Mirror, mirror in the Ruins...by Majestical4729ChaptersBack in the Castle of the Two SistersOdd BehaviourThe Magic MirrorCapturing the ImpostersThe Last Real PonyInside/ The Other Side of the Mirror...Defeating the Clones/ EndingSplitting UpForming A PlanBack in the Castle of the Two Sisters"Why are we visiting here again?" a scared-sounding Fluttershy asked Princess Twilight, as the alicorn led the Mane Six and Spike into the abandoned castle. "To do more research to find clues to getting the keys to open the chest the Tree of Harmony grew!" Twilight answered. "Again?" Rainbow Dash groaned, "I thought we put it aside!" "Put it aside for a while when we have other things to do," Twilight clarified, "Now that we don't have much to do, we can have a sleepover here as we research!" "You mean, turn research into a fun slumber party campout?!" Pinkie Pie asked in her usual cheerful tone. "Well....we are sleeping over somewhere that isn't home..." Twilight answered, before Pinkie cut her off, "Whoo-hoo! Slumber party in the Castle of the Two Sisters!" Fluttershy gulped as she obviously did not like the sound of staying in the creepy, abandoned castle, even for one day. "Can we please stay for one day and zero nights?" the timid pegasus asked. "Don't worry Fluttershy, we are all here throughout the entire time!" Twilight declared. "With trusty friends all here, what can go wrong?" Applejack asked. "I...guess you are right, every pony...we have each other...nothing to afraid of..." Fluttershy said in an assured tone. The second after the last word in her sentence was said, Angel popped out of her tail, revealing that she had brought him along. "And Angel here, too." "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get this campout started already!" Rainbow Das asked and announced. "Wait! I haven't unpacked my things!" Rarity raised her hoof, as Spike unpacked her things for her. "Then if you don't mind, I got some exploring to do, this castle still has plenty of things to see!" Rainbow Dash insisted, flying off. "I will like to explore, too!" Pinkie Pie contributed, bouncing off, "Never know what interesting, amazing, one-of-a-kind thing you can find here!" "Wait up!" Applejack called, galloping after her best friends. "I...will like to just...stay here with Twilight and Rarity...because I uh...." Fluttershy struggled to say the next word. "Don't want to run into any of the creepy things here," Rarity filled in for the pegasus. "Right..." Fluttershy responded. Odd BehaviourTime flew as Spike and Fluttershy finished preparing the food and had the picnic mat all set up with everything in place. "All done, now all we got to do is wait for the rest our friends!" Spike said out loud. "But...when ae they going to get here? What if they got lost and will have to take days, or weeks, or months, or even years to find their way out?!" Fluttershy whimpered. "Or maybe seconds?" Spike could be heard asking, catching Fluttershy's attention. "Look! They're here!" Spike pointed his claw at the arriving ponies. "Spike! How can you just point a claw at us like that?!" Rarity scolded, "Don't you have manners?!" "I'm so sorry Rarity," Spike apologised, "I just....couldn't help but do it as a way to..." "You should have known that hinting at others is rude and something that should never be done!" Rarity continued scolding. "Rarity, it's jus a small mistake..." Fluttershy tried to reason with the unicorn, only to get cut off. "Small?! Every small mistake is still a mistake! We cannot allow it!" "Alright every pony! Dinner is served! Let's all eat! I'm waiting!" Pinkie Pie announced. "Waiting?" Fluttershy asked in a surprised tone, "But Pinkie, you usually eat in a few seconds and never wait!" "Just figured that eating with you all will be a lot better than eating all by myself!" Pinkie responded. The ponies then began to eat, with Fluttershy noticing something odd with her friends: Rarity was eating as messily as she could while Pinkie Pie was eating like a respectful pony would. "Rarity, since when do you eat like that?" Futtershy questioned. "What do you mean, since when do I eat like this?" Rarity asked in a tone that sounded very similar to her scolding tone. "Is it unusual to you?!" "That's actually what Pinkie would normally do, but now...Pinkie isn't doing it! Pinkie's eating like you would!" Fluttershy pointed out. "Fluttershy, can't you stop being a busy-pony and just mind your own business?!" Rarity asked in anger, stomping her hooves down with enough force to make all the plates on the picnic mat jump. "Rarity, let's just get back to eating." Twilight told the unicorn, who gave in to the alicorn's demands, but obviously showed some unwillingness to do so in her tone. "If you say so, Twilight..." As every pony else resumed their meal, Fluttershy did not look happy at all, having worried eyes and a frown as she felt that something was wrong with her best friends... The Magic MirrorAfter dinner, Fluttershy approached her backpack which had her pet bunny's hiding place throughout the whole time they were outside of Ponyville. "Here you go, Angel. Your dinner is served." Fluttershy told her pet, giving him a carrot to munch on. "Glad to see you happy with nothing to worry or feel uncomfortable about...unlike myself at the moment..." Fluttershy sadly said, causing Angel to forget his food and put his owner's feelings first. "Thanks for comforting me, Angel. But I'm afraid no matter what you do, it's not going to change how I feel about my friends recently..." Fluttershy told the bunny who was comforting her with a snuggle, "Seeing how they acted during dinner...they sure were not like the ponies I know they are...something's up..." "Oh Fluttershy!" Rarity's voice called to her. "Yes.... Rarity?"Fluttershy answered the call, trying her best to sound normal instead of uncomfortable. "I just thought of how awful I was to you and Spike recently, so I decided to show you something gorgeous to make it up to you two." Rarity informed, as she gently patted Spike's head like a parent would do so to their child. "Wait...did you just call Spike 'Spike' instead of 'Spikey Wikey' as you gently patted him?" Fluttershy asked upon noticing. "Sometimes I call him Spikey Wikey and sometimes I just call him Spike! No big deal! Let's just go!" Rarity declared, leading the way. Fluttershy felt that something was wrong, more than ever to see and hear Rarity's actions and responses, expressing another frown. Angel hopped right to Fluttershy's side and nuzzled her face, causing her to feel better. "Thanks for being here for me, Angel. I really need you more than ever today..." Rarity led Fluttershy and Spike to a chamber somewhere deep in the middle of the abandoned castle, causing Fluttershy to whimper, "Rarity, are we there yet?" "Just a few more hoof steps and the most gorgeous thing I told you about, will be right in front of your eyes!" Rarity answered. "If you say so..." Fluttershy replied, following her friend a few more hoof steps forward with her eyes closed. "Here it is!" Rarity declared, showing an old mirror on the wall a fw metres in front of them. "A mirror?! That's the most gorgeous thing?" Spike asked. "Not any old mirror, a magic mirror! It makes the best reflections of any pony and every pony ever!" Rarity exaggerated. "What do you mean by 'makes reflections'?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean shows reflections, I must have messed up my words again." Rarity quickly responded. Spike went up close to the mirror and admired himself, saying, "Alright maybe a mirror really isn't worthless because they can show a mighty hero dragon what they look...." As Spike was talking, his reflection in the mirror showed a sinister look before coming to life and grabbing him by the claw, causing the real Spike to scream and drag the last word of his sentence out loud, "like!" The real Spike was dragged into the mirror, while his sinister reflection came out of the mirror in his place, with evil glowing red eyes. Futtershy, who witnessed the whole scene taking place gasped in horror, "Spike!" the horrified pegasus then turned to Rarity, "Rarity, did you see that?! The mirror just took Spike! I mean, the reflection of Spike in the mirror took him! I mean...the reflection Spike took the real Spike!" "Indeed it did...." Rarity sinisterly said, before her eyes turned glowed the same colour as the reflection Spike's eyes. Fluttershy and angel were terrified, realising that the Rarity they were following was not the real Rarity, but an evil reflection Rarity! Fluttershy screamed and raced off from the reflection that impersonated her friends, with Angel riding on her back. Capturing the ImpostersFluttershy ran around the corners, in hopes of losing the reflections chasing her, bumping into the rest of her friends in the process. "What in tarnation? Why were you running without looking at where you were going, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked. "I'm so sorry every pony, I couldn't help it!" Fluttershy panicked, "Especially not after knowing that Rarity and Spike are being replaced by evil clones!" Just then, the said clones, still with their eyes glowing evil red, caught up, letting themselves get seen by the rest of the ponies who gasped. "Oh hi, Spike and Rarity! How did you get those new looks?!" Pinkie Pie asked in her usual optimistic tone. The clones did not say anything, as their response was obviously ominous, as they threateningly approached the ponies. "Come on, every pony! These guys may look like our friends, but they're not! We can take them down!" Rainbow Dash encouraged, zooming pass the said clones and spinning them out. Applejack then used her strong kick to send the clones flying into Twilight's magic force field trap. "Clones rounded up!" Pinkie Pie announced. The ponies then gathered around the force field imprisoning the wicked clones of Spike and Rarity, who were attempting to break free. "Looks like these two won't be bothering any pony again..." Rainbow Dash claimed. "But, what about the real Spike and Rarity? They must be trapped in the mirror that made these clones!" Fluttershy whimpered. "Then we'll have to get them out!" Twilight declared, galloping off. Fluttershy was about to follow her friends galloping after Twilight, but Angel held her back and told her something in animal language. "Wait!" Fluttershy called to the ponies. "What now?" Rainbow Dash asked in an annoyed tone. "Angel is wondering, how are we going to make sure that we are all really us?" Fluttershy asked. "Who's Angel?" Rainbow Dash asked. Futtershy then answered, "You know, my pet bunny Angel. You've seen him countless times before...." That was when Fluttershy realised something shocking as she gasped, "Wait...if you don't know Angel...that means you're not really Rainbow Dash!" "You sure got that right...." Rainbow Dash smirked evilly, as her eyes glowed red, confirming that she was an evil reflection made by the mirror! The clone then charged at Fluttershy, but was stopped by Twilight Sparkle, who used her magic to pull the blue pegasus' tail, before teleporting the said pegasus into the force field prison to join Rarity and Spike's wicked clones. "Now all the clones are rounded up!" Pinkie Pie announced. "Not really," Fluttershy stated, "I'm sorry Pinkie, but I think you're a clone, too." "What?! Wha do you mean? I mean, why would you think I'm a clone?" Pinkie asked, releasing cold sweat down her neck. "Well...not only did you eat differently during dinner today, you're now struggling to answer me without feeling anxious..." Fluttershy elaborated, "You will never change without explanation!" Pinkie Pie showed anger before her eyes turned glowing red as well, another evil clone was confirmed and so was an upcoming attack! Twilight bravely stood up to the clone and teleported the imposter into the force field prison, where the reflection Spike greeted the new prisoner, "Welcome to the prison party..." "Alright everypony, I know that it's pretty bad that most of our friends here aren't really our friends. But for now, let's just try to find a way to get them out of where ever they may be!" Applejack announced. "But, we haven't even checked if we're all really ourselves!" Fluttershy reminded. "Oh come on, every pony! You know that I got to be the real me, I never lied!" Applejack insisted, "Honest!" "But, we're going to need more proof than that..." Fluttershy said, "Just to be safe and sure." "Oh come on! I already said that I'm the real Applejack, and I never lied! I'm honest I tell you!" Applejack argued. "Then...what was the last thing you did before you left Sweet Apple Acres to join us on the trip here?" Fluttershy asked. "That's easy! Probably pack things up and join you right away!" Applejack answered. "I remembered that you and Apple Bloom had a conversation and a hug!" Fluttershy said out loud, "You waved your family goodbye!" "What?! Fluttershy, you just have some memory problems! I never did that! Why would I even do that?!" Applejack asked furiously. Fluttershy then gasped, "You...you're not the real Applejack!" "You bet I'm not," Applejack smirked, before her eyes turned to the same colour as those of the other clones. Twilight quickly teleported the reflection Applejack into the force field prison, where the other clones were still trapped. The Last Real Pony"Phew, that was a close one." Twilight heaved a sigh of relief. "But that means all of our friends must be...trapped in that mirror that made these clones!" Fluttershy reminded, "How will we ever get them out?" "These clones are not going anywhere," Twilight declared, taking a look at the imprisoned clones, before turning back to Fluttershy, "That means all we got to do is get our friends out of that mirror." "Are you sure we can do it?" Fluttershy asked, following behind Twilight. "We can...even though it's just me, you and the bunny." Twilight responded. "Wait a second," Fluttershy noticed something, "Did you just call Angel a bunny?" "Well yeah, because he is a bunny," Twilight answered. "But, you barely do that!" Fluttershy cried. "Oh really? No big deal..." Twilight responded. "Wait a second, you called Angel a bunny, and don't seem to care much about the way you call my animal friend..." Fluttershy said her thoughts out loud, before asking Twilight, "What animal did I tame on our first adventure?!" "Does that really matter?!" Twilight asked in an irritated tone. "You're not Twilight!" Fluttershy cried, realising that who she was with was an imposter all along. Twilight grinned, "You sure are clever to figure it out...figure us all out...but now, you're the last of the real ponies here...the rest of them are imprisoned in the mirror where I and my reflection friends came from, and you shall join them..." Unfortunately for Twilight's clone, Angel leapt off from Fluttershy's back and landed right on her (Twilight's clone's) face, preventing her from casting a magic spell in the process. "Get off me you furry pest!" the wicked reflection Twilight insulted, trying to shake Angel off of her face. Fluttershy quickly grabbed the opportunity to escape the clones by running off and disappearing around the corner. As soon as Fluttershy was gone, Angel bit Twilight's clone by the nose, causing her shriek in pain, before hoping off after Fluttershy. Inside/ The Other Side of the Mirror...Angel quickly caught up with Fluttershy, who was standing a few metres away from the magic mirror that took her friends. She then noticed Angel after he bumped into her hoof. "Oh, Angel you're alright!" Fluttershy hugged her beloved bunny, before remembering something, "Wat, I still haven't made sure are you really you or not! Quick, tell me some things that you know about me!" Angel then told Fluttershy what she asked for, in bunny language that she understood. "You really are Angel! Thank goodness!" Fluttershy happily hugged her pet after being assured that he was not an imposter. Angel then tapped Fluttershy before pointing at the magic mirror, reminding her something. "Oh, right. Our friends, we got to get them out...but how?" Meanwhile, inside the mirror, was a world similar to the one the real ponies were from, making it like the other side of the mirror. The imprisoned ponies were charging at the mirror with all their might, with a large statue in the unicorn and alicorn's magic grasp. Unfortunately, their attempt to escape failed as the mirror did not allow them to pass through it. "Another plan failed," Spike noted. "Aw, we're never getting out of here," Rarity whimpered. "Don't say that! We got to get out! We got to!" Rainbow Dash declared. "But we already tried a gazillion times and none of those times worked! None! None in a gazillion!" Applejack stated. "We still have some hope," Twilight reminded, "Fluttershy is still out there free, I bet she'll think of a way to get us out." "Especially when she knows where we must be, since she saw me getting replaced by my evil reflection." Spike added. "But, does Fluttershy know that the rest of us are in here?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She only saw you getting captured, so how will she ever be able to find out that our reflections are our reflections, and not really us?!" Rarity asked. "Even if she does find out that it's not really us with her back out there, how will she ever get pass them to save us?" Twilight asked. "Don't you worry, every pony!" Pinkie Pie declared, "Fluttershy is our friend! And she's going to save us, because that's what friends do! Save a friend, or friends in need!" Defeating the Clones/ Ending"We so should have checked the mirror first, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash's clone scolded Twilight's. The clones' eyes were the same as their originals', this time. And obviously, Twilight's clone freed the other clones after Fluttershy and Angel escaped. "Yeah, with her knowing that we're clones and her real friends are trapped in the mirror, the mirror that trapped them is probably where she's gone to." Applejack's clone added. "I'm so sorry my evil reflection friends," Twilight's clone apologised, but obviously had no remorse in her tone, "But I thought that such a scaredy-pony like her would have ran into a place that she believed that we would least expect..." Suddenly aloud and high-pitched, terrified-sounding scream could be heard, followed by a loud "NO!" "Sounds like she's in trouble," Twilight's clone smirked, before leading the clones to where the sound must had come from. The clones burst into the chamber where the magic mirror was, only to find it gone, to their shock as they let out a loud gasp while looking at Fluttershy, who was on the other side of an old, ragged carpet on the floor. "Well hello my evil pony friends," the yellow pegasus with light pink mane greeted, "That last pony really was the last. Last to be a prisoner in the mirror!" "Speaking of the mirror..." Rarity's clone began, before asking in a dramatic and angry tone, "WHERE IS IT?!" "You mean that old mirror that's keeping those real ponies imprisoned?" Fluttershy asked in reply, "Huh! I figured that the best way to make sure no pony finds it, nor them, is to hide it." "You what?!" Pinkie's clone asked. "Have you lost your mind?! We needed that mirror to make more evil clones of ponies here in this world, for evil sake!" Applejack's clone scolded, as she and the others angrily approached Fluttershy by walking towards her at the same time. "Oh, really?! Too bad you weren't around to tell me before I hid it..." Fluttershy asked, before using her front hooves to remove the carpet when the clones were in the places where she wanted them to be: With their hooves or feet (in Spike's clone's case) right on top of the mirror. On the other side of the mirror, the prisoners were aware of what was happening outside. "Twilight, look!" Spike pointed at the mirror. "I got my clone!" Pinkie Pie told the others, grabbing the said clone with her front hooves and pulling the clone into the mirror while coming out of the mirror herself. "Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy cried, happy to see her real friend back again. "Did you just see that?!" the Rainbow Dash clone asked the other clones, just before they were all grabbed by the real ponies (dragon in Spike's clone's case) and placed back into the mirror world where they belonged, with their last words being, "NO!!!" "Fluttershy!" Twilight cried. "Twilight! Rarity! Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Spike!" Flutterhsy cried happily, as she hugged her best friends in a group hug, "I'm so glad to have all of you back! The real you!" "We're glad to be back, too." Applejack honestly added. "We knew it! We knew you could save us!" Pinkie Pie cheered, giving Fluttershy a tight hug. "Can you please stop hugging, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked. "Whoops, sorry," Pinkie Pie quickly apologised. "Sorry to break this party, every pony, but what about the mirror that created those awful clones of us?" Spike asked, pointing at the said mirror. "More like awful doppelgängers of us!" Rainbow Dash corrected. "Doesn't matter what we call them, we got to make sure that they never get a chance to replace us ever again!" Twilight insisted. "And make sure that this horrid mirror never creates a clone again!" Rarity added. "But how are we going to do that?" Fluttershy asked. The next thing they knew, the Mane Six and Spike had the mirror turned to its back facing them, while the front facing the wall. They then blocked the mirror's back with old cabinets, barrels , crates and objects. "That'll make sure that no pony gets to see that horrible mirror, for as long as it's this way!" Applejack announced. "I'm so sorry every pony," Twilight apologised, "We'd never go thorugh any of this if it weren't for me...coming here for a campout was my idea after all..." "Don't worry Twilight, we all know that you didn't mean for the trouble," Fluttershy assured. "Yeah, you didn't know that there was this crazy mirror that makes evil clones out of reflections and all here," Rainbow Dash added. "But you had a good intention of finding clues to the keys to the chest," Rarity added. "And most importantly, we are all A-okay now!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Right, we're all alright now," Twilight replied, before turning to Fluttershy, "Especially thanks to you, Fluttershy. For saving us from the mirror." "Actually, you got to thank Angel, he came up with the ideas." Fluttershy informed, holding up her pet bunny. "Thank you, Angel." Twilight thanked with a smile on her face. The rest of the ponies thanked Angel as well, even the non-pony Spike joined the thanking. "Angel appreciates your thanks," Fluttershy told her best friends. "Alright every pony, that's enough ruins exploring and camping for us. Why don't we all head back home to Ponyville?" Twilight suggested, which the others agreed, as they followed her walking out of the chamber to get their things and head to their destination. Splitting UpAfter what felt like hours of being in the abandoned castle, Twilight heard the rumbling of stomachs. "Is any pony hungry?" the alicorn asked. "Sounds like I am," Fluttershy shyly replied. "So am I," Rarity added, putting away her mirror. "We got to eat!" Spike claimed. "But not without the others!" Twilight declared. "But that means we have to...find them." Fluttershy gulped. "It'll just be a while, darling." Rarity assured, before following Twilight deeper into the castle with Spike after her. Fluttershy whimpered but still walked deeper into the darker, scarier parts of the castle after her best friends, hugging Angel close to her. "Rainbow! Applejack! Pinkie!" the searchers called, but the only reply they received was their echoes. "It already feels like we've been searching for hours," Fluttershy whimpered. Twilight then used a spell to make her voice a lot louder, "Rainbow, Pinkie and Applejack, if you hear me, you got to get to where we unpacked our things! We should be having dinner by now, and we're waiting for you!" "Sure thing, Twilight! We'll be there as soon as you see this!" Applejack called. "What?!" Twilight asked. "Come on over and we'll show you!" Applejack responded. "Where exactly are you?" Rarity asked. "Somewhere..." was the answer. "You don't even know where you are?!" Twilight asked. "Well...since I don't visit here quite often...yeah..." Applejack's voice could be heard saying. "Hang in there, we'll find you!" Twilight assured. "But, how?" Fluttershy asked. "With magic," Twilight answered, allowing her horn to glow. "Just like finding gems," Rarity commented, letting her horn to glow as well. "Oh, talk about gems," a hungry Spike started licking his lips. "Maybe I should set up the food back where we placed our things...I don't think I can handle...going all over the place in this place!" Fluttershy whimpered. "But Fluttershy, if you joined the search..." Twilight tree to reason with the pegasus, but was cut off by the latter. "I'll just slow you down and make things worse! Go without me! It' for the better!" Rarity and Twilight looked at each other, before turning back to Fluttershy. "Alright, you can sit out the search for them." Twilight informed. "And have a little brave dragon to accompany you while we do the searching," Rarity added. "Brave? Really?" Spike asked, blushing a bit upon hearing what his crush called him. "I am totally alright with my assistant being with you instead of us for this situation." Twilight supported, before leaving with Rarity. "Be careful!" Fluttershy called to her pony friends. Forming A Plan"Alright, let's review all we know." Fluttershy paced around while Angel was standing, thinking hard. "All we know that we have six evil imposters that are reflections of our friends created by this magic mirror, and our real friends are trapped inside the mirror, and saw what happened to Spike when he was standing right in front of the mirror looking at his reflection that came out to grab him..." Fluttershy recalled. Angel then had an idea after hearing the last part his owner said. He then told the pony what he was thinking. "You think that the reflections only got out because the real ponies were right in front of the mirror?" Fluttershy asked after hearing what Angel had to say. "And if that's how the reflections got out, maybe that's how our friends can get out? As in, if the reflections are right in front of the mirror, very close to it, our friends might be able to get out! Angel, you're a genius!" Fluttershy hugged Angel. The happy moment was short-lived however, when Fluttershy realised something. "Wait, if we got to get the clones very close to the mirror, how are we going to do that, without triggering an evil reflection clone of ourselves?! And most importantly, get the clones where we wanted them?" Angel thought for a while, before whispering something into Fluttershy's ear.
Back in the Castle of the Two Sisters"Why are we visiting here again?" a scared-sounding Fluttershy asked Princess Twilight, as the alicorn led the Mane Six and Spike into the abandoned castle. "To do more research to find clues to getting the keys to open the chest the Tree of Harmony grew!" Twilight answered. "Again?" Rainbow Dash groaned, "I thought we put it aside!" "Put it aside for a while when we have other things to do," Twilight clarified, "Now that we don't have much to do, we can have a sleepover here as we research!" "You mean, turn research into a fun slumber party campout?!" Pinkie Pie asked in her usual cheerful tone. "Well....we are sleeping over somewhere that isn't home..." Twilight answered, before Pinkie cut her off, "Whoo-hoo! Slumber party in the Castle of the Two Sisters!" Fluttershy gulped as she obviously did not like the sound of staying in the creepy, abandoned castle, even for one day. "Can we please stay for one day and zero nights?" the timid pegasus asked. "Don't worry Fluttershy, we are all here throughout the entire time!" Twilight declared. "With trusty friends all here, what can go wrong?" Applejack asked. "I...guess you are right, every pony...we have each other...nothing to afraid of..." Fluttershy said in an assured tone. The second after the last word in her sentence was said, Angel popped out of her tail, revealing that she had brought him along. "And Angel here, too." "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get this campout started already!" Rainbow Das asked and announced. "Wait! I haven't unpacked my things!" Rarity raised her hoof, as Spike unpacked her things for her. "Then if you don't mind, I got some exploring to do, this castle still has plenty of things to see!" Rainbow Dash insisted, flying off. "I will like to explore, too!" Pinkie Pie contributed, bouncing off, "Never know what interesting, amazing, one-of-a-kind thing you can find here!" "Wait up!" Applejack called, galloping after her best friends. "I...will like to just...stay here with Twilight and Rarity...because I uh...." Fluttershy struggled to say the next word. "Don't want to run into any of the creepy things here," Rarity filled in for the pegasus. "Right..." Fluttershy responded.
Odd BehaviourTime flew as Spike and Fluttershy finished preparing the food and had the picnic mat all set up with everything in place. "All done, now all we got to do is wait for the rest our friends!" Spike said out loud. "But...when ae they going to get here? What if they got lost and will have to take days, or weeks, or months, or even years to find their way out?!" Fluttershy whimpered. "Or maybe seconds?" Spike could be heard asking, catching Fluttershy's attention. "Look! They're here!" Spike pointed his claw at the arriving ponies. "Spike! How can you just point a claw at us like that?!" Rarity scolded, "Don't you have manners?!" "I'm so sorry Rarity," Spike apologised, "I just....couldn't help but do it as a way to..." "You should have known that hinting at others is rude and something that should never be done!" Rarity continued scolding. "Rarity, it's jus a small mistake..." Fluttershy tried to reason with the unicorn, only to get cut off. "Small?! Every small mistake is still a mistake! We cannot allow it!" "Alright every pony! Dinner is served! Let's all eat! I'm waiting!" Pinkie Pie announced. "Waiting?" Fluttershy asked in a surprised tone, "But Pinkie, you usually eat in a few seconds and never wait!" "Just figured that eating with you all will be a lot better than eating all by myself!" Pinkie responded. The ponies then began to eat, with Fluttershy noticing something odd with her friends: Rarity was eating as messily as she could while Pinkie Pie was eating like a respectful pony would. "Rarity, since when do you eat like that?" Futtershy questioned. "What do you mean, since when do I eat like this?" Rarity asked in a tone that sounded very similar to her scolding tone. "Is it unusual to you?!" "That's actually what Pinkie would normally do, but now...Pinkie isn't doing it! Pinkie's eating like you would!" Fluttershy pointed out. "Fluttershy, can't you stop being a busy-pony and just mind your own business?!" Rarity asked in anger, stomping her hooves down with enough force to make all the plates on the picnic mat jump. "Rarity, let's just get back to eating." Twilight told the unicorn, who gave in to the alicorn's demands, but obviously showed some unwillingness to do so in her tone. "If you say so, Twilight..." As every pony else resumed their meal, Fluttershy did not look happy at all, having worried eyes and a frown as she felt that something was wrong with her best friends...
The Magic MirrorAfter dinner, Fluttershy approached her backpack which had her pet bunny's hiding place throughout the whole time they were outside of Ponyville. "Here you go, Angel. Your dinner is served." Fluttershy told her pet, giving him a carrot to munch on. "Glad to see you happy with nothing to worry or feel uncomfortable about...unlike myself at the moment..." Fluttershy sadly said, causing Angel to forget his food and put his owner's feelings first. "Thanks for comforting me, Angel. But I'm afraid no matter what you do, it's not going to change how I feel about my friends recently..." Fluttershy told the bunny who was comforting her with a snuggle, "Seeing how they acted during dinner...they sure were not like the ponies I know they are...something's up..." "Oh Fluttershy!" Rarity's voice called to her. "Yes.... Rarity?"Fluttershy answered the call, trying her best to sound normal instead of uncomfortable. "I just thought of how awful I was to you and Spike recently, so I decided to show you something gorgeous to make it up to you two." Rarity informed, as she gently patted Spike's head like a parent would do so to their child. "Wait...did you just call Spike 'Spike' instead of 'Spikey Wikey' as you gently patted him?" Fluttershy asked upon noticing. "Sometimes I call him Spikey Wikey and sometimes I just call him Spike! No big deal! Let's just go!" Rarity declared, leading the way. Fluttershy felt that something was wrong, more than ever to see and hear Rarity's actions and responses, expressing another frown. Angel hopped right to Fluttershy's side and nuzzled her face, causing her to feel better. "Thanks for being here for me, Angel. I really need you more than ever today..." Rarity led Fluttershy and Spike to a chamber somewhere deep in the middle of the abandoned castle, causing Fluttershy to whimper, "Rarity, are we there yet?" "Just a few more hoof steps and the most gorgeous thing I told you about, will be right in front of your eyes!" Rarity answered. "If you say so..." Fluttershy replied, following her friend a few more hoof steps forward with her eyes closed. "Here it is!" Rarity declared, showing an old mirror on the wall a fw metres in front of them. "A mirror?! That's the most gorgeous thing?" Spike asked. "Not any old mirror, a magic mirror! It makes the best reflections of any pony and every pony ever!" Rarity exaggerated. "What do you mean by 'makes reflections'?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean shows reflections, I must have messed up my words again." Rarity quickly responded. Spike went up close to the mirror and admired himself, saying, "Alright maybe a mirror really isn't worthless because they can show a mighty hero dragon what they look...." As Spike was talking, his reflection in the mirror showed a sinister look before coming to life and grabbing him by the claw, causing the real Spike to scream and drag the last word of his sentence out loud, "like!" The real Spike was dragged into the mirror, while his sinister reflection came out of the mirror in his place, with evil glowing red eyes. Futtershy, who witnessed the whole scene taking place gasped in horror, "Spike!" the horrified pegasus then turned to Rarity, "Rarity, did you see that?! The mirror just took Spike! I mean, the reflection of Spike in the mirror took him! I mean...the reflection Spike took the real Spike!" "Indeed it did...." Rarity sinisterly said, before her eyes turned glowed the same colour as the reflection Spike's eyes. Fluttershy and angel were terrified, realising that the Rarity they were following was not the real Rarity, but an evil reflection Rarity! Fluttershy screamed and raced off from the reflection that impersonated her friends, with Angel riding on her back.
Capturing the ImpostersFluttershy ran around the corners, in hopes of losing the reflections chasing her, bumping into the rest of her friends in the process. "What in tarnation? Why were you running without looking at where you were going, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked. "I'm so sorry every pony, I couldn't help it!" Fluttershy panicked, "Especially not after knowing that Rarity and Spike are being replaced by evil clones!" Just then, the said clones, still with their eyes glowing evil red, caught up, letting themselves get seen by the rest of the ponies who gasped. "Oh hi, Spike and Rarity! How did you get those new looks?!" Pinkie Pie asked in her usual optimistic tone. The clones did not say anything, as their response was obviously ominous, as they threateningly approached the ponies. "Come on, every pony! These guys may look like our friends, but they're not! We can take them down!" Rainbow Dash encouraged, zooming pass the said clones and spinning them out. Applejack then used her strong kick to send the clones flying into Twilight's magic force field trap. "Clones rounded up!" Pinkie Pie announced. The ponies then gathered around the force field imprisoning the wicked clones of Spike and Rarity, who were attempting to break free. "Looks like these two won't be bothering any pony again..." Rainbow Dash claimed. "But, what about the real Spike and Rarity? They must be trapped in the mirror that made these clones!" Fluttershy whimpered. "Then we'll have to get them out!" Twilight declared, galloping off. Fluttershy was about to follow her friends galloping after Twilight, but Angel held her back and told her something in animal language. "Wait!" Fluttershy called to the ponies. "What now?" Rainbow Dash asked in an annoyed tone. "Angel is wondering, how are we going to make sure that we are all really us?" Fluttershy asked. "Who's Angel?" Rainbow Dash asked. Futtershy then answered, "You know, my pet bunny Angel. You've seen him countless times before...." That was when Fluttershy realised something shocking as she gasped, "Wait...if you don't know Angel...that means you're not really Rainbow Dash!" "You sure got that right...." Rainbow Dash smirked evilly, as her eyes glowed red, confirming that she was an evil reflection made by the mirror! The clone then charged at Fluttershy, but was stopped by Twilight Sparkle, who used her magic to pull the blue pegasus' tail, before teleporting the said pegasus into the force field prison to join Rarity and Spike's wicked clones. "Now all the clones are rounded up!" Pinkie Pie announced. "Not really," Fluttershy stated, "I'm sorry Pinkie, but I think you're a clone, too." "What?! Wha do you mean? I mean, why would you think I'm a clone?" Pinkie asked, releasing cold sweat down her neck. "Well...not only did you eat differently during dinner today, you're now struggling to answer me without feeling anxious..." Fluttershy elaborated, "You will never change without explanation!" Pinkie Pie showed anger before her eyes turned glowing red as well, another evil clone was confirmed and so was an upcoming attack! Twilight bravely stood up to the clone and teleported the imposter into the force field prison, where the reflection Spike greeted the new prisoner, "Welcome to the prison party..." "Alright everypony, I know that it's pretty bad that most of our friends here aren't really our friends. But for now, let's just try to find a way to get them out of where ever they may be!" Applejack announced. "But, we haven't even checked if we're all really ourselves!" Fluttershy reminded. "Oh come on, every pony! You know that I got to be the real me, I never lied!" Applejack insisted, "Honest!" "But, we're going to need more proof than that..." Fluttershy said, "Just to be safe and sure." "Oh come on! I already said that I'm the real Applejack, and I never lied! I'm honest I tell you!" Applejack argued. "Then...what was the last thing you did before you left Sweet Apple Acres to join us on the trip here?" Fluttershy asked. "That's easy! Probably pack things up and join you right away!" Applejack answered. "I remembered that you and Apple Bloom had a conversation and a hug!" Fluttershy said out loud, "You waved your family goodbye!" "What?! Fluttershy, you just have some memory problems! I never did that! Why would I even do that?!" Applejack asked furiously. Fluttershy then gasped, "You...you're not the real Applejack!" "You bet I'm not," Applejack smirked, before her eyes turned to the same colour as those of the other clones. Twilight quickly teleported the reflection Applejack into the force field prison, where the other clones were still trapped.
The Last Real Pony"Phew, that was a close one." Twilight heaved a sigh of relief. "But that means all of our friends must be...trapped in that mirror that made these clones!" Fluttershy reminded, "How will we ever get them out?" "These clones are not going anywhere," Twilight declared, taking a look at the imprisoned clones, before turning back to Fluttershy, "That means all we got to do is get our friends out of that mirror." "Are you sure we can do it?" Fluttershy asked, following behind Twilight. "We can...even though it's just me, you and the bunny." Twilight responded. "Wait a second," Fluttershy noticed something, "Did you just call Angel a bunny?" "Well yeah, because he is a bunny," Twilight answered. "But, you barely do that!" Fluttershy cried. "Oh really? No big deal..." Twilight responded. "Wait a second, you called Angel a bunny, and don't seem to care much about the way you call my animal friend..." Fluttershy said her thoughts out loud, before asking Twilight, "What animal did I tame on our first adventure?!" "Does that really matter?!" Twilight asked in an irritated tone. "You're not Twilight!" Fluttershy cried, realising that who she was with was an imposter all along. Twilight grinned, "You sure are clever to figure it out...figure us all out...but now, you're the last of the real ponies here...the rest of them are imprisoned in the mirror where I and my reflection friends came from, and you shall join them..." Unfortunately for Twilight's clone, Angel leapt off from Fluttershy's back and landed right on her (Twilight's clone's) face, preventing her from casting a magic spell in the process. "Get off me you furry pest!" the wicked reflection Twilight insulted, trying to shake Angel off of her face. Fluttershy quickly grabbed the opportunity to escape the clones by running off and disappearing around the corner. As soon as Fluttershy was gone, Angel bit Twilight's clone by the nose, causing her shriek in pain, before hoping off after Fluttershy.
Inside/ The Other Side of the Mirror...Angel quickly caught up with Fluttershy, who was standing a few metres away from the magic mirror that took her friends. She then noticed Angel after he bumped into her hoof. "Oh, Angel you're alright!" Fluttershy hugged her beloved bunny, before remembering something, "Wat, I still haven't made sure are you really you or not! Quick, tell me some things that you know about me!" Angel then told Fluttershy what she asked for, in bunny language that she understood. "You really are Angel! Thank goodness!" Fluttershy happily hugged her pet after being assured that he was not an imposter. Angel then tapped Fluttershy before pointing at the magic mirror, reminding her something. "Oh, right. Our friends, we got to get them out...but how?" Meanwhile, inside the mirror, was a world similar to the one the real ponies were from, making it like the other side of the mirror. The imprisoned ponies were charging at the mirror with all their might, with a large statue in the unicorn and alicorn's magic grasp. Unfortunately, their attempt to escape failed as the mirror did not allow them to pass through it. "Another plan failed," Spike noted. "Aw, we're never getting out of here," Rarity whimpered. "Don't say that! We got to get out! We got to!" Rainbow Dash declared. "But we already tried a gazillion times and none of those times worked! None! None in a gazillion!" Applejack stated. "We still have some hope," Twilight reminded, "Fluttershy is still out there free, I bet she'll think of a way to get us out." "Especially when she knows where we must be, since she saw me getting replaced by my evil reflection." Spike added. "But, does Fluttershy know that the rest of us are in here?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She only saw you getting captured, so how will she ever be able to find out that our reflections are our reflections, and not really us?!" Rarity asked. "Even if she does find out that it's not really us with her back out there, how will she ever get pass them to save us?" Twilight asked. "Don't you worry, every pony!" Pinkie Pie declared, "Fluttershy is our friend! And she's going to save us, because that's what friends do! Save a friend, or friends in need!"
Defeating the Clones/ Ending"We so should have checked the mirror first, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash's clone scolded Twilight's. The clones' eyes were the same as their originals', this time. And obviously, Twilight's clone freed the other clones after Fluttershy and Angel escaped. "Yeah, with her knowing that we're clones and her real friends are trapped in the mirror, the mirror that trapped them is probably where she's gone to." Applejack's clone added. "I'm so sorry my evil reflection friends," Twilight's clone apologised, but obviously had no remorse in her tone, "But I thought that such a scaredy-pony like her would have ran into a place that she believed that we would least expect..." Suddenly aloud and high-pitched, terrified-sounding scream could be heard, followed by a loud "NO!" "Sounds like she's in trouble," Twilight's clone smirked, before leading the clones to where the sound must had come from. The clones burst into the chamber where the magic mirror was, only to find it gone, to their shock as they let out a loud gasp while looking at Fluttershy, who was on the other side of an old, ragged carpet on the floor. "Well hello my evil pony friends," the yellow pegasus with light pink mane greeted, "That last pony really was the last. Last to be a prisoner in the mirror!" "Speaking of the mirror..." Rarity's clone began, before asking in a dramatic and angry tone, "WHERE IS IT?!" "You mean that old mirror that's keeping those real ponies imprisoned?" Fluttershy asked in reply, "Huh! I figured that the best way to make sure no pony finds it, nor them, is to hide it." "You what?!" Pinkie's clone asked. "Have you lost your mind?! We needed that mirror to make more evil clones of ponies here in this world, for evil sake!" Applejack's clone scolded, as she and the others angrily approached Fluttershy by walking towards her at the same time. "Oh, really?! Too bad you weren't around to tell me before I hid it..." Fluttershy asked, before using her front hooves to remove the carpet when the clones were in the places where she wanted them to be: With their hooves or feet (in Spike's clone's case) right on top of the mirror. On the other side of the mirror, the prisoners were aware of what was happening outside. "Twilight, look!" Spike pointed at the mirror. "I got my clone!" Pinkie Pie told the others, grabbing the said clone with her front hooves and pulling the clone into the mirror while coming out of the mirror herself. "Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy cried, happy to see her real friend back again. "Did you just see that?!" the Rainbow Dash clone asked the other clones, just before they were all grabbed by the real ponies (dragon in Spike's clone's case) and placed back into the mirror world where they belonged, with their last words being, "NO!!!" "Fluttershy!" Twilight cried. "Twilight! Rarity! Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Spike!" Flutterhsy cried happily, as she hugged her best friends in a group hug, "I'm so glad to have all of you back! The real you!" "We're glad to be back, too." Applejack honestly added. "We knew it! We knew you could save us!" Pinkie Pie cheered, giving Fluttershy a tight hug. "Can you please stop hugging, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked. "Whoops, sorry," Pinkie Pie quickly apologised. "Sorry to break this party, every pony, but what about the mirror that created those awful clones of us?" Spike asked, pointing at the said mirror. "More like awful doppelgängers of us!" Rainbow Dash corrected. "Doesn't matter what we call them, we got to make sure that they never get a chance to replace us ever again!" Twilight insisted. "And make sure that this horrid mirror never creates a clone again!" Rarity added. "But how are we going to do that?" Fluttershy asked. The next thing they knew, the Mane Six and Spike had the mirror turned to its back facing them, while the front facing the wall. They then blocked the mirror's back with old cabinets, barrels , crates and objects. "That'll make sure that no pony gets to see that horrible mirror, for as long as it's this way!" Applejack announced. "I'm so sorry every pony," Twilight apologised, "We'd never go thorugh any of this if it weren't for me...coming here for a campout was my idea after all..." "Don't worry Twilight, we all know that you didn't mean for the trouble," Fluttershy assured. "Yeah, you didn't know that there was this crazy mirror that makes evil clones out of reflections and all here," Rainbow Dash added. "But you had a good intention of finding clues to the keys to the chest," Rarity added. "And most importantly, we are all A-okay now!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Right, we're all alright now," Twilight replied, before turning to Fluttershy, "Especially thanks to you, Fluttershy. For saving us from the mirror." "Actually, you got to thank Angel, he came up with the ideas." Fluttershy informed, holding up her pet bunny. "Thank you, Angel." Twilight thanked with a smile on her face. The rest of the ponies thanked Angel as well, even the non-pony Spike joined the thanking. "Angel appreciates your thanks," Fluttershy told her best friends. "Alright every pony, that's enough ruins exploring and camping for us. Why don't we all head back home to Ponyville?" Twilight suggested, which the others agreed, as they followed her walking out of the chamber to get their things and head to their destination.
Splitting UpAfter what felt like hours of being in the abandoned castle, Twilight heard the rumbling of stomachs. "Is any pony hungry?" the alicorn asked. "Sounds like I am," Fluttershy shyly replied. "So am I," Rarity added, putting away her mirror. "We got to eat!" Spike claimed. "But not without the others!" Twilight declared. "But that means we have to...find them." Fluttershy gulped. "It'll just be a while, darling." Rarity assured, before following Twilight deeper into the castle with Spike after her. Fluttershy whimpered but still walked deeper into the darker, scarier parts of the castle after her best friends, hugging Angel close to her. "Rainbow! Applejack! Pinkie!" the searchers called, but the only reply they received was their echoes. "It already feels like we've been searching for hours," Fluttershy whimpered. Twilight then used a spell to make her voice a lot louder, "Rainbow, Pinkie and Applejack, if you hear me, you got to get to where we unpacked our things! We should be having dinner by now, and we're waiting for you!" "Sure thing, Twilight! We'll be there as soon as you see this!" Applejack called. "What?!" Twilight asked. "Come on over and we'll show you!" Applejack responded. "Where exactly are you?" Rarity asked. "Somewhere..." was the answer. "You don't even know where you are?!" Twilight asked. "Well...since I don't visit here quite often...yeah..." Applejack's voice could be heard saying. "Hang in there, we'll find you!" Twilight assured. "But, how?" Fluttershy asked. "With magic," Twilight answered, allowing her horn to glow. "Just like finding gems," Rarity commented, letting her horn to glow as well. "Oh, talk about gems," a hungry Spike started licking his lips. "Maybe I should set up the food back where we placed our things...I don't think I can handle...going all over the place in this place!" Fluttershy whimpered. "But Fluttershy, if you joined the search..." Twilight tree to reason with the pegasus, but was cut off by the latter. "I'll just slow you down and make things worse! Go without me! It' for the better!" Rarity and Twilight looked at each other, before turning back to Fluttershy. "Alright, you can sit out the search for them." Twilight informed. "And have a little brave dragon to accompany you while we do the searching," Rarity added. "Brave? Really?" Spike asked, blushing a bit upon hearing what his crush called him. "I am totally alright with my assistant being with you instead of us for this situation." Twilight supported, before leaving with Rarity. "Be careful!" Fluttershy called to her pony friends.
Forming A Plan"Alright, let's review all we know." Fluttershy paced around while Angel was standing, thinking hard. "All we know that we have six evil imposters that are reflections of our friends created by this magic mirror, and our real friends are trapped inside the mirror, and saw what happened to Spike when he was standing right in front of the mirror looking at his reflection that came out to grab him..." Fluttershy recalled. Angel then had an idea after hearing the last part his owner said. He then told the pony what he was thinking. "You think that the reflections only got out because the real ponies were right in front of the mirror?" Fluttershy asked after hearing what Angel had to say. "And if that's how the reflections got out, maybe that's how our friends can get out? As in, if the reflections are right in front of the mirror, very close to it, our friends might be able to get out! Angel, you're a genius!" Fluttershy hugged Angel. The happy moment was short-lived however, when Fluttershy realised something. "Wait, if we got to get the clones very close to the mirror, how are we going to do that, without triggering an evil reflection clone of ourselves?! And most importantly, get the clones where we wanted them?" Angel thought for a while, before whispering something into Fluttershy's ear.
