took several long seconds of her staring at the empty mirror glass before she remembered what was wrong, and sighed. Slowly, she moved a hoof along her face, trying to feel how she looked this morning.
Her mane was frazzled and wild, a bad case of bedmane ruining her usual razor-flat cut. She considered trying to fix it but… no, no reflection. She would have to ask Rarity to do it before they left. Twilight assumed they would be headed there first, to sort out where she’d be staying until they could finish the counterspell.
She stretched, one joint at a time, thinking that Pinkie Pie would probably try to throw a party to make her feel better. Her friends were so kind, but at that moment, Twilight just felt more tired than anything. The reasons for her mood had very little to do with her lack of sleep, Twilight’s step listless as she started down the stairs to the main floor of the Boutique. The sooner they could come up with a counterspell, the better.
“Rarity!” She called, “Are you going to open the boutique toda—” At the base of the stairs, Twilight froze, falling silent at the unexpected sight before her.
The boutique was full of books: stacked on tables, on shelves, on display stands and at the base of the stairs, paperbacks and textbooks of all covers and titles. Around the base of the stairs, behind the tables, and in front of the boutique’s shelves stood her friends, and her counterpart. Everypony there was smiling, looking to her as she arrived.
“What in Equestria—” she started, surprised, Sparkle darting forward.
“Do you like it? It’s every book in the library on identity. Everything from philosophy to self-help! Spike and I spent all morning moving them, and they all say that you and I are the same pony in every way that matters! Or at least we were yesterday. We might have diverged since then. Oh, and I brought some of the large-print books, and a mirror! Because you’ll need to get used to reading the backwards letters! That way, it’s not just me telling you. You have proof from the best pony minds!”
“Uh—” Twilight blinked, Sparkle pressing on.
“And! We all got you something! Fluttershy, you go first!”
“It’s, um… a sweater.” Fluttershy reached out with a wing to pick up the folded garment resting atop the table near her, lifting it to her hooves. The sweater was a collection of purple and violet threads, Twilight’s cutie mark sewn into it as a bright star on the side. “It’s a little tight, but that’s on purpose. I really like sweaters that way. It makes it feel like it’s giving you a hug,” Fluttershy observed as Rainbow Dash made a gagging gesture behind her.
“Rarity and I went halfsies on this one, Twi,” Applejack answered as Rarity levitated a long, narrow box out from behind a pile of cloth.
“Applejack had the idea of getting you a pen since Spike can’t be expected to take twice as many notes, the poor dear. And seeing as how there was hardly any time this morning for me to put together something of my own, I thought I’d turn something practical—” the box opened, revealing a slender, hardwood brush-pen, braced with silver, its bristles neatly trimmed and sharp-edged as Twilights tail “—into something fabulous.” The faint glow of Rarity’s horn lifted the pen, tucking it in just behind Twilight’s ear.
“Oh, yeah, and I got you this.” Rainbow Dash shoved a box across the room, letting it slide between Sparkle’s hooves until it came to a rest in front of Twilight. Twilight looked down at it curiously, blinking.
“You got me… a reading light? Wait, isn’t this the same reading light you got me for my birthday this year?” she asked, looking back up at Rainbow Dash.
“Uh—yeah. You don’t get two gifts just because you have freaky unicorn magic,” she asserted, pausing at the room full of glares directed her way. It was only after an increasingly awkward moment that Rainbow Dash answering those glares with a confused, “What? That’s totally fair!”
“But… why?” Twilight asked in confusion, casting her gaze around the room. “Why all of this? We’re just going to—I mean. I’m just going to...”
“Go away?” Sparkle finished the sentence for her, stepping up to her counterpart. “We’re not just waiting for you to leave, Twilight. We’re your friends.” She paused, glancing down at her hooves for a moment, adding, “All of us.”
Twilight was left at a loss for words, her gaze confused, eyes threatening to fill with tears.
And then Pinkie Pie rolled out her present. And lit the fuse.
“Not on the dresses!” Rarity shrieked.
But despite Rarity’s best efforts, the first scale test of the Party Bomb was an outrageous success.
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"I hurt Twilight! I lashed out in anger! I think I might look good in leather! I am a bad pony!”
I loled. A lot. Same with "make a friend", but with more pun groaning the second I got it :D
This is great. I'm really looking forward to more of it!
This was a brilliant chapter. Two Twilights are really great. I enjoy this story and the style of writing. I look forward to the next tantalizing chapter
moar plz!
Kthnxbai!
but seriously, I wanna see Twilight and Sparkle play of the whole 'Good/Evl' dynamic...I think Twilight'd look sexy in leather, and Sparkle'd knock 'em dead in some spandex tights!
♫♥I look forward to reading what happens next in your story♥♪
The idea of two Twilights didn't sound particularly promising at first. But now I think this is going to be a very interesting relationship. You're just doing so well with the writing and characters. But one thing I don't get: why is mirrored Twilight eager for the spell to be undone? Wouldn't she be afraid what will happen? Didn't she admit that she really wasn't from an alternate mirror dimension? Or did she change her mind when the other ponies warmed up to her?
In this case, the mirror isn't so much "eager" as suffering an identity crisis. In that scene, she was thinking of herself just as "A magical copy" instead of a pony, and of course, summoned things go away when the spell runs out. Now that she's been reminded she's not just a knockoff, but her own pony, she'll be better.
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Ah, okay, makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up.
This is very interesting. Looking forward to more.
Shouldn't Twilight want to be her own pony in some way, rather than just being Twilight Sparkle 2. Other than that it is a very facinating story and concept.
Just letting everyone know -- I am not dead, and will be continuing my story. Life has just taken an unexpected turn.
Save your sympathy though, this is an awesome turn, it just devours all my free time like Parasprites on apples.
Partybomb! At least it wasn't loaded into the pary canon, or else Canterlot would be buried under the confetti fallout, and all life in Equestria would be estinquished.
At the words "the party bomb" I fell off my chair laughing at what i think rarity's face would look like when that was rolled out...
"...this is not my face
and this is not my life
and there is not a single thing here i can recognize..." (Nine inch nails - Beautiful Nightmare (Head Down))
I saw that A Cross And Arrow reference and LOLed my head off! Dusk shine is kinda masculine if you think about it though...
“I still say this isn’t the weirdest thing you’ve done, Twilight,” Spike grumbled.
Now I have to know, then.. what is the weirdest thing she's done?
I have to disagree. I think Twilight would look amazing in black. Leather just makes it sexy.
-Delta-
HAh if this happen to me my doppleganger wouldnt have to worry about not being able to read. I can already read backwards and upside down.
XD Party bomb? WIN!
So just to get things straight, Twilight is the mirror copy and Sparkle is the original?
“It’ll aaaall work out! How often do you get to make a friend?”
This line, absolutely beautiful. I laughed til I was red in the face, which isn't normal for me. Kudos to you, author
Need a monster eh? Call The Great And Powerful Trixie, Snips and Snails.
It is only backward if you turn around.
“—I need to release a worldthreatening monster so she can banish it with the Elements of Harmony!”
Twilight's thought process at its finest!
I'm not going to keep reading this. I'm sorry, but the characterization is just (IMO) way off. No offense meant, just not my thing.
Also, am I the only one who noticed the blatant wrongness of a pony wearing leather? Leather is made from cow skin, and cows being sapient is canon.... Soooo.....
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High hoof! I can too.
Now the real question is... can you read upside down backwards text?
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... Yeah, that's the entire joke. She's saying she's an evil pony duplicate because she thinks she'd look good in leather.
Oh Faust... Sparkle! What are you doing!?!? That is several degrees BEYOND what needs to happen!
Although, it would be interesting if Discord or some other threat escaped, and there were TWO Elements of Magic. And the threat got banished beyond the stars from the overclocked EoH.
The patented Party Bomb now available at Sugar Cube Corner only $250(bits)
1076234I'll take an entire arsenal please! Some where around a thousand don't worry I am a ziolian king I can afford 646,536,364,745,4668,546,554 times my order to be exact
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[Dominic Armato voice] "That's the second weirdest thing I've ever seen you do, Twilight" [/Dominic Armato voice] Or, if you want to go classic, replace Armato with Don Adams.
R63 spell?
Lolwhat?
Hey guys, check out these neat lampshades I'm hanging! (joking, of course. Lampshading is one of my favorite pastimes)
"I mean, if this were a story, you know those two characters would get mixed up all the time.”
i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/004/077/Raisins_Face.jpg
“—I need to release a world-threatening monster so she can banish it with the Elements of Harmony!”
FUCKING BRILLIANT!
Huh. I would not have thought Rarity would be the type to have a stash of Ranma 1/2.
Well now youve done it! I cant stop imagining how Twilight would look in leather!
341096 975374 1360815
Like this?
i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/whiterabbit75/5746__twilight-sparkle_suggestive_a.png
Yeah, you know Twilight is best pony now.
Ehh, Im part-way through the chapter at the moment, and I can't say I like how you've suddenly swapped the original Twilight's name with 'Sparkle'. It just makes it a little too jarring every time her name is mentioned. Other than that, good so far, I'll keep reading and see what I think by the end of the chapter.
Edit: Just finished reading this chapter... having the original's name as "Sparkle" gets less jarring over time, and i like some of the innuendos you've got. Have a like, why not.
In a world where cows are sentient, looking good in leather has a darker meaning.
Just as good as the first one! And I'm hoping Twilight won't just be shoved back into the mirror at the end; but rather become her own identity, not unsimilar to Elliot and Ellen from EGS.
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I have to agree, but why.
i wish i had a second me, it would be frickin awesome although i dont know if i would mess with people (walking in and out with two outfits), do a musical number in public, or just do the evil twin routine and take turns
It’ll aaaall work out! How often do you get to make a friend?
And that is why Pinkie Pie is best pony.
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My sentiments exactly! I especially love seeing writers successfully tackle Pinkie's witty dialogue. To truly keep her in character, she not only has to be fun-loving, sugar-charged and just a little spastic, but also has to exhibit serendipitous brilliance at times just like GaPJaxie has pulled off here.
Can't wait to fall asleep so I can wake up and keep reading!
BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! THEY'RE MAKING ANOTHER RUN AT THE FOURTH WALL! REPAIR THOSE CRACKS MEN!
Two of myself would be iffy. Insane matabolism would put a huge dent in my food budget.
2238948 KAPITAIN! THE FOURTH WALL CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE OF THIS! WAIT NO!!!! PINKIE DIRECTLY +W OF US! BRACE FOR UNIVERSE ENDING IMPACT!!! I LOVE YOU JAAAAaaanannnniiisssssssss....
I read that line in fluttershy's mentally advanced series voice.
Good start to this story. I think I'll enjoy reading this.
This frightened me until I remembered she was inspired by Celestia raising the sun and not some other kind of godly magic not meant for mortal kind.
Other various mad scientist traits are still worrying.
When was this chapter written? Before she actually got pegasus wings, I assume. Makes it all the funnier.
One question I must ask is what did Twi/Sparkle mean back when she said "Now I have another pony to get rid of" or something along those lines?
Except that she's very visibly bothered by what she just saw.
Hmm... so if Mirror Twilight is reversed... does that mean her subconscious alignment is reversed, too?
I came so close to laughing at this. Containing one's entertainment while reading during work breaks is becoming an art.
Are you listening Hasbro? How much of Season 5 you got left?
This is step one in "everything's going to go wrong." You even changed the narrative. Psychological issues to come soon.
Why is Spike bothering to keep up the 'Sparkle' moniker while alone with Twilight? That makes no sense, but aside from that it's going to lead to some serious issues down the road.
Amusingly, this actually feels perfectly in-character for her.
All in all, I'm enjoying this. Even the humorous bits, which more often than not tend to annoy me; you've managed to slip them in there without them feeling asinine, which is something I find most writers fail utterly at (myself included). I imagine making Twilight become "Sparkle" was an intentional decision on your part for the psychological challenges that are almost guaranteed to come along, but at the same time it feels like a really dumb move on the part of her friends. I mean, I get why they did it and it actually makes sense just to ease "Twilight's" troubles, but it's most definitely the wrongest wrong move they could have made.
Now I'm not knocking any of this... yet. But if the very obvious issues don't pop up somewhere in this story, then I'll be knocking it.
Is this a Ranma 1/2 reference?