Discord Laboratory, Beneath Rainbow Falls, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.

The last thing Twilight remembered was taking a sip of tea while talking to Flash Sentry. Now her body was aching, her vision was distorted, and everything around were was strangely quiet. She could feel that her legs were spread out and strapped down. Her back was pressed against a metallic surface that was slanted downwards. Her eyes moved back and forth several times before focusing on a bright, white light above her. As she focused on the light, her vision gradually cleared up.

Twilight felt an erratic pounding sensation within her skull as her vision returned to normal. She desperately wanted to massage her forehead with her hooves but was unable to due to her restraints. She turned her attention away from the light and looked down. She could see that she was strapped to a slanted operating table with thick, leather straps. Upon seeing the straps, she attempted to summon an ounce of magic to undo them. Sadly, no magic came forth and she remained trapped in her vulnerable state.

The room she was in was medium size and circular in shape. The ceiling was metal, the floor was white tile, and the walls were constructed out of grimy stones. Five more slanted operating tables were spread along the walls of the room. Each table held one of Twilight's friends, all of them restrained exactly as she was. On the side of the room opposite to where Twilight was, a metal cage was situated between the tables that held an unconscious Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Inside the cage were a sleeping Spike and Derpy.

"Spike? Derpy? Girls?" Twilight called out with a weary voice. It was at this moment that the rest of Twilight's friends started to awaken one by one.

"Ugh. My head," groaned Rainbow Dash.

"What happened?" Spike asked.

"I...wait...WHAT IN TARNATION?!" gasped Applejack. It didn't take long for the others to take notice of their current state.

"Where are we?!" asked Rarity.

"Weren't we just in the hospital?!" asked Rainbow Dash as she attempted to break free from her straps. She froze as her eyes fell on Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! You're okay!"

"Um...I don't really feel all that okay, to be honest," Fluttershy replied.

"At least you're alive! We were worried sick about you!" Rainbow then took notice of Twilight and gasped again. "Twilight?!"

"Oh my stars! Twilight! How in the name of Celestia did you end up here?" Rarity asked.

"For that matter, how did we end up here?" Applejack asked.

"Girls, please. Everypony calm down," said Twilight as calmly as she could manage. "I know about as much as you do about where we are."

"Ugh! Does anypony else's head hurt or is it just me?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"It's not just you, Pinkie," said Fluttershy with a groan.

"Good. For a moment there, I thought I was going crazy or something."

Rainbow Dash continued to fight against her restraints. "Well I'm going to go crazy if I'm tied here any longer!" she snapped.

Derpy shook the door of the cage and, as expected, it didn't budge. "The last thing I remember is drinking the tea that nurse gave us," she said.

"Same here," Applejack concurred before turning to Twilight. "What about you, Twilight?"

"I was talking to Flash Sentry, somepony who's been helping me, and I drank some tea he offered me," Twilight replied. Her eyes suddenly went wide. "Wait a moment! The tea! We must have all been given a sedative of some kind!"

"I don't remember drinking anything," said Fluttershy. "The last thing I remember is being carried off by that horrible robot."

"Look, it doesn't matter how we got here," said Applejack. "What matters is why we were brought here."

Twilight felt like a weight had fallen into her stomach. She let out a deep sigh and shook her head. "I know why we're here, wherever here is," she said.

"You do?!" Pinkie Pie asked. "Tell us! Tell us!"

"Now, now. I think I should be the one to explain," said a cold yet familiar voice from the shadows.

Twilight watched as a stallion resembling the Doctor entered the light. He had a black mane, gray coat, pegasus wings, and was wearing a flowing doctor's coat. Derpy instantly pushed herself against the door of the cage and frowned. "Discord Whooves!" she snapped.

Discord Whooves came to a stop in the center of the room and smiled at Derpy. "Hello again, Derpy," he chuckled. He looked around the room at the trapped mares. "So nice to meet all of you." He stopped turning his head when his gaze fell on Twilight. Something flashed deep within his dark eyes. "Hello again, Twilight. You may not remember but you and your little dragon assistant have met me before."

"I know that the reason I can't remember that is because you electrocuted us," Twilight snarled.

"Oh yes. Sorry about that." The dark Doctor suddenly broke out into a fit of cold, mocking laughter. Once he was done, he wiped a tear from his eye and cleared his throat. "In all honesty, I'm really not."

"What do you want with us? I know that you ordered the Cyberman to capture me and my friends."

"That I did." Discord Whooves began walking around the room and glaring at each trapped mare with a sinister smile on his face. "You six are my keys to the Elements of Harmony." He stopped in front of Twilight and stroked her cheek. "I also have a few more...special plans in mind."

Twilight jerked her head away from his hoof. "And what about Spike and Derpy? They're not connected to the Elements of Harmony. You had no reason to bring them here."

Discord Whooves shrugged his shoulders. "The more the merrier. I do enjoy an audience from time to time."

"Well, whatever your plans are, we shall not be helping you with them!" Rarity snapped.

"And that's the beauty of it, Rarity," said Discord Whooves as he turned around to face her. "You really don't have a choice in the matter. Isn't that great?!"

"No. Not really," replied Pinkie Pie with a simple head shake.

"Wait a second," said Derpy as she looked around the cage she and Spike were in. "Where's Daring Do?!"

"Pardon?" asked Discord Whooves in response.

"Daring Do was with us! If you wanted an audience then how come she's not in here too?!"

Discord Whooves scratched his chin for a moment. "Oh! That's right! I remember now! She saw through my assistant's deception when she sedated you at the hospital so she needed to be taken care of."

Derpy gulped. "Taken care of?"

"Basically, I stabbed her," said a bubbly voice from the darkness. Everypony watched as a human girl with fair skin, vibrant pink hair, and dressed in a macabre assortment of clothing entered the room.

Is...is that the other Equestria's Pinkie Pie?! Twilight asked in thought as she stared on in horror.

"She's probably bled to death by now," Pinkie Pie the human continued as she pulled out a bloody butcher knife and twirled it about in her hands.

"Thank you, Pinkie Pie," said Discord Whooves with a chuckle. He then turned back to Derpy. "My lovely assistant stabbed her to death. That's why she's not here."

"I don't believe that," Rainbow Dash said through gritted teeth. The cyan pegasus was shaking with anger and a few tears were streaming down her face. "Daring Do couldn't lose to the likes of you!"

Pinkie Pie the human walked up to Rainbow Dash and presented the knife to her. Rainbow Dash cringed as she saw her own reflection on the bloody surface of the weapon. "There was a lot of blood, Dashie. Anyone can get stabbed, even Daring Do. And nobody stabs better than me," she teased sadistically.

"SHUT UP!" Rainbow Dash screamed. Pinkie Pie the human gave a loud, cruel laugh right in Rainbow's face.

"Now, now, Pinkie Pie. There will be plenty of time for teasing later," said Discord Whooves with a bored eye roll. "Why don't you go ahead and bring her in. I'm just dying to show our guests my new achievement."

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" chirped Pinkie Pie the human as she stored the knife in one of her pockets and skipped out of the room. She returned a moment later, pushing a large white tub of water in front of her. A series of electrical wires ran about the interior and exterior of the tub and a large monitor was attached to the front. The water inside the tub was milky white and gave off the odor of hospital sanitizer. "Here she is!" The tub was parked in the center of the room. "Do you think she's ready to wake up?"

Discord Whooves circled around the tub and moved one of his hooves along the surface of the water. "Yes. I believe she's ready."

Pinkie Pie the human began to jump up and down and clap her hands. "Hooray!"

"What...what's in there?" asked Fluttershy.

"The first of many wonderful creations," Discord Whooves replied before smirking at Twilight. "And thank you so much for your donation, Ms. Sparkle. It was very much appreciated."

"Donation?" asked a confused Twilight. She looked up and saw that a small bandage was wrapped around her left foreleg and a small blotch of red could be seen on it. Her eyes widened. No....no, no, no! Please tell me this isn't going where I think it is! she thought with panic.

"Come on already!" whined human Pinkie Pie. "Let's wake her up!"

"Patience, Pinkie Pie. I was just getting to that," said Discord Whooves as he moved over to the monitor. With the pressing of a few buttons, the wires surrounding the tub roared to life. A purple light emanated from them as pulses of electricity poured into the milky water. The substance inside the tub began to bubble and swirl. "She should awake any second now." Everypony in the room held their breath as the bubbling inside the water grew faster and faster. Human Pinkie Pie continued to jump up and down, clap her hands, and cheer. Twilight's heart was beating like a drum. The others could only watch in silence brought upon by fear of what was to emerge from the murky tub. Then, after a full minute, it emerged.

The sound of a loud gasp echoed through the room as a figure sat up from within the depths of the tub. The milky water splashed up and a fair amount spilled over the tub's sides and onto the room's tile floor. Discord Whooves let out a laugh of triumph and human Pinkie Pie continued to cheer. Some of Twilight's friends gasped while others remained silent.

Twilight could only shake her head and breath deeply as she looked at Discord Whooves's creation and saw...herself. The Twilight Sparkle in the tub grabbed its edges and continued to take long breaths of air. Murky water rolled down her mane and coat as she frantically looked around the room to take in her surroundings. It wasn't long before her eyes fell on Twilight.

The two Twilights stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Both of them were deep breathing but for completely different reasons. "You did it, Mr. Whooves! You did it!" cheered human Pinkie Pie as she jumped in front of the second Twilight and stared straight into her eyes.

The second Twilight backed away from human Pinkie and turned around to come face-to-face with Discord Whooves. "The first breaths of life are always the most intense," he stated. "How do you feel?" The second Twilight attempted to respond but was unable to produce any sound. Discord Whooves reached over and patted her head. "It's alright. I predicted as much. It'll take a little bit of time for your vocal cords to fully develop. But it shouldn't be long. Do you understand?" The second Twilight nodded in response. "Do you know who you are?" The second Twilight gave a sad look and shook her head. "Don't worry. I'll give you an identity." The second Twilight's sad expression quickly changed into a small smile.

Pinkie the human continued to jump up and down frantically. "Ooh! What are we gonna call her?! Twilight 2?! Sparkle Twilight?! Sparkler?! Thgiliwt?! Tara?! Lauren?! Starbutt?!"

"None of the above, Pinkie," said Discord Whooves. Pinkie the human pouted and turned her head away. Twilight could only remain in stunned silence as she watched Discord Whooves contemplate the name of his creation. He then smiled as if a light bulb had turned on inside his head. "I've got it!"

Pinkie the human leaned towards him with anticipation. "What is it?! What is it?!"

Discord Whooves took the second Twilight's head in his hooves. The second Twilight gave an innocent smile and a giddy giggle escaped through her lips. Discord Whooves's smile grew wider as he stared down at her, a sinister gleam flashing from deep within his soulless eyes. "I'll name you...Thalia!"

To be continued in Doctor Whooves Episode 22: Black Sun...