Cadence wiggled excitedly as she sat in bed, going in circles and generally acting like a cat with zoomies. Which she technically was, since she was just so excited about the plan she has today that she needs to get all this energy out when she's alone.
She didn't want to look like a toddler on cocaine, after all. Only Sun could do that.
She jumped off the bed the second the clock turned 10, and she sprinted to the boyos' room with a grin on her face, nearly busting the doors down with how quickly she entered.
"So!" She announced, startling the two brothers sitting on the couch, "I decided I would visit the Dimension Mirror! Was wondering if y'all would like to tag along?" Her hips wiggled like a dog wagging its tail, her eyes glittering.
The two brothers glanced at each other before Moon answered, "The Dimension Mirror? Well, sure."
Sun got up with a big grin, rays wiggling excitedly as he squealed. "Oh, just imagine TWO Cadences! I wonder if she'll be just as sweet as you are!" He lightly patted her head with one hand, the other hand flapping happily.
"This is going to be my first time going to the Mirror!" She giggled, "Cause I just decided in a spontaneous decision, why not? I wanna know what I'm like in our neighboring universe!"
Sun and Moon followed Cadence out to the docks, then all just catching a Universal Transportation Carrier, or UTC for short. Cadence restrained her excitement, calming down as the ship flew through space.
It didn't take long for the ship to arrive at the Dimension Mirror because it used some portals to travel along well-traversed areas and make the trip faster.
The Dimension Mirror is a large, almost plate-like structure floating in space, with its origins unknown. The mirror part is a large, long section that nearly bisects the station into two semi-circles, the mirror part a foot thick and as tall as a storage container.
Cadence bounded out of the UTC, nearly bolting for the mirror before Moon caught her by the scruff of her shirt, and she whined in complaint.
"Calm down, you almost got trampled," Moon replied as what looked like a furry cyclops lumbered past.
Cadence blinked slowly, out of sync and like a frog. "Oh," was her only response as they started walking, her actually paying attention to her surroundings now and not laser-focused on the mirror like a kid ready to curb-stomp their sibling for touching their toys.
She giggled happily as they stopped in front of the mirror, and she clutched her hands over her heart as she waited eagerly - and slightly impatiently.
She saw other people's universal doppels walking around and wondered how long it would be until her doppel showed up. After all, they'd both try to go to the mirror at the same time, right?
After an hour of waiting, she slumped in disappointment, fighting back the sadness welling up in her chest. She turned to Sun and Moon as she said softly, "Let's go."
Sun and Moon frowned in pity, patting her shoulder as they flanked her and they started walking, stopping when they heard an uncannily familiar voice.
"What're you doing walking with that meat?" Said a voice that sounded like Sun, but they sounded so... mean.
All three turned around to see a doppelganger of Sun standing there, the alien's colors inverted and making him shades of blue with red eyes, him currently looking at Cadence with disgust.
A doppelganger of Moon stood next to the Sun doppelganger, his cyan eyes examining Cadence as he was bright yellow and a dusty brown. "She's probably a pet," doppel Moon cooed, "And such a pretty thing, too. She must be well-trained if she's off-leash."
Sun and Moon both bristled, their eyes narrowing. "She's not a PET," Moon snapped.
"She is our FRIEND!" Sun finished.
"What are your names?" Cadence asked curiously.
"I'm Mun," doppel Sun answered, setting a hand over their chest.
"And I'm Mani," doppel Moon replied with a grin, "Yours?"
"I'm Cadence!" She replied happily, slipping her hands into Sun and Moon's.
"Hm, not a bad name for a fleshbag," Mun remarked, smirking.
Cadence frowned as she replied, "Okay, what the fuck is your problem? You're such a bitchy asshole."
"Thanks, meatstick," Mun replied with a snicker. "I just hate humans. You all are so weak; terrible predators, but excellent prey."
"I like her," Mani remarked, a predatory grin on his face, "She's so small and cute. And so compliant too! Did you train her or is she naturally like this?" Mani reached out and gently stroked Cadence's head like she was a dog, and she gladly accepted the affection. "Aww, look Mun, she's friendly!"
Mun scoffed, rolling his eyes as he replied, "I'm not touching her. Humans are nasty creatures."
"That's enough, thank you!" Sun exclaimed, disgruntled as he pulled Cadence closer to him, Moon stepping between Cadence and their opposite selves.
"You can't talk to Cadence like that," Moon added, crossing his arms.
Mun rolled his eyes with a scoff, "Not like she'll remember this later. Humans are so dumb they can forget things in seconds. Her wittle feewings aren't going to be hurt."
Both jesters bristled at their doppels, and Cadence's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Shit, man, you are nasty," she remarked in surprise, "You are like, total opposites."
"That's correct! You're such a smart girl!" Mani cooed like he was praising a dog, and Cadence puffed up at the praise. "We come from a universe that is the complete opposite of yours! Where Mun hates humans, Sun loves them! And where Moon is subdued and mellow, I'm cheerful and excitable!"
"Cool," she replied, placated.
"Don't get attached, Mani," Mun warned, rolling his eyes and pulling his brother back by his hat.
"I'm not!" Mani replied indignantly, glaring at Mun before going back to cooing at Cadence like she was a cute puppy.
"I would ask what you're doing here, but we're here, so that answers that question," Moon remarked dryly, crossing his arms.
"We didn't think you would have a pet," Mun replied, smirking when both original jesters bristled. "Maybe we would have had our own..." Mun trailed off, frowning as he shook his head, "Why am I bothering to remember the fleshbag's name? Maybe we would have had our own personal fleshbag, but maybe something happened to her." Mun shrugged.
"We should go," Moon said coldly, turning to Cadence but looking surprised to see Mani cradling her, a happy smile on her face as he nuzzled and cuddled her like she was a cat.
Sun snickered softly, and Moon shot him a glare. Mani cooed praises at Cadence, lightly rocking her and stroking her head.
"I'm sooo jealous!" Mani cooed, lightly kissing Cadence's forehead, "She's so cute and cuddly! Mun, we need to get a pet, pleeeease?" He looked beggingly at his brother, who looked offended at the very notion.
"No, we are not getting a pet! Humans are messy and nasty creatures!" Mun snapped, offended. "And I don't want to have to see its stupid face or smell its stupid scent when I'm home either!"
"I'll take full responsibility!" Mani pouted, and Mun laughed.
"Responsibility? You could barely keep our ship running by yourself for one day! What makes you think you can take care of a human?" Mun guffawed. Cadence looked between her boyos and the inverted boyos.
While Moon is responsible and cautious, it seems Mani is irresponsible and impulsive. Mun seems to be the older brother, while Moon is the older brother.
It's almost like their personalities not only got inverted, but were also switched. Which is quite the fascinating phenom, to be honest.
"Please please PLEASE can I babysit your human?" Mani begged Sun and Moon, doing puppy eyes at the offended jesters.
"You are not bringing that meat home," Mun growled.
"She's not a pet," Moon corrected with a frown, "You don't just 'babysit' her."
"I wouldn't mind being taken care of," Cadence remarked with a smile.
All three jesters looked at her, Mun paying more attention to some screen floating in front of him, similar to the screen Moon uses when he's working.
"Yay!" Mani cheered, hugging her tightly and causing her to squawk in surprise, "I'll take the best care of you!"
"You are not allowed in our room until you clean yourself of those particles," Mun sneered, not looking up, "I don't want our room to smell like human."
Mani nodded eagerly, rocking Cadence back and forth excitedly.