An Ordinary Mirror

-The Mirror Room, Canterlot-

Fossil Flurry and Wolf Heart stared into their reflection, both mares wearing slightly nervous expressions upon their faces. Whilst Flurry was concerned about having to face her bad side, Wolf was worried that the Mirror Dapper Jolt wouldn't be the same charming stallion that she'd grown to like.

Regardless, as Twilight Sparkle stood by, waiting for them to go through, like Princess Celestia had suggested, she was beginning to get impatient. The violet alicorn was excited at seeing what would happen when a pony met themselves, but her subconscious yanked her away from going to the portal with the duo. "Well?" she questioned. "What're you guys waiting for? Go on!" she beckoned.

Flurry lifted a hoof to the mirror before pausing in her actions. "Wait a minute! You never told us how I was going to get the bad side out of my mirror self!" she exclaimed.

Wolf Heart furrowed a brow at the realization and turned to face Twilight. "She's right... How is a magicless pony going to suck the darkness from their mirror self?" she queried.

"I guess you'll have to figure it out," the teenager snickered before pushing the duo through the surface of the glass.

In gut instinct, Flurry and Wolf lifted their hooves and braced themselves to be shoved into a solid mirror. They were shocked to find that they tumbled into the surface before collapsing against the marble floor in a heap. Untangling their limbs, the two shared a grimace and looked up to see a trio of all too familiar ponies wearing wide eyed stares upon their faces.

It was like looking into a slightly warped mirror.

Fossil Flurry's mirror self was more or less the same stallion that he'd been once. Aside from the fact that his eyes were slightly bloodshot and his mane and tail were more of an indigo in color rather than the striking blue that he was known for. He was slightly scarred, with copper plating both wings. The pegasus also wore stained leather greaves upon his shins and he possessed a bit more stubble than Fossil Flurry ever had.

Wolf Heart stared at her own mirror self with a slightly lowered jaw, given the fact that this rendition of Wolf Heart was a stallion whose mane and tail were also fringed with indigo hues. His fur was substantially darker than her own however, being a deep ocean blue rather than sky. His eyes were striking, being an almost glowing green, like there was an aura behind those eyes.

The mare shuddered before turning to look at the stallion that was one of her best friends with a slightly confused expression. "Dapper?" she queried.

On cue, both the stallion across from her and the mare beside her answered in an eerie unison, turning to face the speaking mare. "Yeah?"

"But you. She... What?!" Wolf Heart spluttered, pointing both to her stallion counterpart and the stallion that was her friend.

The Mirror Realm's Twilight Sparkle merely chuckled at the sight.

"Flurry?" the dark blue winged unicorn smiled, approaching the pegasus mare with an almost joyful expression. "You're back!" he finally laughed, wrapping her in his arms and giving the complete stranger a tight hug. He was interrupted by Wolf Heart shoving him away, causing the stallion to drop the pony that he thought he knew.

"Bruh!" Wolf barked, standing between the duo.

Beta Fang was unable to answer before the pegasus stallion beside him slugged his shoulder with a hoof and a glare.

"OW!" he snapped, whipping to face the stallion. "What was that for?!"

"That is clearly not me," 'Dapper Jolt' growled, crossing his forehooves and gesturing towards the heavily blushing mare. "Let's be real... I was a feminine badass! This pony, whoever she is, looks like that stereotypical cheerleader," he exclaimed, eliciting a frown to form upon Wolf and Flurry's faces.

Beta Fang nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she does look kinda wimpy," he snickered.

"Hey, I'm tougher than I look!" the pegasus mare in question snapped.

Wolf Heart's expression had long since transitioned from anger to disgust, her arms folded as she glared at the mirror Dapper Jolt. This was certainly not the same stallion that she'd been conversing with for nearly three years now... This was a stuck up prick who stole his body. With a snort, Wolf Heart promptly stood up, stomped towards the pegasus, and acquainted the back of her hoof with his face.

'Dapper Jolt' reeled back in shock, lifting a hoof to his face with a painful grimace. "What the FUCK?!" he roared, pulling his arm away to reveal a red hoof imprinted against his cheek.

Nooow I know what she meant when she said if she needed to slapabitch she would! Fossil Flurry thought with an impressed smile whilst Wolf's mirror self gently pushed his friend away from 'her' adversary, a glare upon his face that was directed towards the sky blue winged unicorn.

"What in the name of Tartarus is your problem?!" Beta Fang sneered at Wolf Heart before looking up at Dapper Jolt with a sympathetic expression. "Are you alright?" he queried, lifting a hoof to his cheek to comfort the pegasus.

"Gaaay!" Fossil Flurry hooted whilst ushering a giggle.

Wolf Heart joined her laughter while their two mirror counterparts flushed bright red in the face.

"Alright, I've seen enough," Twilight Sparkle finally interjected, standing between the four and holding out her hooves like she was trying to hold back a wild animal. With that, she turned to the new arrivals to the Mirror Realm. "I take it that you two are the Fossil Flurry and Beta Fang of your world?"

"Actually, my name is Wolf Heart and this is Dapper Jolt," the mare in question retorted with a roll of the eyes. "And-wait, Beta Fang?"

"That would be me," the indigo-maned alicorn grumbled, lifting a hoof.

'Dapper Jolt' cocked a brow. "Fossil Flurry would be me," he explained whilst looking down slightly at his doppelgänger. "So, you're the little shit that stole my body?" he snickered, stabbing a hoof at her chest to annunciate the fact.

"Don't make me hurt you again," Wolf Heart grumbled whilst leering up at the pegasus. "I don't care if you're the ruler of Equestria. If you hurt my friends, I will slap you so hard that the impact will completely unscrew your head from your body."

The former mare snorted in an unimpressed amusement. "I'd like to see you try," he smirked tauntingly at her, making a 'come at me' motion with his hoof.

"Please don't kill myself, Wolfie," Fossil Flurry grimaced, noticing her friend's muzzle growing bright red with a building anger that Flurry never dreamed of seeing, not in a million years. "If you do, how am I going to change back into a stallion?"

Realizing the fact that she was actually starting to scare her friend, Wolf Heart inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled even more so through her mouth, closing her eyes and allowing the blue to return to her face. "Sorry, Flurry... I'll remove myself from the room before the rising idiocy gets to me any further," Wolf sighed, playfully punching the mare's shoulder before doing as she stated she would do.

Fossil Flurry sighed and trotted after her whilst Beta Fang and Dapper Jolt exchanged wide eyed glances.

-Minutes Later-

"Wolfie?" the pegasus mare called after her friend, moving at a brisk speed to catch up with the winged unicorn. Wolf Heart stopped and turned to face the former stallion with a sullen expression, one that brought Fossil Flurry to a momentary pause. "Are you alright?" she asked her friend, furrowing a concerned brow.

"I'm fine. I'm just... thinking," she clarified, though doing little to aid in curing Flurry's confusion.

The pegasus frowned. "What's wrong?

Wolf Heart sighed. "Them... That wasn't you. I could never picture you like that. I don't want to feel like my perspective of you changed because I witnessed how severe your bad side can be," she muttered somberly, dipping her head slightly. The pegasus mare could almost swear that he saw a tear appear at the corner of her eye while she spoke, as though just the thought was painful to bear.

"Hey... I would never do anything to intentionally harm you," Fossil Flurry whispered, placing a reassuring hoof to her shoulder. "That's just not the kind of pony that I am. My bad side only comes out around those that I don't like or those who have harmed my friends... I want you to know that if anypony ever wrongs you, I will sell their skin to be used as a coat after feeding their eyes to crows."

Wolf Heart couldn't help but smile at his words. "Aww," she cooed. "I'd hug you right now, but that would be a liiittle weird," she giggled slightly.

Fossil Flurry could only nod in agreement. "I was never one to argue with you, Wolfie," the pegasus mare grinned.

The winged unicorn would've smiled, but a more pressing issue plagued her mind. "Twilight told us that to turn back into a stallion, you had to take the negative energy that was in your mirror self... Does that mean that you'll go dark?" the teenager queried, her frown returning as she looked into her friend's blue eyes.

"I... don't know. That's what I was told happened with this world's Sombra... But I hope not," she murmured through a small shrug. Flurry fidgeted uncomfortably, not liking the direction that this conversation was taking. "If that does happen, though... and-and I lose control-" She paused and looked at her friend. "I don't want you to get hurt. Promise me... please. If I lose it, promise me that you'll leave as quick as you can."

Wolf Heart demeanor saddened considerably. "What? I can't do that... You stayed by my side, you cared about me, even when I wasn't paying you any attention. You knew that I was seeing somepony, and it didn't stop you from caring, didn't stop you from hoping... I'm not just going to ditch you if you go a little nuts. Do you hear me?" she chided. "Please never ask me to just abandon you again," Wolf asked her friend, placing both hooves on her shoulders with a firm expression.

Fossil Flurry sighed and dipped her head. "Okay," she muttered with a hesitant nod.

"Alright then... Let's go talk to Twilight and see how you can genderbend back to your old self, eh?"

-Moments Later (I Know, Lots of Time Skips)-

Fossil Flurry and Wolf Heart stood before the Mirror Realm's Twilight Sparkle as she explained how a pegasus might absorb the dark magic that one possesses. The process was certainly not an easy one, as the duo had been informed. As pegasi didn't wield magic, one magically adept pony would have to pull the dark energy from the target and transition it to whoever was attempting to do so. The only magically adept pony Fossil Flurry trusted was Wolf Heart, though.

True, the winged pegasus didn't practice magic on a regular basis, but she was able to perform the basic levitation and more simple spells, as rare as it was for her to use them. But when her friend asked that she pull the energy from the real Fossil Flurry so that she could return to a masculine form, the mare refused. She wasn't going to be the cause of Dapper Jolt's loss of sanity.

"I... No, I can't. What if you do lose it?" she stuttered.

"I lost it the moment I met you," the pony that was once Dapper Jolt smiled softly, a hoof to her chin.

"Weird," Twilight interjected with an eye roll.

Before Wolf Heart was able to respond, Beta Fang approached the former mare that was currently Dapper Jolt, a crackling teal and stormy blue encompassing his horn as a dark violet smog began to leak from the real Fossil Flurry's body.

"What?! NO, STOP!" Wolf Heart hollered to him. He didn't seem to hear as the amount of dark magic flowing from 'her' body began to increase and enter into Beta's horn. Wolf Heart, in a state of visible panic, lunged forward to pull the stallion away, shocked to see that an almost white glow had taken up the stallion's eyes as more feminine features began to come across the mirror Dapper Jolt's body.

When all that remained was the long maned mare with copper plated wings that Beta Fang knew, he turned to face the feminine equine that was the true Dapper Jolt. The stallion was unable to hear his feminine counterpart's pleas as the dark energy erupted from his horn and entered into the pegasus mare's body.

With a bright flash of blue that erupted from 'her' body and blinded half of the ponies around, a fully formed Dapper Jolt collapsed against the floor.

After recovering from the flash of light, Wolf Heart skidded to her friend's side, noticing the last tendrils of deep violet slithering into his open mouth. The winged unicorn began to quake with a building anger before turning to face an overjoyed Beta Fang and the true form of Fossil Flurry with a wrathful glare. Turning at hearing a heaving breath, both noticed that the sky blue in Wolf's face was replaced with a bright red, her pupils pinpricks. Before either were able to react to her, a low groan echoed out from behind her.

Whipping around, Wolf Heart almost collapsed in joy at seeing the same, goofball stallion that was Dapper Alan Jolt. Weirdo extraordinaire and beautiful, caring wolf enthusiast locked eyes for a moment before he staggered to his hooves, ignoring the wave of dizziness that washed over him. The winged unicorn looked up with a joyful smile as a tear slithered down her cheek. Wolf Heart giggled and wiped her cheek off with the back of a hoof whilst Dapper Jolt held out his own. Taking his hoof, the mare was pulled to her hooves and wrapped into both a strong, and yet delicate hug... holding her like he didn't want to let go.

"Did you mean what you said about losing it when you met me?" Wolf Heart asked her friend, gingerly breaking off of the hug slightly to look him in the eye.

Dapper Jolt shrugged, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Welll, yeah..? I dunno, that was probably awkward, wasn't it?" he grimaced in his classic, bashful tone, eliciting a giggle from the mare.

"No... That's really sweet of you," she sighed contentedly.

The pegasus stallion grinned in a way that drew out a slight eye roll from Wolf Heart.

"Ahm, you two should kiss," they heard Twilight's voice cough, causing the two to jump apart more quickly than they'd rushed together to share a hug after Dapper Jolt's miraculous recovery from the waves of dark magic that had passed over him. At the words, mutual growing blushes formed upon their cheeks as the duo casted each other a cursory smile.

Dapper Jolt ushered a relieved sigh and dipped his snout, a smile coming across his face before looking to the pony he'd received the dark energy from. Looking up, he saw, more or less, the same mare that he'd been mere moments ago. The differences were all too noticeable, though. She was slightly scarred, with copper metal plating her claw tipped wings. The difference between now and earlier was the fact that she wore a genuinely happy smile upon her face as her arms were wrapped around Beta Wolf's neck.

"Alright... Now that you're back to normal, I take it that you're going home?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"I guess so," Wolf Heart shrugged before noticing that Dapper Jolt held a hoof to his forehead, a grimace forming upon his face and eyes squeezed shut as a dark violet aura snaked its way from the creases of his eyelids. "Dapper?" she queried hesitantly, slowly lifting a hoof up to his shoulder.

In the split second after the words came out, the pegasus stallion's eyes snapped open, where the sclera was green and irises blood red before swiftly morphing back into the vivid blue that Wolf Heart was accustomed to. Shaking his head, Dapper blinked a few times before looking to his friend. "What happened?" he stammered slightly, seeing her fearful expression. "Wolfie... What did you see?"

The mare shook off her shock and grinned nonchalantly. "Pfft. Nothing, I must just be... hallucinating," she giggled whilst waving dismissively at her friend.

"No, I'm pretty sure that I saw it too," Twilight remarked, approaching Dapper and forcing his head back with a hoof.

"Oy!! What are you doing?!" the pegasus stallion barked, instinctively throwing up his wings to appear larger as she pulled back one of his eyelids and peered at the eye that it protected with a thoughtful expression materializing across her muzzle. Jerking away, Dapper rubbed his eye with a slight wince. "Why did you do that?" he asked crossly.

The mirror Twilight didn't seem to notice, as she was busy scrawling down her findings in a notebook. "Wolf Heart, I want you to let the other Twilight Sparkle know if he becomes aggressive or violet smoke starts to leak from his eyes," the alicorn commanded. "No need to explain, she'll know what to do, alright?"

"Okay, I guess? Why? Do you know what that means?" Wolf questioned, a concerned expression creeping across her muzzle.

Twilight glanced from a still irritated, arms crossed Dapper Jolt to Wolf. "That dark energy he took in didn't just become ambient energy. He's potentially very dangerous around himself and those around him... The darkness won't discriminate either... He was right in warning you off if he did lose control. I saw the way that he looked at you. Dapper Jolt cares more about you than you realize," the violet alicorn whispered, as not to arouse the pegasi's curiosities.

"I know full well about how much he cares about me," Wolf Heart retorted flatly. "You're telling this to the mare that he was, and still is, crushing on."

"Why don't you think about your answer for a moment before you give it," Twilight argued calmly, tapping her temple. "Now then, get the hell outta here. We don't need two of you and Dapper in this world. It's bad enough with just one," she snipped, waving her towards the Mirror.

Wolf Heart gave an affirmative nod and slight glare before turning to Dapper Jolt, who was idly playing with a loose, metallic blue feather that had yet to be shed from his wing. "Dapper... It's time to go," she called, causing him to jerk up with ears flicking to attention as he clumsily folded his wing to the point where the feathers messily overlapped each other.

Leaping to his hooves with a soft smile, the pegasus stallion trotted to her side before pausing at the Mirror, where he stood to the side. "Mares first," he smiled politely, dipping his head in the form of a bow that elicited an eye roll from Twilight, but a ruffle of the mane from Wolf.

As Wolf Heart passed through the Mirror, Dapper Jolt followed close behind, where they reemerged on the other side with Principal Celestia and their own world's Twilight Sparkle waiting for them.

"Things went well, I presume," Celestia stated, looking down upon the two high school students.

"Yeah, we got the good old fashioned Dapper Jolt back," Wolf Heart grinned.

The stallion in question lifted a hoof into the air with a triumphant look crossing his muzzle. "Yus!" he exclaimed with a goofy smile before leaping up into the air slightly and clicking his hooves together. As he landed, the stallion almost collapsed, a twisted, pained sneer forming upon his face as he lifted a hoof to his head to banish an oncoming migraine.

The trio of mares around him wore synonymous looks of slight fear as his mane darkened by a shade or two and a tendril of violet snaked from his eyes. "Dapper?" Wolf Heart queried, reaching towards the pegasus.

"Don't do that," Princess Celestia ordered softly, but with a firm edge, placing a hoof across the winged unicorn's chest. Wolf Heart looked into her magenta eyes with confusion as a golden brilliance encompassed her long horn. Leaning down, Celestia allowed a stream of calm, humming magic to seep into Dapper Jolt's body, where a slight golden glow came upon his irises before diminishing, the pain that was formerly visible upon his face disappearing and his mane returning to its typical coloration.

"What did you do?" Wolf asked, cocking a confused brow.

"I turned the dark magic that was still within your friend into ambient energy. He should be alright now," the celestial mare smiled warmly.

"Thank you," the winged unicorn acknowledged. "For everything. A feminine Dapper Jolt was a panicked Dapper Jolt," she chuckled lightly.

Dapper Jolt let a goofy grin slip across his muzzle. "Agreed," he laughed before Celestia cleared her throat.

"Now that this has been settled, why don't you two head to your classes, hm?" the alicorn suggested.

Wolf Heart and Dapper nodded in understanding before they headed off, where Twilight Sparkle gazed up at her teacher. "Will it always be just ambient?" she questioned, furrowing a curious brow. The idea of a pegasus having magic at all was one that was a curiosity to her, and the violet mare desired to know more.

"I do not know, Twilight... One can only hope," Celestia acknowledged, watching as said stallion walked alongside his friend.

As he did so, Wolf Heart turned away from him to go to her class. Before she was able, however, Dapper gently grabbed her arm. "Hold on... You can't get away that easy," he grinned, holding out an arm. Knowing what was coming, the mare smiled softly as he gave her a quick hug. "Thank you for helping me," he whispered before the two departed.

"Happy to help," Wolf Heart murmured to herself with a smile.