Persona: Reflection

Wednesday, September 6th
Morning

After getting cleaned up and dressed, Sunset Shimmer walked into the living room to see Luna sitting on the couch talking on the phone. It looked like the conversation was serious.

“Yes, I understand,” Luna said with a sigh. She hung up and turned to Sunset Shimmer, “Oh, Sunset. I didn't see you there?”

“Did something happen?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“Did you hear about the girl that vanished?” Luna asked, continuing when Sunset Shimmer nodded, “Well, that was the police saying they're putting a search warrant on her now. I guess since Celestia is the principal of her school it's to be expected we'd get a call.”

It sounded like this was getting serious. For some reason, Sunset Shimmer felt a little sick thinking about it. Luna must have sensed it because she walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You're not worried, are you?” Luna asked, “I'm sure everything will be fine. She was a bit spoiled from what I heard, so she might have just run away. Watch, she'll turn up within the next day or so, and be fine.”

Sunset hoped Luna was right, but for some reason, she wasn't so sure. She didn't want to be late for school, so she started making her way out, feeling a bit heavy.

Sunset Shimmer found the walk to be really quiet this time around. The sky was overcast, which seemed to match her mood right now. Not only was she worried about the girl that disappeared, but she couldn't stop thinking about the incident with the mirror. What was that mansion she saw? Who was that girl tied to the bed? And who was that woman that literally mirrored all of Sunset Shimmer's moves?

It was almost like they were the same person.

Sunset looked ahead and saw Trixie standing against a wall looking down. It looked like she was waiting for someone. She looked up and smiled when she saw Sunset Shimmer, and walked over to her.

“Heya,” Trixie said distantly, “Um, you tried it last night... right? The whole mirror thing?”

“What did you see?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“Well, I can definitely tell you it worked,” Trixie said looking away, “But what I saw was just...”

“Howdy y'all,” Applejack said suddenly, shocking both girls. They turned to the side and saw Applejack walking up to them, “Ah didn't think Ah'd run inta anyone. Why the serious looks on yer faces?”

“We, uh... tried the thing...” Trixie said, “You know... that thing?”

Applejack nodded in understanding, “Yeah... that thing... Yeah, Ah um...” Sunset and Trixie both looked at Applejack confused. It was like she was trying to tell them something, “Well, truth is... last night Ah stayed up later than Ah wanted to, an' ended up sittin in front of mah mirror, an' well...”

“You saw a gothic mansion, didn't you?” Sunset Shimmer asked, shocking both Applejack and Trixie.

“H-how did ya know?!” Applejack asked.

“Wait, you guys saw that too?!” Trixie asked looking at both of them. Sunset Shimmer explained to Trixie and Applejack exactly what happened to her, starting with the mansion, going into the girl tied to the bed, how her hand fell into the mirror when she touched it, and how the mysterious woman appeared in place of her own reflection and mirrored her movements perfectly.

When she was done, Trixie looked at Sunset Shimmer in confusion while Applejack closed her eyes and folded her arms thinking.

“None of that other stuff happened ta me...” Applejack said, “Ah jus' saw the mansion. As fer who was in it though...”

“What about that part with your hand going into the mirror?” Trixie asked, “Are you sure you didn't just dream that part?” Sunset Shimmer nodded, telling her that she was sure it was real.

“Ah've seen some crazy stuff, but this...” Applejack said looking down, “Look, school's about ta start. Pinkie Pie said she was doin it too, right?” Sunset Shimmer nodded, “Then Ah'll talk ta her 'bout what she saw. We have the same homeroom.”

“Alright, we'll see you at lunch,” Trixie said. She turned to Sunset Shimmer and looked down, “I get a bad feeling from all of this. By the way, who do you think that girl was?”

Before Sunset Shimmer could answer, she looked on a nearby street light and saw a missing person's form. When she got a closer look, she almost had a heart attack. Her hair was tied in a braid in the picture, and she was wearing pink glasses, but the color of her hair gave her away.

The girl in the mansion was the girl who went missing... Silver Spoon.

Trixie took a look at the picture, and apparently understood when she saw the look of horror on Sunset's face, “Oh no... Sunset. You don't think...”

“Let's show this to everyone at lunch,” Sunset said to Trixie, who nodded.

“R-right!” Trixie said with a nod. Sunset tore the picture down giving it to Trixie, who put it in her bag, and the two of them ran off to school.

Wednesday, September 6th
Lunch Time

As Sunset Shimmer left her math class to go to lunch, she saw Adagio leaning against a locker with her arms folded. Sunset stopped as Adagio walked over to her, same alluring eyes she had when they met before, but without the seductive smile.

“You saw, right?” Adagio asked, confusing Sunset Shimmer, “Don't play dumb. We both know you saw the mansion in the mirror.”

Wait, she saw it too?! What did she know about it?

“That place is an abomination,” Adagio said looking to the side, “Don't believe anything it tells you, and don't get involved with it,” Adagio turned to look at Sunset, “It's for your own good.”

Adagio walked past Sunset Shimmer, “Tonight that girl will have been in there a full week. She's as good as dead now.”

What the hell did she mean by that? Did she have something to do with that world? She wasn't the one who...

“Sunset,” someone called out. She turned back to the direction of the lunch room and saw Pinkie Pie, Trixie, and Applejack all walking over to her, “Was that Adagio?” Trixie continued.

“What did she want?” Applejack asked. Sunset said it was nothing major and instead put attention to Pinkie Pie, who looked oddly concerned.

“Yeah, I showed them the picture,” Trixie said.

“I have this feeling, like she's trapped in there,” Pinkie Pie said softly.

“How do ya figure that?” Applejack asked.

“I just... know... something isn't right about what we saw...”

Boy, you knew it was bad when Pinkie Pie was actually worried. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked up to them from their classroom as well.

“What? Are we eating out here today?” Rainbow Dash joked, “Or is the lunch lady experimenting in the kitchen again?”

Sunset Shimmer told them about the mirror, and what they all saw.

“Ugh... so much for a regular year at school huh?” Rainbow Dash asked rubbing the back of her head frowning.

“What should we do? Should we call Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“We can't keep turnin ta her whenever somethin bad happens over here,” Applejack said, “Sides, Ah ain't too sure there's much she could do this time around.”

“Well, what can we do?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Not like we have super powers or anything.”

Sunset Shimmer told Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy about how she put her hand through the mirror. Poor Fluttershy covered her ears shaking her head.

“Nope! I can't hear this!” she said.

“Fluttershy,” Applejack started, “Even if we wanted to, we can't ignore-”

“It's like Dash said, we're not super heroes!” Fluttershy said adamantly, “We're just a group of regular high school girls who keep getting involved with the supernatural! I'm sorry, but if we're not calling Twilight about this then I'm bailing out now!”

Fluttershy then ran off in full panic mode.

“Fluttershy, wait!” Rainbow Dash called out, “I'll stay with her. Don't do anything crazy, alright?”

As Rainbow Dash ran off to check on Fluttershy, Applejack, Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, and Trixie all turned to each other.

“So what about us?” Trixie asked, “Fluttershy raises a point about us just being regular humans.”

“I have to go there,” Pinkie Pie said, shocking everyone.

“Wait, what?!” Applejack exclaimed, “Pinkie Pie, what 're ya-”

“I have to try and do something! Applejack, we were the only ones who saw it. If what Sunset Shimmer and Trixie said is true, then someone is trapped in there, and we have to try and rescue her.”

Sunset Shimmer thought about that. True, if they just ignored it that would be messed up, assuming what they saw was real in the first place. But to go in there all gung-ho like heroes?

“I'll go,” Sunset Shimmer said seriously. Trixie shook her head seriously.

“Oh no you don't! Not without me!” Trixie said, surprising everyone with how serious she was, “Last year I treated you guys horribly. I want to make it up to you, so I'm not letting you go in there by yourself. Say what you want, but I'm going with you.”

That was nice of her, and Sunset did appreciate it, but she didn't want to put anyone in danger. If she got hurt along the way...

“Well, Ah'm sure Pinkie Pie is still goin,” Applejack said, “An' Ah don't feel right lettin y'all go in there without supervision, so as the oldest here, Ah'm goin in too,” Sunset tried to protest, but Applejack held her hand up, “Nope. Ain't budgin. If we go in there, we go in tagether, as a team, got it?”

It looked like she wasn't getting out of this, so she sighed and nodded. She had to admit, if something bad did happen, the more there the better in terms of getting out of it.

“Now that that's settled,” Trixie asked, “How are we going to actually get there? We don't even know where there is, and we're already talking about storming the freaking castle.”

“I have an idea,” Pinkie Pie said, now sounding more like her usual cheerful self, “All we need is a big enough mirror.”

Everyone was confused by what she meant by that. Pinkie Pie giggled.

“Let's meet by the statue after school,” Pinkie Pie continued, “I have a full proof plan to get us into that world.”

Pinkie Pie skipped off, leaving Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, and Applejack very confused, “Um, should we be scared?” Trixie asked.

“Probably,” Applejack said, Sunset Shimmer nodding in agreement.

Wednesday, September 6th
After School

Pinkie Pie lead them to an Antique shop in the new shopping district. It was sort of sad how abandoned it was. They didn't even see a store clerk. Still, it was nice and humble, and not too cramped, even with the four of them inside.

“No one ever comes to this place,” Pinkie Pie said, “There's a nice old lady that takes care of the place, but she isn't always around. Still, she keeps her door open.”

“Are you sure she'd be okay with all four of us here?” Trixie asked.

“Oh don't worry about that,” Pinkie Pie explained, “I'm good friends with her, and she said I could bring as many friends here as I want as long as we're careful.”

Pinkie Pie lead them deeper into the shop, where they saw a set of old mirrors. It was so deep into the shop it was almost forgotten it seemed.

“God, this place is old,” Applejack said.

“Hope no one here is allergic to mold,” Trixie said jokingly, though Sunset was still thankful she wasn't.

“Pinkie Pie, what are we lookin for?” Applejack asked, getting somewhat impatient apparently.

“I'm looking for... this!” Pinkie Pie said before motioning everyone to come to her. Standing in front of them was a large mirror that was as big as a door. It was old, yet was still perfectly clear.

“Huh,” Trixie said looking at herself closely, “This is a nice mirror. I might buy one like this myself one day.”

Applejack looked at the price and did a double take, “Good luck affordin it, unless yer rich.”

When Trixie saw the price herself, she gasped, “What the?! That's way too many zeros for my account!”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Pinkie Pie said turning to Sunset, “Try putting your hand through this mirror.”

“Would that work?” Applejack asked as she and Trixie gathered next to them, “Ah mean, assumin what she said happened wasn't a dream, what if it only works at night?”

“Well, we're about to find out, I guess,” Trixie said, “Go for it.”

Sunset Shimmer nodded and slowly placed her hand right on the mirror. Sure enough, her hand instantly fell through, the glass rippling like water.

“The hell...?” Applejack asked slowly.

“Shut... up...” Trixie said, actually backing away a bit. Sunset Shimmer took her hand out, and Trixie tried placing her hand through the mirror. To her it was normal glass, “What, does it only work for Sunset Shimmer or something?”

“Well, she is from Equestria,” Applejack said with a shrug, “Maybe her magic is the only way to get through.”

Sunset wasn't so sure that was it though. She didn't feel like she was using any magic at all. It just felt like something she could... do. As if it were just a normal door.

“Well, either way, I'm sure we can all get through,” Pinkie Pie reasoned.

“And how is that?” Trixie asked.

“Didn't you see how the glass rippled when she put her hand through?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Sunset, put your hand in again. I want to try something.”

Sunset nodded, and placed her hand in a second time. This time, Pinkie Pie placed her hand on the mirror as well, actually going in.

“See?” Pinkie Pie said, “If she goes in first, we can follow her and all get inside.”

“Huh...” Applejack said placing her hand in as well, “Ah gotta hand it to ya, that's actually pretty genius.”

“So, this is it, right? We're doing this?” Trixie asked.

“Oh, one more thing,” Pinkie Pie said, running off for a second. When she came back she had an antique broad sword, “Here, this is for you, Sunset.”

“A sword?” Applejack asked, “Ain't that a little cliché?”

“Besides, that swords really old,” Trixie said, “It might not be sturdy enough.”

“Are you kidding me? This sword is top quality, or at least it was. The insignia on the handle means it was made by the master Japanese blacksmith Daidara,” everyone was surprised by that information, “Or at least, I think it was. It might just be an old decoration blade,” Pinkie Pie said with a smile. Everyone groaned.

Typical Pinkie Pie...

“Besides, this is the best I could do,” Pinkie Pie said, “We don't know what's on the other side of this mirror, so we need to protect ourselves.”

Pinkie Pie, as usual raised a good point. Most people thought she was a space cadet, and sometimes she really was. But Sunset Shimmer always thought that Pinkie Pie was smarter than most people gave her credit for.

“Thanks, Pinkie Pie,” Sunset Shimmer said smiling, immediately feeling like she was more understanding. Pinkie Pie smiled and hugged Sunset Shimmer tightly.

“You're my best friend, Sunset. I'm always going to look out for you,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Well, if we're gonna do this, let's do it,” Applejack said.

“Yeah, I'm pumped,” Trixie said, “We've got a little girl to save.”

“Don't worry, Silver Spoon. We're coming,” Pinkie Pie said, Sunset Shimmer nodding in agreement.

Sunset Shimmer placed her hand in first, and then walked into the mirror. Trixie, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie following closely after her before the mirror solidified. Unknown to them, someone walked into the shop after them, and saw them enter the mirror.

“Damn it,” Adagio swore, “I was too late.”