Nightmare in The Mirror

by Ardent Wing

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Main 6, Original Character, Spike, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 8167

What lurks in your reflection? Is it who you are? Who you want to be? Or who you fear to become?

Twilight Sparkle is running an experiment based off of information left behind by Starswirl the Bearded long ago. Yet nothing is ever as simple as that, is it?

AUTHORS NOTE: Really late on updating this, currently this story is on hiatus, but hopefully by the end of summer I'll be back and giving it the full attention that it deserves.

Stay tuned, this story is certainly not dead.

Published 2014-12-15 16:30:03 UTC
Last updated 2015-02-18 02:24:48 UTC

It's about the Mirror

Equestria is a strange land. Or, at least, it is full of strange characters. Ponies of all different respects and professions, all trying to live their lives, all trying to do the best that they can every day. Yet within each pony is the potential to do the opposite. The ability to strive against a path that some would believe has been set before them. Within each pony is the ability to do both good and evil.

So, if one were to propose that a very specific pony, with very specific traits were to act towards a different end then the one that they have chosen, a question must be asked. Does changing a pony’s destiny change their qualities? Which is to say, does destiny define the traits of character, or is destiny merely an accent to the already existing traits of a character.

Perhaps destiny is merely an illusion, something that we create for ourselves in order to understand why we exist in the state that we do. Perhaps by believing in destiny we force ourselves down the paths that we believe we are supposed to follow, and thus see the end result as us having fulfilled our destiny. Or, perhaps destiny is real, but it merely exists as a tool to create the personalities that we have in ourselves today. Yet, then that brings up the question of; who intends for our personalities to define themselves in the ways that they do? That is certainly a big question, and I am certain that the answer is even bigger.

-Musings of Starswirl the Bearded

The storeroom of the castle was covered with a film of dust, from the floors to the shelves. How? The castle was new, brand new! Yet dust was covering the storeroom, it’s not as if no-pony ever came into this room, which would account for the dust. However, she herself came into this room almost every single day, to gather the materials that she required for her experiments. So how was it always covered in dust?

Twilight Sparkle thought this to herself as she glanced around the storeroom of her castle. On the ceiling above the high shelves sat a hanging lantern that she had installed when she had learned that glowing crystals just weren’t enough light for a storeroom. Despite these moves to improve the storeroom, most of the shelves remained empty, barren of any materials, excluding food of course.

These empty shelves were to be as expected, it had not been very long since her defeat of Tirek and as such the castle was very new, and had continued to this way even with the new changes she had been making. Twilight wanted to make this place useful. Even now she and the others all had yet to sit on their thrones in the main hall at the same time, and Twilight felt that this was very specifically because there was no usefulness to this castle. Well, she would fix that, in due time.

“Spike, could you grab the large beaker from the chemistry supplies shelf to bring with us.”

Spike ran across the deep blue crystal floor as fast as his little legs could take him. On he ran past shelf after shelf of supply and stock, most lacking any sufficient lighting, let alone actual supplies. At the very end of the rows of shelves, for some reason, was the chemistry supplies shelf. Thankfully the large beaker sat on the bottom shelf, leaving Spike with no much unwanted climbing. As he picked up the beaker, he noticed that the coloring of the glass of the beaker was darker. Turning the label to face him he read the words “High Energy Containment” written on the large white label. Why would Twilight ask him to get this beaker? Regardless, Spike returned to the front of the storeroom, panting and out of breath from his running. Looking up, Spike saw Twilight brushing off the top of one of the supply shelves with her wing. She looked, confused.

“Why do we keep the chemistry supplies at the end of the room?” Spike asked, breathing heavily.

“Did you grab the beaker, Spike?”

“I got it, Twilight.” Spike answered.

“Excellent, then let’s get going.”

Twilight turned to leave the storeroom, she didn’t have much time, she had scheduled the rest of her day to be devoted to scheduling the rest of her month, and it took time to organize dates, especially when cooperating with a pony like Pinkie Pie. She needed the time she had allotted for herself, which left her little time to run this experiment. Just the thought of finally being able to perform this experiment gave her the shivers. Would she find her answers? Finally solving a question asked for over a thousand years? Twilight didn’t know what the experiment would bring, but she was prepared to find out.

As Twilight made for the door to the room Spike asked her a question stemming from his own confusion, “Uh, Twilight, where are we going?”

“We’re going to the castle’s Anti-Chamber. Come on, we don’t have much time.”

Twilight walked out of the room and up the short staircase into one of the multiple large hallways that marked the main passages through the castle, spike following behind. They would need to travel down this open hallway until they came to the door with red paint on it. Spike was incredibly happy the day Twilight had decided to colour code the doors in order to help ponies tell just where in the castle they were, it helped create order from the castle’s generally confusing layout.

The two friends continued their journey down the cavernous hallway of the castle, Twilight’s hoofsteps echoing throughout the building, Spike’s steps less so. As they walked, Spike became somewhat lost in his thoughts. The walls of crystal around them mesmerized Spike, causing his mouth to water. He couldn’t help it! All these years he had spent eating gemstones and now he was living in a building made of them. Although the crystal of this building was much tougher than any gem he had ever eaten, he had found that out the hard way. Spike would NOT attempt to bite one of the walls! He had learned his lesson from last time, and the time before that…

Yet as he and Twilight walked through the halls of the palace another question occurred to spike.

“Twilight, why are we going to the castle’s antechamber?”

“Not the antechamber Spike, Anti-Chamber. We’re going to the room that I cast a magic shield over last week, didn’t you listen at all when I told you what I was doing?”

“I totally listened, Twilight.” He hadn’t.

Twilight sighed, she had known Spike her whole life, even raised him. Yet still he thought that he could fool her. ”Oh, Spike. Last week I cast a spell on one of the rooms in the castle in order to make it magic proof. As of now, no magic can get into the room, and none can get out.” Twilight had her head raised and eyes closed when she spoke this. Magic proofing a room was no easy feat and she was very proud of her achievement.

“Wow, that’s impressive, so… why exactly did you make a magic proof room in the castle?”

“I’ve been having an idea for an experiment with the mirror that leads to my Canterlot High friend’s world. Today we will see the results.”

“Then I can’t wait to see whatever the results are.” Spike said.

“Good. Scientific curiosity is what allows us to improve both ourselves and Equestria as a whole.” Twilight stated.

“I’m sure it does.” Spike replied.

“It does.” Twilight responded, and, taking a moment to pause, she looked at all of the crystals that made up the walls and windows of the castle hallway. These crystals were so strange, irregular, in that they were completely regular. When she had observed and compared these crystals to some that Cadence had been kind enough to send from the Crystal Empire, she noticed that the molecular structure of the two were drastically different. In particular, her castle’s crystals were structurally perfect! As in every molecule was placed an exact distance from one another, and though they didn’t appear symmetrical, on a molecular level there was the presence of exact symmetry. This was relatively uncommon in naturally grown crystalline structures, though symmetry in crystals was not a completely uncommon idea. It was just the fact that these crystals were too regular, too symmetrical. It made Twilight uneasy.

Twilight was just standing in the center of the large hallway, lost in her own thoughts. She had read all kinds of philosophical pieces about the world in her day, and most seemed to agree that nothing was completely perfect. Of course, that was closed mainly just the older philosophers.

One particular philosopher that Twilight had fallen in love with went by the name of Harry Spinroza. What he had said was that the world was perfect, existing in its perfect state in everything. That also meant that the imperfect was also perfect. Yet it lead to a much deeper idea. Spinroza had also talked about free will, and he stated that if everything existed in its perfect state as it was, then there is no free will. Everything that happens is a necessity to perfection, it happens because it is what the universe demands of it, not because it chooses to. This system Spinroza talked about had lead Twilight to some thoughtful ideas. If everything is perfect, then everything that exists does so through necessity, meaning that it needs to be that way to be perfect. By that standard, then there was a reason that the crystals in her castle was perfect, wasn’t there? It needed to be that way, for some reason. Perhaps the necessity comes from destiny. Perhaps something is to happen and by necessity for the universe to remain perfect when that thing happens the crystals in her castle had to be completely symmetrical. It was such an interesting thought, it-

“Twilight, are you okay, because you seem to be just standing there.” Spike interrupted.

“You’re right, I am just standing here, and I should go to run my experiment.”

“You haven’t actually explained what that experiment is, by the way.” Spike mentioned

“That’s because it will take a long time to explain.”

“I still deserve to hear it!”

“There’s no time, besides, it would just bore you.” Twilight said.

“Please?”

“No, Spike.”

“Pleeeeeaaaaseee?”

“We should really just run-

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssseeeeeeeeee?”

“Alright! I’ll tell you, we’re almost at the Anti-Chamber anyways. We’ll get to the reading room and then we’ll both sit and I’ll explain exactly what my experiment is.”

“Awesome.”

“Hop on, Spike!” Twilight said, motioning with her wing for him to hop onto her back. Upon doing so, Twilight bolted down the great hallway, galloping all the way to the red door at the end to the left. When she stopped galloping in front of the red door, Spike noticed a new sign at the top, which read “Reading room.”

The door to the room sparkled and pushed open, moved by the force that ponies called magic, and it revealed to Spike a very small room with a single bookshelf and a fireplace on the opposite wall. Twilight looked at the fireplace, and it burst to full flame, lighting the entire room with an orange glow.

Twilight took a seat by the fire, and motioned for Spike to follow her lead. “C’mon Spike, we have some extra time for me to tell you.”

“Why do you have this room again?” Spike asked.

“I sometimes like to read in privacy and quiet, and this is one of the smallest and quietest rooms in the whole castle. I keep my favourite books on that shelf.”

“I just feel like you have so many rooms now that you’re just finding reasons to make rooms. Do you remember the ‘thinking room’?” Spike mentioned.

“Oh, don’t be so boring about it, the thinking room was a great idea. Now are you going to sit here and let me explain my experiment to you?” Twilight asked.

“Okay.” Spike sighed as he sat down beside Twilight by the fire.

“Fantastic, okay, first I’ll explain what gave me the idea for my experiment, and then I’ll explain just what the experiment is.”

“Have I just gotten myself into a really long story?”

“You asked, remember.”

“Alright, continue.” Spike waved his claws around as though telling someone to move along.

“Here we go. So I was reading Starswirl’s journal-

“Do you mean the journal you used to fix the elements of harmony when every-pony’s cutie marks got switched up?”

“The very same book. As it turns out, the journal is full of musings about spells that Starswirl had only toyed with, or didn’t care much to finish.”

“If he didn’t think they were important, then why do you?”

“I find all kinds of magic important, besides, it was a way to pass the time. Either way, among these musings was one that caught my eye in particular. Listen to this-

“Wait! You have the journal with you?” Spike looked, and sure enough, the dark journal came floating off of the shelf at the back of the room to hover before Twilight.

“Yes, I do, now I know you want to ask questions but let me read this part.”

Twilight looked at the book, flipped through the pages until she stopped at one in particular, and began to read.

“Is a mirror a mirror or a window? If I wanted to know what sat on the other side of a wall would I use mirrors, or make a window? Perhaps the method of making a window coincides with the method of making a mirror. In that case, a mirror is a window. Not a window into the unknown but a window into the mirror.
I know there are gateways to other worlds. Ones where things differ along their own paths, but what about gateways into this world? Mirrors of what we have here, different but the same. I must remember to look into this idea in the future. Perhaps Celestia has some notion that I do not.”

Spike was very confused by this passage, “It’s all very cryptic, Twilight. I don’t really see what gave you the idea for an experiment.”

“You will, I admit this section is a bit cryptic, but it shows that Starswirl was tapping into the idea of mirrors and portals, just like our very own. However, though this section was interesting, I found it very uninformative. The next part is where I began to plan my experiment. Listen-

‘I have reached some understanding of the portals and their power. I have some reason to believe that the catalyst, or object defined as a portal, merely acts as a medium for the portal to exist. I also assume that the spell cast on such a portal would need to be much generalized, as a specific spell would only be required to reach a specific place. So, assuming that the spell is what does it then the spell to open a portal into one’s own world should be easy, if I actually knew how to cast the spell.”

“This is what began my research into the mirror, perhaps Starswirl was right. I kept reading, and in some of the later passages I found this:

‘I think I may have found my answer. The legend of baelion is what gave me the idea. Perhaps the gateways aren't gateways at all, but simply openings in the cracks revealed! In that case, the magic used on the portal would be irrelevant, because the magic would not be used to open a portal, but to reveal what was already there! I may be able to devise a revealing spell, but it will take time. I must look for someplace where a natural crack is likely to appear.”

Spike looked up at Twilight when she paused in her reading, he had so many questions! “So what happened? Did Starswirl write the spell? What about that legend, about bel-something?”

“I don’t know anything about that legend he mentioned, there wasn’t even a hint of it in any of my books.”

“But what about Starswirl’s spell, did he write it?”

“That’s where things got a little hazy, listen to this.

‘Recent events have brought the sheer folly of my spell to light. In the end it took one cast, and two little friends to help me see that. From now on I shall refrain from further deliberating over the ideas of portals and their nature. Besides, some new objects of great power have come to my attention from the east.”

Spike looked down at the ground, feeling a slight disappointment. He had gotten excited by Twilight’s story, and now he learned that it never worked out in the end. “So it was all for nothing?”

“Of course it wasn’t!”

“But you just said that he never wrote the spell.”

Twilight looked at Spike, her eyes twinkling. He was so young… and so innocent. “I didn’t say that Starswirl never wrote the spell, I said I didn’t know if he wrote the spell. However, while he may not have written the spell, some-pony else did!”

Spike looked into Twilight’s eyes, “who?”

“A great philosopher by the name of Carla Von Clovenhoof.”

“A Goat?” Spike asked, looking confused.

“No! A pony Spike!"

“Well, you can’t really blame me for thinking that.”

“Yes I can, and I do, Carla was an amazing spell caster. She helped develop many of the light and magnification bending spells that we use in our scientific instruments. She is by far worthy of much respect.”

“Okay, okay. So what did she write?”

“A spell, though she never fully worked it out. In her book, ‘Of Spells and Spindles’ she discussed the importance of new magic in a cyclical magical paradigm. Several chapters discusses the ability to view reality and the magical realm that exists underneath the physical one. She said that one can separate the twining of the magical seams and expand them into full visibility if her revealing spell were to be aimed at the right catalyst. The only problem was, she didn’t know which catalyst she should use. This is where my experiment is. Depending on the results I get, I may be lead to reasonably conclude that a mirror, or other reflective surface is the perfect catalyst for her spell!”

Twilight sat there for a moment, saying nothing, until Spike intoned, “So what’s your experiment.”

“Oh yeah, I may not have been very clear about that part. Remember that Starswirl concluded that it must be the portal and not the magic that made a gateway to another world work?”

“Yes.”

“Well, he said that the spell needed to reveal these ‘cracks’ that lead to another world was to be very basic, which Carla’s spell is.”

“So?”

“So if I were to use a render on her spell in use it would appear as a series of strait lines on the device. However, if the spell were more complicated than that it would not appear as strait lines. So I looked to the mirror, which is a gateway to another world.”

“So you want to make another portal to that world?”

“No Spike. Starswirl wanted to travel deeper into THIS world. He said that to do this would require a much simpler spell that I believe the one cast on the mirror is. If I can extrapolate some of the magic of the mirror, put it under a render, and were to find the magic complicated and not simple, then it would suggest that the portal does not travel to a different spatial dimension, but operates in a different location in our own dimension. That would mean that the self dimensional portal would only require Carla’s spell in the right place on the right catalyst. I already tested her spell on a mirror, and it worked! I was able to see the spaces between matter through the mirror. This, however, did not reveal any cracks to me. I can only assume that the spell must be cast on a mirror right in front of one of these cracks that Starswirl mentioned. But to be able to go through with that I must first confirm that our mirror portal is a product of the spell and not that specific mirror itself. If I can prove that the magic is complicated, and not simple, then I will be able to move to directly testing Carla’s spells in specific locations, trying to locate one of the cracks. I built a magic proof room in order to contain the powerful magic that will roam free from the mirror as I observe the properties of the spell cast on it. In just a few short minutes we will run the experiment to prove if Starswirl’s theory about simple portals is true.”

Spike stared at Twilight, speechless. It was all a lot of information to take in. so she was running this experiment to clarify an issue before she ran her NEXT experiment. That was why they were going to the Anti-Chamber?

“Whaoh… that’s… not very inspiring.”

“What!”

“I mean, the experiment is… cool and all, but it just seems like you’re prepping for a bigger experiment.”

“Don’t you realize the implications of this? If I am wrong then the whole experiment is scrapped, I need the magic of the portal to be complicated, because if it’s not then it means that the gateway to my Canterlot High friend’s world is the key to that portal. That means that their world is in a separate spatial dimension from ours, which means that Starswirl, genius that he was, was wrong! I NEED THIS TO WORK! So why is it unimportant?”

By the time Twilight had finished her small rant Spike was crouched down, trying to make himself seem as small as possible. Sure, sometimes Twilight overreacted to things, but this was just bonkers! She was too absorbed in her work. She needed to do something else to take her mind off of this experiment. Then he thought, perhaps helping her finish the experiment would help take her mind off of it. The sooner done the better, right?

Twilight was panting, obviously angry, it was easy to see now that she had not slept in some time. Her eyes were red at the edges, dark underneath, and her temper was raging. Spike stood up to talk to her. “Okay, Twilight. This experiment is important. I just didn’t realize how. So why don’t we go and run this thing!”

This seemed to snap Twilight out of her anger, her wings drooped down to the floor and her eyes partially closed. She was realizing what she had just done. How could she yell at Spike like that? This was taking a toll on her, which was why she was happy she would be able to prove her theory today, that way she would get to rest. “I’m sorry Spike. I… this experiment has just been so stressful and… there’s no excuse.”

“It’s not a problem. Now what do you say we prove your theory right... uh, right now!” Spike said in a peppy tone.

“Okay, let’s see how the mirror is doing in the Anti-Chamber.”

As the two friends stood up, the fire snuffed out, and the door on the opposite side of the room opened. It was through this door that a side-hallway led to the Anti-Chamber. Through this door, was the answer to a question that Starswirl had asked long ago.

"Can things ever...."

I fear I have made no official study in the area, Starswirl did plenty of that himself. However I can state my opinion on Starswirl’s theories about the subject.

I see destiny not as a path, predetermined and waiting for the pony to tread on it. I see destiny as time itself. The events that one goes through in their lives are part of the great length of time, and as such, are relatively unchanging. That is why we created the notion of destiny, to explain why we cannot change time. However, if one actually DID want to change time, the most obvious solution would be to latch onto a fixed point along the time stream and to alter that event. Altering said fixed point would then likely dramatically change the world around the point. Yet, even with that possibility it would require a great amount of power and the caster of the spell would have to have a direct relation to the event they are changing. It’s possible, but inefficient.

I do, however, find great interest in my old friend’s notions of alternate worlds. This idea changes much about my theory of Destiny. So, propose a hypothetical world in which destiny IS an outside influencing factor, as opposed to an intrinsic part of time. In such a world, if the destiny of some-pony here were to exist there, attached to the same pony, but opposite, would the pony change? I like this suggestion that destiny may only effect events, as opposed to everything. Perhaps Starswirl is onto something. I mean, technically if the events in a life changed, but not the life itself, it’s certainly possible that they would possess similar traits to our here-world counterparts. It’s a beautiful model, I just wonder if Starswirl will finish it.

He was never one to stick to things he could not fix with a spell.

-Clover the Clever, on the published works of Starswirl the Bearded

Twilight traveled down the short side hallway that lead from her reading room to a larger hallway, which itself lead straight to the Anti-Chamber, which was directly at the end of said hallway. Twilight had picked the spot for her chamber perfectly, making sure it was in one of the most secure rooms in the castle. Well, by secure she meant that if the room were to explode it would do no structural damage to the building, apart from a large hole. Though it would never come to that, as the magic of the mirror portal never existed in a state that would explode. She was merely being precautious, a thing that had helped her often in the past before.

She was walking slower now, with spike walking along beside her. She was excited to see how this would turn out, or maybe she was scared. She had been devising and preparing everything for this experiment for months, and she really needed this to turn out her way. Of course, she knew that there was no real need to be nervous, the calculations she had done were perfect. It was a fact of nature, the magic of the portal simply HAD to be complicated, and there was no question about it.

Then why was she still walking slowly?

Try as she might, Twilight could not remove the feeling of something terrible happening. Despite having all of the evidence at hoof to support her, she felt like it would not go just right. It had happened before…

Oh, she was just being silly! Of course it would work, it had to. As Rainbow Dash had told her, “Confidence is the key to success!” Or, perhaps she had said, “Overconfidence is the key to success!” Twilight could not remember. As of late she had been making many, relatively minor errors in her memory. It was probably just the restlessness from running this experiment. Twilight needed to do this quickly, only then could she rest.

Twilight reached the end of the hallway and turned the corner, sating at the floor as she walked. The door to the Anti-Chamber stood directly at the end of the hall, which is why Twilight didn’t care to look where she was going. She may be lost in thought, but she was relatively sure that she could navigate to the end of a hallway without error.

That was her mistake.

Before she could even take two steps down the last, short hallway to the chamber she found herself shoved back by some incredible force. This cannonball, as she could only describe it with her eyes closed, collided and carried Twilight to the ground with it. There was a moment of sheer breathlessness, in which Twilight lacked comprehension of what was going on. The first thing that returned to her senses was a voice she recognized.

“Oh, Twilight! How could you leave without telling me? Do you not trust me? How could you not trust me? I even threw you a Twilight is the most trusting friend ever party, and now you do this! Why would you not tell me you were going, I could at least have thrown you a going away party! I-“

Pinkie Pie, who was a combination of sad and angry to any who could see her, was stopped by Twilight’s hoof raising up to block her mouth and stop her speaking. Twilight rose to her hooves and looked at Pinkie, who happened to be joined by her other friends behind her. Apple Jack and Fluttershy were walking towards Twilight and Pinkie, while Rainbow Dash and Rarity stood just behind them, in front of the door to the Anti-Chamber. Why in the hoof was everypony here?

“Pinkie, what are you doing here? What are all of you doing here?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I was talkin’ to Pinkie bout’ how you were havin me and Big Macintosh move the mirror portal around in the castle. Pinkie got the notion in her head that you were up’n leavin to the other world, and she gathered all of us here to ask you just why you’d be doin’ that.” Apple Jack explained.

“I’m not going anywhere girls, why would you think that?”

“Well it is undeniable that on most occasions that you have interacted with the mirror, it has lead you to travel through it to that other world.” Rarity stated.

“I suppose that’s true, but you must have known that if I was leaving I would tell you.” Twilight responded.

Her statement seemed to soothe Pinkie, but Rainbow was not totally satisfied by her words. She flew up to Twilight, hovering just above the ground, to ask her a question.

“So, if you weren’t leaving, then just what were you doing with the mirror?”

“Long story short, I’m running an experiment on the magic in the mirror to find out just how it may work in travelling to other worlds.” Twilight explained.

“Why couldn’t you tell me that version of your explanation?” Spike asked, slightly annoyed. He had had to sit through that entire explanation when she could have just told him that?

“Spike, you are my assistant, and that means that in order to work the experiment properly you must be fully equipped with all of the knowledge that I possess on the topic, only then can you work at optimal capacity.”

“Sure, or maybe you just felt making it seem like the reading room actually did something.” Spike mumbled.

“What was that, Spike?”

“Just glad that you keep me in the loop.”

Rainbow Dash looked from Spike back to Twilight. “But why didn’t you keep US in the loop?”

“I’m sorry Rainbow; I’ve been so caught up with running this experiment that I haven’t really been communicating with anyone. I’ve even been ignoring the mail, I never do that! I just wanted to get this over with; I didn’t realize that you might wonder what I was doing.” It was true, she usually thought of these things, but her anxiousness to complete the experiment had lead Twilight to this state of tiredness. The toll that it had taken had been invisible until now, just when what she had been calculating was about to be proven.

“Well, in any case, we’d be overjoyed to assist you with this experiment.” Rarity stated.

“Yeah, we sure could use something to do right now, what say we help you Twilight?” Apple Jack added.

“ We could give you moral support. I can even throw a ‘ I just ran the coolest experiment ever’ after party! I think I have a cake large enough to write that on.” Pinkie chimed in, excited.

“Are you sure that you want to help, I can probably just run it with Spike and achieve the same level of success.” Twilight said, unsure of whether she actually WANTED them to see her run the experiment. It might not – No! There is no room for doubt. Overconfidence is key!

“We would never leave a friend to do this alone, especially when this is so important to you.” Fluttershy said.

There was no arguing with them. Or, at least, Twilight did not want to argue with them. What mattered most right now was that she got in that chamber and proved her theory. The work had taken what it could from her and she wanted the stress to be over with. It was so odd… not the experiment, but this whole day. She was worrying about an experiment that was sure to succeed. In fact, she was worrying TOO much. Something was wrong with that, she should not care nearly as much about this as she did, and yet… She did. She cared so much about this succeeding; it felt both horrible and wonderful at the same time.

The walls of her castle were perfect.

“Of course, if you want to observe the experiment by my side, then I welcome you. Nothing could make me happier than doing this with my friends. Spike, I need you to go back to storage and grab a few more scientific protector goggles for the others, and leave the beaker behind.”

Spike stared at Twilight for a moment, then he sighed and began to run back down the hallway the way he had come with Twilight. Why could Twilight never bring everything she needed at one time?

***

Twilight walked through the door to the Anti-Chamber wearing her protective goggles, her friends entered behind her, wearing similar protective gear. Twilight, however, was also wearing a heavy apron, designed to protect her from any possibly dangerous power that may radiate throughout the room while performing the experiment. The others would be standing a short distance away, so they were not likely to receive direct exposure to dangerous magic, though that wouldn’t matter if the room exploded- Which it wouldn’t!

After entering the room Twilight walked directly to her equipment, while her friends stopped to stare at having entered what looked like a new world itself.

The room was pitch black, so much so that the ponies could not actually tell if there were actual dimensions to the room. What light there was came from brightly glowing purple runes that surrounded the equipment as well as surrounded what one could only assume was the perimeter of the room, though it still gave little hint to the eye as to how the room had actually looked. There was little else in the room, save for some beaker holders, as well as what looked like a very large adjustable lens, and the mirror; standing at the maybe-far end of the room. This was the portal that had transported Twilight to that other world. A strange object for a strange place.

While four of Twilight’s friends stood unaffected from entering the room, one did not. Rarity stumbled slightly, shaking what might have seemed like the cobwebs of sleep from her head.

“Woah, I’m sorry to impose Twilight, but what pray tell, is this sensation I am feeling?”

Twilight looked up from some papers she had left sitting on the large lens to answer Rarity. “Sorry, I forgot to mention how the chamber worked when I explained my experiment to you. The Anti-Chamber creates a negated wall of zero magic around the perimeter. Technically speaking, the wall itself does not exist, but magic cannot exist inside it either. When you passed through the wall, your matter stayed unaffected, but for a moment you were sapped of all magic within you. Your magic should return once we leave, but it can have a strange feeling to many ponies, especially unicorns. I’ve just gotten used to it from being here for a week.”

“Well, that is certainly comforting to hear. Proceed then with what you were doing.” Rarity said, motioning with her hoof for Twilight to continue.

Yet before Twilight could precede any further, Rainbow Dash walked over to her lens and interrupted her by staring through it at her friend. “So, what exactly did you say that this gizmo does?”

“It’s called a Render, Rainbow. It analyzes magical stains and allows me to tell the basic weaving of a spell.” It was one of the many optical inventions that Clovenhoof had assisted in the creation of.

Rainbow continued to stare at Twilight, confused. Twilight sighed, knowing that she would have to explain herself more. “Think of an enchantment, or a permanent magical spell, as a weaving, like a net. That way the spell will maintain itself without the need for a caster to hold the spell themselves. The more complicated the spell, the greater task it performs. If the magic in the mirror is the source of its power, then the magic will be complicated, because it is performing a task involving the use entering the tweaked realities of other worlds within the same spatial dimension. In that case, the magic of the mirror would look all jumbled up in the Render. Simple magic looks relatively strait. If my theory is correct, the magic in the mirror is complicated, because it travels to another world, simple magic, according to Starswirl, is what is needed to travel into THIS world. However, I need to prove that the Canterlot High mirror is complicated magic, or else Starswirl is wrong.”

“Why would that prove him wrong, Twilight?” Apple Jack asked.

“If the magic is simple, it means that it is the physical portal that creates the bridge between two worlds. In that case, it may mean that the Canterlot High world is in another dimension, which means that magic, complex or simple, cannot access such places with a spell alone. That means that regardless of the spells I have prepared, nothing can be accomplished without the proper object to cast a spell on. That could, at the very best, throw me off for months trying to figure out what the object and spell is. Basically, simple magic means the portal does the work, and a simple spell cannot permit travel to other into THIS world, and complicated means the opposite.”

“Twilight, why do you keep emphasizing THIS world, as opposed to other worlds?” Rarity inquired.

“That is what Starswirl was attempting to do, I don’t know if he succeeded, as he was very secretive of his work into this matter. That is why I must re-run the experiment in the same way that I believe he would have, to find the answer. If I can succeed, I may be able to peer into slightly different, mostly same worlds as ours. Isn't that exciting!”

“Kind of, but if they’re only slightly different from our world, then isn’t that just a bit boring. Why not go see new things, instead of the same thing someplace else?” Rainbow stated.

“The point is that I CAN do it, and that would mark an achievement in pony magic that has never been proven to have been accomplished. At worst, I’m saying that Starswirl was right.”

“Okay Twilight, so what say we run this experiment an’ find out the truth for sure?” Apple Jack said.

“Alright, Spike, will you take this-“ Twilight said, pulling a small crystal out from the pocket of the apron and holding it out to him “- and place it in the high energy beaker on the stand. This crystal will bounce the focused magic on the beaker into the lens, which will bend the magic into coherence for the few moments that it needs to sear the design onto this flash paper placed on the lens. The design that burns onto the paper will reveal if the magic is simple or complicated.”

“Okay Twilight, it’s all done.” Spike stated after adjusting the beaker at the marked height on the beaker holder.

Twilight positioned herself above the lens, hooves grasping the sides in preparation to adjust the lens as needed. “Okay, then one last thing needs to be done, I need you to take the chalk out of my pocket and walk over to the mirror. When I say, draw a vertical strait line through the rune that looks like a circle with a V inside it. Stand back everypony, this might get bright.” Or, possibly explosive.

Twilight’s friends all backed into their respective end of the room, the whole scene looked quite sinister with the purple glow. All focus was now on Spike and the mirror. Twilight did a quick glance, ensuring that everyone was in their proper place before looking a back at the mirror, with the little purple and green dragon standing just in front of the rune that he was to cross out. She took one last deep breath.

It was time.

“Now Spike, cross it out!” Twilight ordered.

Spike did as he was ordered, drawing the line through the circular rune. The instant he drew the line he was thrown out of the way by what seemed like a gale force wind as a thick beam of purple-pink light shot out of the portal and across the room, into the beaker. When the beam hit the crystal, it bounced out three times its size going in. the light was surrounding Twilight and the Render, who were silhouetted in the light from the beam. Ever so slowly she adjusted the lens against the continuous blast from the portal, her limbs feeling like they weighed thousands of pounds.

“TWILIGHT!” her friends shouted, moving to assist her.

“Stay back! Back! Do not get close to the light, I am protected!” She screamed at them over the blasting wail as huge amounts of magic poured through the portal. After what seemed like an eternity, the lens began to move. Slowly it slid into place as she moved it, keeping her eyes as squinted as she could within her goggles; just enough for her to see how the light was pouring through the lens. Her world had turned into a swirling purple light while she stared through the lens, and the sound of the magic was getting louder and louder. She did not have much time.

Several eternities later, the lens slid into the ideal place, and with a sudden jerk Twilight was now bathed in a white light that was pouring through the lens. This was what she needed, the paper would burn now. “Spike! Put your claw on the triangle rune on the floor by the door! Spike!”

Twilight screamed for her assistant, but the magic flow did not stop. The sound was getting louder, the lights brighter, and her protective apron was getting warmer. “Spike! The door!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Still, the magic continued. Twilight was beginning to feel very hot now. This was very bad. Too much magic coming out meant…

This needed to end before a hole really was all that remained.

“FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA! SOMEPONY PUT THEIR HOOF ON THAT TRIANGLE BY THE DOOR!” Twilight roared with all the might, and air, that her body could manage.

Finally, somepony heard her, and with a flash the beam suddenly stopped blasting out of the portal. The nullify rune had worked! Yet, why did the sound from the energy remain?

Twilight had just enough time to say “Oh Dear” when a large explosion of energy burst through the portal with a thunderous crash, tossing her and her friends against the walls of the Anti-Chamber. Afterwards, it was quiet, until a coughing group of seven rose from their places lying on the floor of the room. Twilight rose first, and despite feeling winded, felt somewhat joyful. The chamber had successfully contained the explosion, deleting itself and removing all the rampant magic that had burst from the portal. It was a final fail-safe, and she was glad that it had protected both her friends and the portal from being destroyed.

“Is everyone okay?” Twilight looked at her friends, seeing them clearly in the daylight that shone through the window of the small room the chamber had been in. they looked bedraggled, their manes and coats looking like they had been dragged through a hurricane, which, to be fair, had kind of happened. Spike was helping Fluttershy stand, while Rainbow helped Pinkie and the others. With all assured that her friends were safe, Twilight ran to the Render, seeking to find the marks on the paper. She did not know why she did it, but something inside her simply NEEDED to know what had happened, what her answer was.

“*cough* Whooeeh! That was a doozy! So, will somepony explain what in the hay just happened!” Apple Jack asked.

“Ooh, Twilight! Did you figure out what it was you were looking for?” Pinkie said very quickly, desperately searching for the confetti that she had sworn she brought with her in case of cause for celebration. She had sworn she brought it with her!

“Yeah, I sure hope THAT was worth it.” Rainbow Dash said as she pulled off her protective goggles.

“What is it Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at her friend. The other ponies mimicked her, turning to see how the experiment had turned out. Twilight looked back at them, and her expression said it all.

***

“This isn’t possible… there was just no way that I could be wrong! My calculations were as exact as exact can be!”

“There was no way for you to know that it could turn out that way, darling.” Rarity comforted. The entire group was sitting on the floor of the throne room now. Everyone was trying to comfort Twilight, who was not only baffled, but very visible upset about the failure of her experiment.

“That’s not true! I knew that I would be right! That was what all the facts pointed to! This experiment was not even meant to be a problem. I was just clearing some things up before I moved on to the next phase! And now this!” Twilight shouted, though it actually sounded more like a whine than a wail.

“Listen here, sugar cube. You were wrong, that can’t be helped. But it was you yourself that said that failure was not the final straw. You can keep trying.” Apple Jack said

“Yeah, buck up Twilight!” Rainbow Dash added in.

Twilight paused from responding to her friends. It was over, there was no way that she could find an object that would match the same criteria or power of the mirror portal. Her experiment was done, and that made her angry. She was seething! Never in her life had she felt the anger that she did now, despite how irrational it was to feel that anger. In fact, Twilight could not actually comprehend why she was so angry, she just knew that she was. She stood up on her hooves, “I-“

Before Twilight could speak, she was interrupted by Spike, who made a loud burping noise as a little green ball of fire flew from his mouth. The fireball seemed to quiver, and then transformed into a very small scroll with a black ribbon tied around it. Twilight’s anger immediately dissipated, replaced with curiosity. She had never received a letter bound this way, certainly not from Spike.

The letter floated over to her, lifted by her magic, and she opened it. She read the contents aloud to her friends, who were just as curious to know as she.

“Twilight, there is good news, and bad news.

Signed- T.I.M.T.O.O.E”

“What could that mean?” Pinkie asked.

“I don’t know, I have never seen writing in this hoof before either. What could it mea-“

Once again, Twilight was interrupted by Spike’s delivering of another letter. When she observed the new letter, she found it was bound in the same way as Celestia usually bound her letters. Twilight read aloud.

“My dearest Twilight

There is little time to explain in this letter. I require you and your friend’s immediate presence in Canterlot to assist with an issue of possible vital importance. I need your assistance with this one.

From,

Princess Celestia of Equestria”

“What could possibly have happened that needs your personal help Twilight?” Rarity asked, just a little bit spooked by the sinister feeling she got from hearing the letter read aloud.

“I don’t know, but we are going to find out.”