Under the Eye of Darkness

MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!

Chapter 3:

~A Normal Day? I Think Not!~

At the town of Ponyville, Celestia's ever-faithful student Twilight Sparkle slept alongside her number one assistant Spike the baby dragon.

Twilight Sparkle was a lavender colored pony of the unicorn species with a dark violet mane that had a magenta tint on part of it. Her Cutie Mark was a magical star that signified her talent in magic.

As for Spike, he was a baby dragon with purple scales and green spikes. Even though he's still a baby, young Spike has a knack for knowledge and has the mindset of a teenage pony.

The sunlight poked slowly through Ponyville Library's windows, Twilight resisted the urge to groan in frustration. She was not a morning pony! She yawned and slowly got off her rump and headed downstairs while Spike was still sleeping like a baby (A.N. pun intended). Since she usually counted on Spike to make breakfast, she settled simply for a cup of water and a nice warm bath to help wake her up.

She headed upstairs where she turned on the water to warm and slowly let the tub fill. After about two minutes, she got inside the tub and moaned in pleasure of the nice warmth the bath provided. She then brushed her mane, brushed her teeth, made sure her horn was in tip-top shape, and dried herself off. She then headed downstairs smelling the lovely scent of maple pancakes being made by none other than Spike!

Spike looked up with a somewhat tired expression, but lightened up when he saw Twilight. "Good morning Twi. Have a good night's sleep?" He asked kindly with a grin on his face.

Twilight yawned again and replied back, "It was ok I guess. I really wished I could sleep some more. But I have an appointment at the spa later today with Rarity and Fluttershy. I can't afford to miss it. What kind of friend would I be if I left them hanging?" She said the last part as a little joke since Rainbow Dash loved to say that particular phrase.

"Aw! I wish I could come. You always get to do all the fun things Twi." Spike complained in his usual demeanor.

Twilight giggled at this and said slyly, "Are you only wanting to come so you can see Rarity?"

Spike started to stutter and blush madly that his scales almost turned pink. "N-no! O-of course n-not!"

"So you're saying you don't like her?" Twilight was enjoying this. At times like this, it reminded her of the deep bond she and Spike shared.

"Wha-wh-ugh. You know what? Forget it Twi! I know you're teasing me by that grin of yours." He finally conceded with a sigh while noticing her grin that nearly covered her entire face.

Twilight and Spike both laughed together and continued to eat their respective breakfast. Twilight had a dandelion sandwich while Spike was eating some Gems with his cereal. The clock in the library then made a ding sound and Twilight gasped at this.

"Oh no! I'm late! I gotta go Spike! Take good care of the library while I'm gone!" She said while hurriedly rushing out the door before coming back and quickly brushing her mane and teeth (again) before leaving once more.

Spike gave out a little sigh. "Hggh. Sometimes it's tough being Twilight's Number One Assistant. Well, better get this place spruced up!" He proclaimed with a puffed up chest and proud smile.

MLP

~Intro Theme Plays~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7FLpTAt5c4

My Little Pony, My Little Pony

Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh...

[Twilight Sparkle]

(My Little Pony)

I used to wonder what friendship could be

(My Little Pony)

Until you all shared its magic with me

[Rainbow Dash]

Big adventure

[Pinkie Pie]

Tons of fun

[Rarity]

A beautiful heart

[Applejack]

Faithful and strong

[Fluttershy]

Sharing kindness!

[Twilight Sparkle]

It's an easy feat

And magic makes it all complete

You have my little ponies

Do you know you're all my very best friends?

As Twilight headed over to Fluttershy's cottage to get her for the appointment at the spa with Rarity, she tripped and stumbled before almost crashing to the ground in her rush!

Luckily, a telekinesis spell stopped her impact courtesy of a white-grey female pony with a purple styled mane and 3 gems as her Cutie Mark. This was none other than Rarity. She was part of the Unicorn species just like Twilight.

"Whoa! Phew! Thanks a bunch Rarity. I didn't pay attention that well and almost slipped! Hee hee." Twilight giggled in embarrassment.

"Oh Twilight darling. There's no need for thanks! It's what any kindhearted pony would do really!" Rarity said in a pish posh accent.

"Well thanks just the same Rarity." Twilight thanked again.

"Oh. In that case, you're quite welcome Twilight." Rarity said accepting the thanks this time.

Both ponies then began to walk together to Fluttershy's cottage from that point on. After a few minutes later, they had finally arrived.

Fluttershy's cottage was simple, yet unique. It was inside a hollowed out tree with windows and a wooden door. It also contained many types of animals like ducks, turtles, rabbits, etc. There were even pens and food for then too. You see, Fluttershy was an animal caretaker.

After Rarity knocked on the door gently and politely, a female pony timidly stepped out. She was vanilla covered with a flowing pink mane that was curled at the front. Her Cutie Mark was three butterflies. She also had soft blue eyes and wings. This was the pony known as Fluttershy. She was part of the Pegasus species.

"Oh. Hi Twilight and Rarity. Does this mean you're ready for the spa?" Fluttershy kindly, yet softly asked.

"Indeed darling. Let us be on our way shall we?" Rarity replied.

MLP

After finally arriving at the spa, Twilight and co. began to relax and converse while the spa ponies did their thing. Later, they were finished with their treatment and have never felt better!

"Ahh...that was relaxing don't you think girls?" Twilight said.

"Oh yes Twilight. It was very comfortable." Fluttershy said.

"I concur dear Fluttershy. I simply adored that massage! It was simply elegant in my opinion." Rarity said dreamily.

As the girls conversed some more, they then spotted something going on near the town square.

"I wonder what's going on?" Twilight wondered.

The three ponies all began walking to the center of the town where a lone unicorn was setting up what seemed to he an attraction of sorts. Getting a closer look, it seemed to be similar to a fortune teller's tent with many extravagant designs etched into a pattern.

The unicorn stopped working and slowly turned around. This caused the thre to get a good look at him. He was a dark lavender colored unicorn with kind brown eyes and a slimmed steel-blue mane. He wore grey colored glasses and a white vest/jacket. Finally, his Cutie Mark was a mirror with a masked face inside covered in smoke (A.N. Care to guess his Cutie Mark design?).

http://xemnasthedarklord.deviantart.com/art/Mirror-Image-433054245

He then kindly smiled and bowed in a gentlecoltly way. Rarity immediately blushed at his kind mannerisms.

"Why hello! It's not often I get visitors. After all, this IS my first attraction in Ponyville! I introduce to you, the Tent of Legends! In here, you'll find many interesting things tied into legendary events. Please, take a look around and tell me what strikes your fancy." The pony kindly greeted. "I also sell some of my wares too. The admission fee is 5 Bits per pony. Would you like to enter?" The pony asked.

Twilight, eager to learn new knowledge about practically anything, immediately jumped at this chance and paid 5 Bits to the pony. Rarity and Fluttershy followed her lead albeit with less enthusiasm compared to Twilight.

"Why thank you kindly everypony! You're patronage is greatly accepted." He thanked. "Oh! One other thing, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Mirror Image. I specialize in many different magics. Especially mirror-based ones." He introduced and explained with passion.

"REALLY?! You specialize in mirror magic?!" Twilight exclaimed in an excited tone. "Mirror magic is one of the hardest spells to ever produce! Even with a highly skilled unicorn!"

"Oh ho ho!" Mirror Image laughed in amusement. "You're quite informed aren't you? Well yes, you are right. I guess no one expected it at first that it was to be my special talent until my Cutie Mark appeared." He explained with a smile. "Would you care for a demonstration?" He asked.

Twilight immediately grabbed a quill and parchment with her telekinesis and said, "Yes, yes, yes! Please show me! I'd love to gain some more insight on this kind of magic!"

Mirror Image laughed kindly again and his horn began to glow with a white glow. Immediately, the air seemed to shift and the atmosphere seemed...different somehow.

Twilight looked around and saw that she was all alone in a vas space except for three doppelgängers that surrounded her. They then cracked and shattered into many rainbow colored pieces. A mirror then appeared and out of it, stepped Mirror Image himself. For his final trick, he stomped his hooves and two more mirrors appeared dumping out Rarity and Fluttershy! The atmosphere then changed again and Twilight found herself in Ponyville once more with a dazed Fluttershy and Rarity.

"Ooh...that was...different." Fluttershy said while somewhat dazed.

"Indeed dear. I feel as if my hooves are about to turn into sludge!" Rarity dramatically said while her hooves were wobbling uncontrollably.

"Oh my. I'm terribly sorry about that everypony! It seems I forgot to explain the...erm...side effects. No worries though! It'll go away soon enough." Mirror Image explained. "Anyway, what did you think Miss?" He asked the stunned Twilight.

"That. Was. AMAZING!! Incredible! I never thought you had such a talent for this kind of thing! You're most definitely unique Mirror! Ooh I've gotta add this to my studies right away!" Twilight rambled on while Rarity sighed in exasperation.

"Twilight dear, I know you were amazed and all, but did you forget why we're currently here?" Rarity asked.

Twilight regained her bearings and laughed in embarrassment. "Ha ha! Oops. I kinda forgot Rarity. Thanks for reminding me! Let's go in shall we?"

MLP

All four ponies entered the tent and split up to look at the fine exhibits it had to offer. It was a lot bigger on the inside due to an enlargement spell. Rarity looked at the fine jewelry while Fluttershy looked at books of ancient animals thought to have been long forgotten. Twilight meanwhile, looked at a book called Equestrian Legends.

As soon as she touched the book, she thought she heard a voice of sorts. It was a kind and gentle voice, but filled with an unknown power. "Please...stop...chaos...doomed...name...Xer..."

"Are you alright?" A voice asked snapping Twilight out of her stupor. She turned around and saw a concerned Mirror Image looking at her with worry.

"Oh. I'm fine. Thank you for asking!" Twilight responded. "I just...uh...took an interest in this book is all." She said half-lying.

Mirror Image's concern grew to back to his kind smile and said, "Well that's very good to hear. If I can recall, if you're interested in this book, I do have copies for sale. Would you like to buy one?" He asked.

"Sure! I'd love to." Twilight said happily thanking Celestia that he bought her half-lie.

Mirror Image summoned a copy of Equestrian Legends and gave it to Twilight.

"That miss, will be seven Bits please." Mirror said.

Twilight paid Mirror who graciously accepted. Rarity then bought a necklace for fifteen Bits, while Fluttershy bought a book on ancient animals for ten Bits. They then politely excused themselves and left to their respective homes while a smiling Mirror happily waved his hoof in farewell. As for Twilight, she kept thinking the same thing over and over.

'Just what WAS that voice? And who's Xerneas?'

TO BE CONTINUED!