Sieges and Spellcasters

The castle village of Bauric Yale was loud and busy, as most civilized places were during the middle of the day were. Peasants milled about, doing whatever tasks they had for the day while merchants pushed their wares and craftsmen, artisans, and masons all tended to their work.

The districts of the city – military, craft, market, and so on – were all in this state.

Soldiers clad in shining iron armor and chainmail and wielding a variety of weapons patrolled the streets, guarded entrances, and stood watch atop the stone, crenelated walls that encircled the town and its keep.

The keep had been built atop a hill like any sensible architect would recommend, constructed of sturdy stone and surrounded by much higher walls than those keeping the village safe. Perimeter turrets and high towers lined the walls, the larger of the later having large mounted ballistae with its operators on standby at all times.

Within the keep’s walls also stood a much smaller, more shoddily constructed wooden building. It was home to many beings in colorful robes. These were the castle’s mages, teaching and practicing their magics audibly and conspicuously, be their spells dangerous or not. Some scorch marks around the grass it was built on suggested that this place had burned down in the past.

… The author now feels inclined to mention that none of these people were human. They were all anthropomorphic animals.

Every single member of their society lacked the smooth, slightly hairy flesh of your average homosapien. Instead, they all had colored fur, tails, animalistic ears and elongated muzzles where appropriate. It wasn’t limited to furry animals, either. Scaly creatures like snakes (whom still slithered around, but had arms and were sentient), sharks (somehow), and even dragons.

---

That day, one of them walked through the crowded streets, wearing a simple, rough, light brown hooded robe. Its pink-furred hands held a vine of red grapes, casually eating them as it walked. Its head was tilted down to keep its face hidden by its drawn hood, doing its best to blend in, despite some merchants and slightly important members of society spotting it and grinning. They knew who it was.

The hooded figure looked around as it approached the market district, approaching a stall put up by a strongly built buck and tapping the surface of such while he had his back turned. He turned around, saw the hooded one, and smiled. “My, you certainly took your time, Miss.”

The hooded one could be heard laughing in a feminine tone, tilting her gaze upwards to allow her visage to be seen. To the male cervine, and to a few behind him, the robed stranger appeared to be feline, with strangely pink fur and emerald green eyes. “Hahaha. Good afternoon, Sergey,” she replied, her voice young, with just the slightest hint of refinement. She popped the last grape from the vine into her mouth and tossed the vine aside, then reached into her robe and produced a not small amount of gold to be laid on the table.

The one known as Sergey chuckled and handed the female feline another vine. He took a chance to look around him, seeing the telltale pikes and metal hats of stationary guards, in addition to a duo of more lightly armored, sword carrying soldiers. “So, how long d’ya think it’ll be before they find ya?” he whispered, trying to look inconspicuous as he pulled the payment into a bag.

The hooded cat put a pink hand over her chest in mock offense, though quickly retracted it as she heard the familiar sound of bootsteps turning. Her fur color alone was a giveaway. “Not sure. But I’ve been out here since this morning, so I know they’re looking for me.”

“I’d imagine. I hate to be rude, Miss, but I’d rather not be speaking with you if you do get caught,” he expressed, stepping back and kneeling down behind the stall to avoid knocking it with his antlers.

“Understandable. May the Marusian Son bring you wealth,” she simply replied, beginning to walk away from the stall and the nearest batch of soldiers. She walked right through the center of the market district, quietly eating her newly purchased grapes while trying to discretely leave the area. But after just a few minutes of walking, she could still hear the telltale sound of boots following behind her, even amidst the ambient noise of the midday market commotion.

And after turning down into a narrow path between buildings, she knew they had found her. Slowly, she put her grapes into a pouch she had beneath her robe and then reached up to adjust her hood. Doing so exposed her pink furred hands to those around her, but she figured that since she had already been found, it didn’t matter.

“Hold it right there!” came a gruff, irritated voice from behind her, followed by those bootsteps breaking into a run. She began to run, doing her best to dodge anyone in the streets as she ran from them.

Sadly, luck was not on her side. As she emerged from the alleyway, she ended up colliding with another group of patrolling guards, being bounced backwards by the first guard’s large shield and falling on her backside. It was enough for her pursuers to close the gap and to take a strong hold of the female. “Let go of me! Unhand me!” she protested as they dragged her to her feet.

As soon as she was standing, they complied, merely emitting a “come with us” as they began to walk towards the keep with their prize. They also made sure to remove her hood, exposing her identity to any of the troops that watched the streets.

A long walk to the keep had given the girl plenty of time to try to think of her defense, but she knew it wouldn’t work. It never did. The guards brought her to the inner gatehouse, and after seeing their captive, the ones manning the gate, drew it open.

The pink furred feline was brought to keep and inside, but rather than taking her to the dungeon, the girl was brought before the King in his throne room. It was about as large and luxurious as one could expect, nothing really worth speaking about.

The King sat in his throne; a lion garbed in exquisite violet robes and magically augmented armor. As the robed cat was brought before him, he gazed down upon her with contempt and disappointment. “… Leave us,” he commanded, seeing his soldiers comply.

That left the feline and the King alone. Silence dominated the room as the two cats watched each other. A full minute passed before the King acted. He stood from his throne and slowly approached the girl, standing in front of her with a stern expression now. But rather than striking her down or something equally bad, her reached down and pulled her close in a tight embrace.

The pink cat grunted and squirmed in his grasp until he released her, giving an annoyed mewl as she stepped back.

“What is it going to take to make you stop this, Faith?” the King asked, making the girl cross her arms.

“Father, you say I am naïve and must learn about the world around me,” Faith began to protest, her expression angry. “So why must you insist on keeping me here under lock and-?”

“You are a Princess, Fa-“

“AND KEY, when you are so clearly unable?” she interrupted to finish. That struck a nerve, as illustrated by her father baring his fangs.

“Royal blood or no, you will speak to me with respect, child!” he roared fiercely, startling the pink furred one. She took a step back and he followed her forward, the great lion beginning to speak once more. “… I swore that I would protect you until the end of my days, Faith. How can I do that when you refuse to remain here, where it is safe? How can you learn to rule when you so eagerly mingle with commoners?! How can you ever hope to perform the incredible tasks laid before you when you spend time in the village instead of honing your magical abilities?!! HOW?!?!”

Faith had backed up into the wall by this point, her father’s anger being a thing she knew never to trifle with. And she had just trifled with it. She had no answer. Not a good one, anyways. So she remained silent, much to the triumph of her father.

He closed the gap fully between them, having calmed himself by very loudly interrogating his little girl. Then he dropped to his knees and pulled her close for another, tighter hug. He breathed deeply. “…You mean more to me than any creature that resides within our walls…” The lion spoke softly, his voice sorrowed. “I cannot lose you, Faith… I cannot… I must not…”

The pink furred princess slowly wrapped her arms around her father’s armored form, shutting her eyes.

“… I love you, Faith… you are everything to me…” he uttered softly.

“… I love you, too, Father…” she replied, sniffling softly. It was rare that she saw this side of her father. When she did see it, this was how and when she saw it. It was a rare time for the King - this majestic, stoic, inspiring rock of a creature – to break down.

“… Promise me… Promise me you’ll be safe… Promise me you will…” he started, pausing briefly to pick the correct words. “… Promise me you will stay in the keep more… Please…”

Faith had heard that one more often than she could name, though. She had made that promise more times than she could count.

“… I promise…” Make that more times than she could count plus one.

Her father released her and took a deep breath, standing straight and looking down at the girl with a soft smile. “… Good girl,” he told her, reaching down to rub her head affectionately. “Now, go see the Archmage and practice. I want to hear nothing more of your escapes. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Father.”

“Off you go, then.”

With that, Faith turned to leave the room and her father returned to his throne. She let out a deep sigh and began to walk to her chambers first, and upon reaching them, she shut the door and sighed again. “… Gods damn me…” she uttered quietly as she walked to her wardrobe, taking out a few garments and walking behind a changing screen that stood between the wall and both of the room’s windows.

She removed her brown robe and hung it over the screen, donning an interesting red garment that seemed more like a bathing suit than suitable royal clothing. It was mostly red, covering her areas while allowing full freedom of movement. It had no sleeves, with a golden-yellow cloth fastening to the waist high portion of the garment from both sides to cover her rump while allowing her long, pink tail freedom. At the top, she tied off a small cord for a “collar” around her neck, two straps running from the front bottom of such to hold the garment up and against her body.

She peered at herself in a mirror to make sure it was on correctly… considering that the entirety of her back was uncovered, she had done it right. Next came her magical apprentice garb, a robe made of soft, purple velvet with golden trim. And lastly, she reached into a nearby box and produced a small red bow, placing it in her ponytail’ed pink hair.

Satisfied with her appearance, she went to her wardrobe and grabbed one last thing: a small dagger, adorned with the royal seal of the Kingdom of Bauric Yale and currently sheathed. She placed it around her waist beneath her robes, and then left the room to meet with the Archmage.

---

Twilight Sparkle rolled around in her bed, groaning softly as she cursed her eyes for refusing to close. She was exhausted, too, but that didn’t stop her body from giving her a hearty “fuck you” and keeping her awake for no adequate reason.
She groaned with frustration, rolling onto her left side and forcing them to close. But all that did for her was let her close her tired eyes. Sleep did not come.

After several long, agonizing minutes of lying there, she let out yet another groan and tossed her covers off with her magic, rising from her bed. She let out a lengthy yawn, her wings unfolding and streeeetching out to her sides. “… Mmph...” came a tired moan, her hooves meeting the cool floor with that usual clopping noise. She used her magic to create a light in the darkened room, and then left it.

It had been a little while since she had had a chance to give her new home a good look, so she elected to do just that. She wandered the halls, managing to avoid her library, lest she get wrapped up in her reading and guarantee a lack of sleep. She visited several unused rooms, mentally cataloging what she’d use them for at some point.

But at last, she visited her throne room, the large room cloaked in darkness… except in one corner of the room. A soft red glow emanated from a tall object… one she came to recognize all too soon.

She began to regret not hiring guards for her castle; if she had, she would have known sooner about the return of the Crystal Mirror. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung agape; that mirror should be in the Crystal Empire with Princess Cadance!

Twilight turned and dashed to her throne, looking behind it and finding her conveniently placed parchments and quill.

“Spiiiiike?!!”

---

Faith sighed deeply as she left the Archmage’s School, walking back into the keep as she began to yawn. It had been a long day and she wanted nothing more than to hit the hay and plan for her next escape. She hadn’t realized she wouldn’t get that chance.

… Because from the treeline, about a mile away from the castle, chaos struck. Three massive fireballs launched towards the city, immediately igniting in the city center and military districts. The blaze roused the city’s soldiers from their idleness as they ran to their posts, the ones on the wall blowing several horns which essentially meant “we are under attack!”

Faith heard the horn and stopped in her tracks. She had heard that sound once before. It was the scariest year of her life, living under siege. She was only ten years old when the southern Volis Empire had attacked. The siege lasted a whole, grueling year, trying to starve the city into surrender. The only reason they had survived was because a trader from another nation saw their blockade and managed to escape to inform their allies.

But as unseen siege weapons tossed rocks at the walls, it was clear that their intentions were to destroy, not to rule.

Faith quickly ran to a cabinet within her room and swung it open, pulling out its only contents: a wooden shortbow with a quiver containing 28 arrows. Then she rushed from her room, and just before she could try to leave the keep, she ran headlong into her father.

“Gaaaah! F-Father!”

“Faith!” he replied, stunned. “… What? No! Go to the cellar! Hide!” he then ordered, drawing a sword and leading several soldiers out of the keep, leaving the pink feline alone.

Faith shook her head. No. She had to do SOMETHING… as foolish as it was. She waited until her father was out of sight, then let him get distracted once she was outside before running to the gates, lying to the guards, and running out into the city...

---

“Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle… Get all that, Spike?” Twilight let out as they stood near the mirror, her assistant tiredly taking down her second letter to Princess Cadance.

“… Ughh… Yeah, yeah I got it…” came an unrested voicing, the young dragon quickly sending the letter after sealing it.

“Thank you, Spike… You can go back to bed now, but please wake me up if they reply.”

Spike silently saluted and left the throne room, leaving Twilight Sparkle alone in front of the mirror. She stared at her reflection for a time, still wide awake and still frustrated with that fact, but now she was intrigued… Why was the Crystal Mirror glowing the way it was?

Was it broken? Could somepony in the human world be in trouble? What if her friends in the human world were in trouble and were trying to call for help?

These thoughts scared her as she looked at the mirror… it was like it called to her, begging her to enter it once more… She looked behind her and gritted her teeth; to go or not to go… To wait for the Princesses to come to investigate, or to go in on her own…

It was as she weighed her options that her body began to act for her. She reached out to the mirror and felt the slightly familiar sensation of putting her hoof through the portal. It snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked at her hoof… She looked behind her, then muttered one thing to herself.

“Maybe just a peek…” she told herself, taking a deep breath and pushing into the portal.

---

Smoke.

Smoke was the first thing that filled her nostrils as her eyes shot open, finding herself on her back on a cobbled street. Screaming and crying could be heard all around her as she managed to sit up and rub her head and horn.

She then looked at her hands, remembering how to use them fairly quickly. Wait…

Her horn.

Twilight glanced up and felt her horn, inwardly smiling. At least here, she had that advantage. And after standing, she also realized that she had taken her alicorn wings with her, as they now protruded from her back. She then looked down at the rest of her body, and ran her hands down her new garments: an exquisite velvety red robe that covered her entire form.

Unfortunately, her appearance was the only good thing about this situation. She felt two creatures run past her, one knocking into her and nearly knocking her over as he ran past. “RUUUUN!” he cried, making Twilight tilt her head. She then looked behind her, about to ask what they were running from.

She didn’t get very far; she saw then was a burly creature in pitch black armor swinging an iron ball on the end of a stick and chain. It charged towards her, swinging its flail. Twilight gritted her teeth again, focusing on creating a shield to block this thing’s advance… but instead of creating a big, purple wall of energy, her horn crackled and the spell fizzled. Her eyes went wide as the creature raised its flail over its head. She braced herself, but it didn’t do much good.

The flail rammed downwards onto her blocking arms, audibly shattering her bones and drawing blood. She didn’t have a chance to scream, either, as the attacker promptly rammed its fist into her face. Twilight Sparkle’s world went black as her body fell to the ground, the enemy turning its attention towards more unfortunate souls.

The Great Invasion of Bauric Yale

Her breathing quickened slightly as she ran through the cobblestone streets of the village, eyes scanning the blazing buildings and splintered wreckage of the many wooden structures. Its citizens ran like wild, those with weapons brandishing them as they ran to positions to defend the northern wall while those without tried to escape from a few select beings. One such being dashed across the street right in front of the bow carrying princess, but what astonished her most was that this one was wearing their armor!

"Oh no... They're being controlled...!" she said to herself, quickly drawing an arrow from her quiver and notching it to her bowstring. She'd need to be ready to fire if those unfortunate bastards turned on her. For better or worse, though, they seemed content with causing confusion and terror among the populace.

A thunderous crash sounded from the north wall, which echoed throughout Bauric Yale, as the enemy launched flurries of stones at the walls to attempt to destroy them. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, even amidst all the chaos around her, she could hear the low but clear sound of a thousand battle cries from beyond the walls. Her fur began to stand on end and her ears pinned back against her head; she began to feel like she was about to die, and it was just a matter of time...

But she quickly shook her head out and ran towards the market district, seeing the largest column of smoke rising from there. If she was going to die, she'd at least try to save as many people as she possibly could first. As she ran, she heard the sounds of rocks hitting walls grow louder, more intense... They were making progress, despite the city's defender's best efforts. She had to move.

She quickly ducked inside one building as she heard screaming, readying her arrow as she entered. Fortunately, there was nobo-

Faith's ears twitched and, in a brilliant display of feline reflexes, she ducked just in time for one of the mind controlled soldiers - a rather thin bull - to embed his sword in the door frame. She immediately took advantage; it was him or her. She scrambled away and into a corner of the surprisingly intact building, drawing her arrow and taking aim just as he withdrew his sword from the door.

"May Viyi forgive me..." she whispered softly, letting it fly. The arrow immediately embedded itself in the dominated soldier's chest, practically ignoring his armor as he fell to the ground. He cried out in pain, clutching the arrow. In what some might call a foolish move, Faith then ran to the soldier, hearing little footsteps behind her scrambling downstairs and out the door.

She found him slumped against a table, coughing and sputtering. He looked at the one whom had shot him, grimacing as he let go of the arrow. "... I'm... sorry, your Highness... Please forgive me..." he managed to emit, not seeming to notice or care or have the energy to do either as Faith dropped her bow nearby, placed her hands on his chest and shut her eyes.

"Vælor Lominuio Usin... Vælor Lominuio Usin..." she began to chant, focusing deeply on what she was doing, but being stopped as the man's arm shifted to knock her hands away. "... W-What are you doing...?" she asked, her voice soft and concerned about the bull dying in front of her.

"Leave me..." He coughed harshly, blood splattering from his mouth all over his legs and the floor. "Get to saf-safety, Princess..." His head began to droop and her eyes shot open.

"No! No! Don't die! Vælor Lominuio Usin! Vælor Lominuio Usin! Vælor Lo-" she let out in a panic, beginning to chant to try to save this creature. The only reason she stopped was because she saw his eyes glaze over and his entire body go limp. Slowly she withdrew her hands from the dead soldier's body, the piercing noise around her all but fading out for her as she stared at her handiwork.

She shook her head and looked at her hands, shaking violently. Tears flooded her eyes and she began to sob through her teeth. "... No... nonononononooo..." she whimpered, hunching over next to the bull's corpse.

Never before had she ever thought she'd need to kill. She had been trained for a good portion of her life to defend herself, and that was what she had just accomplished... but she would have never imagined it would feel like this...

Faith's claws dug at the wooden floor beneath her, tears staining her fur, whiskers, and the ground as she wept. "Viyi forgive me, for I have wronged you. I-I shout to you my pleas for mercy, that you may forgive me and spare my life..." she prayed, pounding the floor beneath her. "Please take this man's soul and grant him rest... Glory and praise to you, Fair Viyi..."

Even after finishing these words, the princess remained hunched over next to her victim for several more minutes, just crying... Eventually, though, she calmed herself enough to slowly stand, reaching to, at the very least, draw the bull's eyes shut. "... I'm sorry..." she quietly muttered, bending down to pick up her bow once more before leaving the building.

All at once, the gravity of the situation returned to her. The screaming was much louder now, and she could hear the distinct sound of hundreds of pieces of metal colliding with each other... She quietly hoped that it was just a large selection of weapons being tipped by citizens back in the military district, but she knew better... and that fact was even more terrifying. It meant that the enemy had breached the walls. Faith sprinted away from her first kill, directing citizens to the gates while fleeing from the combat at the north gate.

As she ran into one alleyway in the market district, she nearly tripped and fell over a corpse lying in the walk, jumping over it and looking back as she ran. Then she stopped running, turning around and approaching the body... It was an equine with a horn, bearing short light purple fur and clad in expensive looking velvet robes... Its... no, her arms were crossed over her chest and the sleeves looked bloodied. Her visage was splattered with blood as well, and though Faith thought that she might have taken a hammer to the face, nothing appeared broken.

She knelt down and took hold of the creature's shoulders, but she felt warmth... This one was still alive! Seeing this, and feeling that she owed it to Viyi to redeem herself, she quickly dragged the unicorn into a currently extinguished building and placed her hands on the arms.

"Vælor Lominuio Usin... Vælor Lominuio Usin.... Vælor Lominuio Usin..." she chanted, closing her eyes and focusing. Her hands soon began to glow with a soft, pure white magical Aura, the glow spreading to the unicorn's arms. At once, the bones shattered by her attacker's flail began to mend themselves, as did the marks that would come of such.

Faith chanted for at least a minute before the spell completed and her focus was lost on its own (the trademark of the unskilled spellcaster), breathing a little faster as she rolled up the violet furred female's sleeves to check her handiwork; it was as if they were never broken, though blood still covered her sleeves.

Now she just needed to wake this woman from her unconscious state. An intensification in the battle noises from the northern part of the city made her look over her shoulder; they were running out of time. "... Here goes nothing..." she muttered to herself, placing her right hand on the equine's neck on her forehead. She closed her eyes and began to chant once more.

"Porocg Zhuno... Porocg Zhuno... Porocg Zhuno..."

---

Twilight Sparkle was in pain. A lot of pain. But pain, at the very least, was a sign that she was still alive... The most peculiar of sensations began to sweep through her, but it was not unpleasant. It was as though newfound vigor was being forced into her, rejuvenating her tired, sleep-deprived, anthropomorphic body.

She began to be able to make out the voice of a mare, repeating something near her form...

"-cg Zhuno... Porocg Zhuno... Porocg Zhuno..." What strange words... She realized that someone was touching her head and neck... Were they trying to hurt her? She wasn't sure... A soft groan left her lips as she regained full consciousness, having the strength to open her eyes again.

What she saw was a figure in a luxurious purple robe and pink fur, her eyes shut and those strange words streaming forth from a feline maw. Her fur was a familiar shade of pink, as was her hair, a bright red bow adorning the latter.

"... What... Wh-Who..." she managed, turning her head towards her apparent savior. The stranger uttered one last string of those nigh-unrepeatable words before opening her eyes and turning to meet her gaze, a smile creasing her lips as a sigh escaped them.

"Thank Viyi you're alright..." the cat uttered softly, her countenance wet with... tears? Twilight wasn't sure, but tears were a good guess... Perhaps it was time for answers.

"... Where am I... Who are you...?" she asked, figuring she needed the big details first. As she looked at the feline, she noticed her expression becoming worried and slightly sympathetic... Maybe this cat thought something was wrong with her? Surely she must be mistaken... For lack of a better description, Twilight felt amazing, all things considered.

"... My name is..." the pink one started, pausing... She looked away briefly, seeming to be thinking, but only for a few seconds before she revised her reply. "I am Princess Faith Áilleacht of Bauric Yale..." came such, the feline pausing to put a bow over her shoulders before taking both of Twilight's arms and forcing her to stand. There had been a tinge of urgency in her voice... Was she in a hurry? "This is Bauric Yale." She then explained, beginning to tug the alicorn along.

"Wh-Where are you taking me?" the alicorn uttered, listening carefully and hearing the sounds of metal hitting metal, terrified screaming, and intense burning. 'What if that creature is still here...?' she thought, immediately looking behind her.

"The keep. If we don't get there now, I fear for our lives. Come! Run!" the other princess urged, beginning to tug on Twilight's arm. She managed to break into a sort-of run, trying to remember how to walk on two legs while she went.

"What's happening? What's going on!!" she tried to ask, though was overshadowed by Faith's own voice.

"Any of you whom are still alive and value your lives, take any arms you can find and follow me to the keep! We must hold!" the feline princess cried at the top of her lungs, knowing that she had been heard by at least a few dozen. Twilight looked back to see small crowd beginning to form behind them. Those that followed were of all sorts of different species, all walking on two legs. Some carried weapons, some did not. Some were men, some were women, some... looked barely old enough to be carrying the makeshift arms that they were. All of them looked afraid, with a few loudly uttering what sounded like prayers to a foreign entity.

Twilight's heart sank and her stomach began dancing in her gut; something truly terrible must be happening for all of these beings to be acting this way.

---

Faith eventually led a crowd of at least 50 anthropomorphic animals to the only path to the keep, being flanked by several still loyal soldiers whom recognized their princess and moved to guard her. They did not question why she was leading a strange purple unicorn with wings along by the hand, and simply yelled instructions to any citizens to follow them. Once they reached the path, Faith and the guards began ushering all of them up the path to the keep, where the inner gatehouse had been opened to allow for any refugees to rush in. It was there that Faith got her first glimpse of her soon-to-be demise.

From there, she could see the northern gatehouse, but the left portion of the adjoining wall was gone... and in the streets - about a mile from the keep, she could see them. At least a thousand soldiers in dark blue armor, chanting a fierce, demoralizing battle song as they cleaved and ravaged their way to the keep. Faith's body froze up, her mouth agape and her eyes wide and pinprick-ed. The unicorn saw her expression and followed her gaze to the invading army, a similar look of horror on her face.

Her father's men were holding their ground as best as they could, but they simply could not hope to stop or rout the advancing troops. They were scattered all over the city and disorganized, attempting to put out the fires in the village and giving the invaders ample time to breach the walls and flood the streets.

"... No..." Faith whispered softly, shaking her head and quickly turning to the crowds. "Faster! Move faster everyone! Go!" she cried, making frantic gestures towards the keep as people flooded in. One soldier gave the feline a light push.

"Your Highness! You must go, too!"

"Bu-"

"Your father has ordered us to ensure your safety. That is what I am going to do. Retreat into the keep and hide."

Faith slowly nodded, beginning to follow the crowds into the inner walls, leading the winged woman along by the hand.

---

Twilight Sparkle was now regretting her decision. She should have just waited for Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance to come. Instead she had foolishly indulged her curiosity and... well, the gravity of her situation really began to set in. Her eyes began to water as she walked with Faith. Her clumsy gait was gone, but she didn't think on it. No, she was thinking of home.. of her friends... she began to desperately wish she could go home, to see everypony again, to be anywhere but here. She'd rather be fending off Queen Chrysalis and an evil Discord again at the same time than be here, in this most dire of situations.

As they entered through the inner gatehouse, the screaming around them intensified as a flurry of arrows struck just behind them. Panic flooded through the citizens, all of them scrambling for cover as those unlucky souls behind them were struck down indiscriminately by the pointy wooden shafts. Faith pulled Twilight along faster and led her into the keep after being let through by the guards. Surprisingly, the interior was much more quiet and calm than the area outside, though soldiers were scrambling around the place with great urgency.

---

As soon as they had entered the keep, Faith saw a lion at the other end of the room, staring back at her with wide eyes. Her own began to tear up again, and she released Twilight's arm dashing to him and flinging herself into a hug. "Father!!" she cried, feeling his arms wrapping around her body.

"Faith!? By the gods, what possessed you to disobey me!?" he boomed, paying no attention to the slowly approaching alicorn.

"... I-I had to do something, Father! I couldn't sit in my chambers and wait for them to kill us! I wanted to help! B-But... But I... Ahhhhhhh!!!" she managed to get out before breaking down in the King's arms, making him tighten his hold on her. He shut his eyes and fought his own emotions; he could not let his men see his fear as well. Morale or a miraculous save from their allies would be the only things that could save them now, he thought. Without the former, the enemy would cut through their defenses like butter.

It was several agonizing minutes before his daughter calmed down and pulled away, wiping her eyes. It was at that point that the lion noticed the approaching alicorn. He summoned up his courage and turned to face her. "... Greetings, milady," he began cordially. "I hadn't realized you had come to Bauric Yale. Tell me your name and from where you hail."

The purple alicorn froze as she was addressed, her eyes full of tears as well. She quickly moved to wipe her face off with a sleeve and to collect herself before answering. "... I... I am P-Princess Twilight Sparkle... of Equestria... What is happening?" she answered, gaining a pained look from the lion and the pink cat.

"... The Haogah have come... I do not know why... but I do know this... This is the most heavily fortified place in the kingdom. If we cannot hold them here... Than may Viyi rest our souls..."

These words did not comfort Twilight Sparkle, and she immediately began to shake as the lion walked off, yelling orders.

"Boil the oil and let loose the condemned ones! Close the gates! Anyone who can fight, make for the armory and take a weapon! We hold them here or we will all die!"

Faith returned to Twilight's side, sniffling as she approached the fearful pony.

"... What's going to happen to us, Princess...?" Twilight asked, unable to keep from hugging the feline or sobbing. Faith grit her teeth and let out a soft whimper, returning the embrace tightly, as she needed the comfort just as badly.

"... I don't know, Twilight Sparkle... I don't know..."

Author's Notes:

I'd appreciate feedback. Just sayin'. Also, I'll probably put out a chapter to explain some things at some point, but I'm waiting until a certain point when it makes the most sense.

The Perils of Medieval Warfare

Princess Faith and Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in the main hall of the Bauric Yale keep, going over their situation in their heads without so much as a word to each other. They didn't need to. The looks on each other's faces were enough. The sound of warfare was enough. The panicked screams of the citizens were enough.

The feline was the first to break the silence, feeling that if she didn't, their descent into despair would spell their doom. "... What... What brings you to Bauric Yale, Twilight?" she asked, disposing of the titles for the sake of her own tongue.

Twilight looked up from the floor at her apparent hostess, staring at her for just a moment before sighing. "... I came here through a portal," the alicorn replied, garnering no reaction from the pink one. Perhaps such a thing was not uncommon here? That question could wait till another time. More important ones belonged in her mind right now. "... I remember waking up in the streets, then I was attacked... And then you found me..." Twilight rubbed her newly healed forearms, awkwardly tapping Faith's shoulder to prompt her to face her.

"... When I was attacked, I'm fairly certain that they broke my arms... What did you do to me?"

This one got Faith's attention, though she certainly welcomed the distraction.. even if the question made her sound like a total idiot. "... B-Basic healing spell. How do you not know this?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Twilight rubbed the back of her head and then rubbed her horn's tip gently. "... I-I know lots of spells... But I tried to create a shield and nothing happened!" she said in her defense. To try to illustrate, Twilight gritted her teeth and shut her eyes, focusing on casting that shield spell. Her horn began to glow (much to Faith's surprise), but all it did was make a handful of purple sparks erupt from the tip of her horn. She grunted with exertion and tried again, but produced nothing but magical sparks. Twilight frowned at herself; this kind of failure was fine for a little filly, and she would expect as much from her filly self pre-apprenticeship.

Slightly discouraged, she tried a much simpler spell; a simple orb of light. She focused her power into her horn and tried to create that much... and then a small, violet orb of radiant light burst from her horn, floating a few inches over her head. Twilight stared up at it, breathing a little harder. "... But... I can do that..."

"... How did you... how did you do that?!" Faith let out, her eyes wide. It was Twilight's turn to give Faith a weird look.

"I've been able to do magic like this since I was a filly.. Haven't you? You clearly have magic of your own." Faith gave a frown of her own.

"... All creatures, no matter their age, can learn magic..."

This... was something Twilight was not expecting to hear, and the small, more selfish part of her felt bad; everyone has magic? Then what does that make her? The element of common ability? She was about to question it when Faith continued.

"Now what KINDS of magic they can learn is decided at birth, but the Archmage could tell you more," she said, forcing herself to leave out the obligatory "assuming he's still alive." "... In fact... Open your mouth and hold still," Faith said, figuring that this winged unicorn needed to know her own magic.

Twilight, of course, did not understand. "... C-Come again." Instead of waiting for her approval, Faith stuck a finger into Twilight's mouth and frowned. "Hold still, don't bite me," she commanded. The alicorn complied, crossing her arms and freezing in place.

Faith closed her eyes and began to chant. "Solmvoloor Xenafol... Solmvoloor Xenafol... Solmvoloor Xenafol..." came the incantation, the alicorn's cheeks a faint pink from the embarrassing nature of the spell. For a few seconds, nothing happened, making her wonder about what Faith was doing.

She then had to intensely focus on holding still as she felt something floating out from her chest. Four small orbs - each the size of an apple - floated out from her chest, floating in a diamond pattern just in front of her face. The top orb was purely white, the left glowed a mesmerizing blue, the right radiated a great green glow, and the bottom burned a bright red. Twilight stared at them all as they began to glow with different levels of brightness, with the top white sphere glowing the brightest while the red one held a bare second. The blue and green ones evened out with each other.

These orbs - and the incantation - ceased a few seconds later, followed by Faith's finger withdrawing from her mouth and a brief spit from the alicorn. Fur did not taste good. Faith opened her eyes and took a step back from the velvet clad equine. She appeared to be intrigued for a moment, examining Twilight's face and body for just a few brief seconds before speaking. "You have a deep pool of Jaor... and a fair pool of Narar... Your Mäjor and Aiugoor pools are small, but then so are mine," Faith revealed, wiping off her finger on the back of her own robe.

Twilight looked at the feline with a palpably confused expression, feeling a little odd as she couldn't understand what had just been said. "What do you mean?" she quipped. "Are you talking about those orbs that you... erm... made come out of me?"

Faith didn't need any further evidence to prove Twilight's foreign-ness. Even to the lowest peasant, the four magical energies were common knowledge. She let out a sigh and began to walk to a nearby flight of stone steps, gesturing for the winged pony to follow along. "Yes, I am," came her simple reply as they both ascended to the second level of the keep, not noticing the now intensely interested look on Twilight's face until she glanced back at her. "I suppose you'd like an explanation."

Twilight Sparkle nodded.

Faith let out a soft sigh in response, reaching the top of the staircase and then making a quick right to head up another flight. She had to admit, it was strange not seeing servants rushing up and down these steps, never mind seeing the guards that normally watched them being battle ready. It was certainly surreal.

"... Well, every single one of us is born with latent magical power, the amount of which is determined at birth," the feline female explained, noting the alicorn's attentive expression. "We all have four pools of magical energy. The first is 'Jaor,' which fuels healing and restorative magic. It's what I have the most of," she first said, feeling like she was repeating the Archmage's exact words from... however long ago these lessons came.

Twilight spared a few brain cells to desperately wish she had something to write this down on.

"'Mäjor' energy is used for enchanting, alchemy, and... something else, I think. 'Aiugoor'... lots of creatures will say otherwise, but it's mostly just used for telekinesis." Faith finished this thought as they reached the next level of the keep, finding themselves in a similar hall to the one below, but decorated much more... regally. Elaborate tapestries adorned each wall, with different artful pieces resting beneath them. The catgirl began leading the interested equine down this hall towards one of the doors at the end.

"And then there's 'Narar,' which powers magic that can be used to attack. Fire, lightning, ice, even mind control, all come from this pool of magic."

Twilight pieced all this together in her head, a toothless smile adorning her lips now. At the very least, she had this to distract her from her seemingly imminent doom; and distract it did. "... So... then those white and red orbs are Jaor and Naror?" she quipped, still wishing for a quill and paper.

"Yes. Jaor is white, Narar is red, Mäjor is blue, and Aiugoor is green," came Faith's response as they reached a wooden door, the pink one pushing it open to enter her quarters. They were about as luxurious as one could expect a princess's chambers to be. Everything was made in very high quality, with elaborate wooden carvings on furniture and soft, expensively dyed fabric on their upholstery and Faith's bed.

She ushered Twilight inside and then closed the door, taking a deep breath and then removing her bow and quiver from her form. She placed them both against the wall and then leaned against it while letting the purple winged unicorn take it in. Faith had half a mind to stop her guest from peering out the window, but before she could even try, Twilight had already seen... next to nothing. As her room was on the south side of the keep, she could not see the massive army marching to the inner gates, but she also could not see any of the enemy's troops from that window. Twilight had to wonder why... were they really that intent on taking the city that they wouldn't even bother to surround the castle? Or perhaps they didn't have enough troops to do so.

Either way, Faith soon pushed off of the wall and came to peer out with the alicorn, raising a brow at what she saw. "... Well, we have an escape route, perhaps..." she muttered softly, trying to scan the southern tree line for movement, metallic reflections, anything that might prove her wrong.

"... Shouldn't we go now?" Twilight asked, turning her gaze to the other princess in the room. "I,me-"

"Not yet..." Faith said, cutting her off and walking away from the window. "... For now, we have the inner walls to protect us, and from what I can gather, most of our soldiers are here now, trying to drive them back," she continued, walking to her wardrobe and looking through it. "... If our defenses fall, then we must flee, but as much as I'd like to, we cannot until it is certain that there are no other options." As she finished saying this, she looked down at herself consciously; she hadn't spoken in such a serious manner in years.

"... Then shouldn't we help?"

"... Well... I don't know that you'd want to, considering how dirty those robes are."

Twilight looked down at herself; she had almost forgotten that her robes were still covered with her own blood. She emitted an embarrassed chuckle and turned to approach the feline princess, seeing that she had produced a chainmail vest. The alicorn looked at it quizzically, then looked back at her folded wings. "... I can't wear this. My wings will get in the way," she then said, handing the metal, slightly heavy piece of armor back to its owner. Faith nodded and put it back in the wardrobe, not wanting to wear it herself.

Faith dug around in her messy wardrobe as Twilight looked on, and she eventually presented a robe not unlike her own to her guest. "Here. I hope this fits," she said, watching as the alicorn took the garment, uttered a soft "Thank you", and disappeared behind Faith's changing screen.

Once she was there, Twilight let out a deep sigh, taking a moment to figure out how she was meant to remove the robe before she found the cords which held it closed. Soon, the bloodied garment fell to the floor, the now bare alicorn quickly putting on the new one. She had to smile a little as the soft fabric came to rest upon her form.

After donning the other princess's robes, Twilight emerged from behind the screen and took a second to find Faith. The pink one was still at the wardrobe, but with a considerably lessened amount of fabric cladding her body. Her clothing now resembled something like a bathing suit, and the entirety of her back was on display. Twilight couldn't help but feel slightly appalled and dirty as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks just from the sight of such a skimpy outfit (it quickly faded.)

"... What... is that?" she had to ask, wondering if this was what Rarity felt like whenever she saw most things clothing related. This prompted Faith to look around her inquisitively before following the winged unicorn's gaze to her own body.

"What, my clothes?"

"I've... never seen something like that," she answered truthfully.

"Oh. I just like how it feels. Plus, considering that I'd do better dodging a hit than taking it, I'd take the freedom of movement," Faith replied, stretching her arms back behind her head with a soft groan. "It helps more than you know, Twilight. Believe me."

The equine nodded and patted herself down. "Thank you for the clothes, Faith," she said again, to which Faith gave a soft nod. It was then that she noticed a rather thoughtful look on the cat's face. "... Is something the matter?"

It took a few seconds for her brain to register that she was being talked to, shaking her head out and glancing back up at Twilight Sparkle with a few re-orienting blinks. "... I'm fine, just... wondering what exactly I can do... If I could, I'd go up to the roof and start shooting arrows down at them, but... I'm not the best shot..." she muttered in reply, quickly sizing up the other princess as she asked a follow-up. "... What about you?"

"What ab- What will I do?" Twilight replied, looking down and scratching the back of her head. She hadn't really thought about that one. "I don't know... I'm... not exactly good at fighting..."

That one got Faith's attention. "Not good at fighting? You mean to say you haven't had any sort of training?"

"Yes."

An agonizingly long-short pause "... I... I don't know what to say to that," Faith muttered quietly, walking towards the robed alicorn with her hands behind her back. "I'm not a great fighter myself, but at least I know how to use that." she then emitted, gesturing to the propped up bow against the wall. She began to quietly curse Khoffy for her bad luck, wondering why the Fate god had seen fit to screw the princesses over.

"Well... I just... I've never needed to actually fight somepony before..." Princess Sparkle said in an attempt to excuse her lack of experience, unable to see the odd look Faith had from hearing that strange pronoun. She elected to leave out the part where she was actually a quadruped creature for most of her life. "... I would rather talk them out of it."

Faith cursed Khoffy once more, bringing her right hand up to irately flick her own whiskers. "... Diplomacy may be fine where ever you're from, Twilight..." she began, turning around with a look of frustration, seriousness, and a tinge of amusement. "But in case you haven't noticed, there haven't been any negotiations ye-"

The catgirl was cut off by the somewhat faint, but unmistakable sound of dozens of males screaming in agony.

---

So far, their defenses were holding. Some of Bauric Yale's "engineers" (slightly smarter soldiers who lacked combat prowess) had just doused a good chunk of the invading force in flammable pitch, then poured pots of boiling oil on them to set them all ablaze. A terrifying, brutal method to be sure, but no less effective. At the same time, several large creatures - mostly bulls, large equines, and a few canines - were led to the top of the walls in chains. Their chains were cut and they were handed spiked maces.

These creatures promptly flung themselves into the fray, attacking wildly in an unskilled but fiercely determined manner. If they survived, they'd be cleared of all charges against them. So why not. Unfortunately, they were few in number, and though they made a dent in the invading army, all of them were dispatched before they could do any more.

All the while, arrows and bolts from both crossbows and tower mounted ballistae rained down on their enemies, killing some, but not many. It was clear that some of them had enchanted, enhanced armor and shields, helping to deflect a good chunk of the incoming projectiles. Even the occasional volley of thrown rocks did little to thin out the utter horde of soldiers advancing on the inner gatehouse.

Their numbers were staggering. No matter how many the defenders killed, there just seemed to be an endless flow of fresh blood to advance.

And then there were the siege engines. Two large boxes on wheels, with wooden and damp thatch covered roofs, rolled into the city. They had large, filed down logs hanging from strong cords, being manned by four armored soldiers each. Wooden catapults on wheels were being pushed into the castle through the now opened north gate, several slaves in tattered and torn garb being made to move large rocks along with them. But there was more. In a box carried by four of said slaves was the corpse of one of their troops, whom had died not long before the invasion began. He had died from a disease, you see. A contagious one.

Once the catapult was close enough to the inner walls, it was brought to a stop and the box was loaded into the catapult, then launched.

Unfortunately, the dead projectile reached its target. It impacted right in front of the keep's main door, the box shattering open and the body contained within being exposed to the air. A few guards nearby backed up immediately, covering their mouths and shouting for someone to come and set the corpse ablaze before the disease could spread.

It wasn't long before it was on fire and degrading into a heap of ashes. Only time could tell if their efforts were worth it.

Besides, with the body launched, the enemy's catapults began flinging rocks instead, trying to batter down the walls, towers, or gates.

---

Princess Faith Áilleacht let out a deep, exasperated sigh. She remembered those sounds and it scared her. She walked to the nearest wall and leaned against it, taking deep breaths to try to keep herself calm and composed. Twilight Sparkle, on the other hand (hoof? paw? Whatever) was curious, confused, and a little more than scared now. Not knowing what she was hearing, along with seeing the pink furred princess having a panic attack, was doing little for her state of mind.

The two stood in silence for what seemed like absolutely forever, but it was the alicorn who broke it. She walked towards the cat and put a hand on her shoulder, taking a deep breath through her nose before speaking to keep her tone neutral, at the very least. "... Are you going to be alright, Faith?" she asked, concerned.

Faith looked back over her shoulder, her ears splayed down against her head. She stared into Twilight's eyes for several seconds, opening her mouth to speak long before she found words. "... I don't know... I don't think so..." came an honest reply after such a long pause, the feline slowly pushing off of the wall and moving to pick up her bow and quiver. "... I need to do something, though... I can't just stay here..."

Twilight disagreed. To her, trying to assist in the defense in her state was a bad idea. She might do something exceptionally rash and/or stupid. So she quickly ran to the door to get in Faith's way.

The pink furred feline looked up at Twilight in a questioning, irate manner, baring her teeth a little. "Move."

"You're not in any condition to do that, Faith. You know that."

"And I'll be damned if I don't!" Faith yelled.

"You'll be damned if you do," came Twilight's reply, inwardly cringing a little at the language she had just used.

"I order you to move, Twilight Sparkle."

"You don't have power over me."

If she didn't know Twilight was trying to protect her, Faith probably would have notched an arrow and threatened the equine with it. Faith attempted to push Twilight away, and though the latter wasn't terribly strong, she managed to hold her ground against the angry cat. Their struggle continued for about a minute before Faith finally gave up, falling to the ground and breathing heavily with her bow clattering to the floor next to her.

Twilight panted a little as well, crossing her arms in front of her. "... Faith... You need to listen to your father... for once, I think..." she uttered, annoyance creeping into her voice as she made that (correct) assumption.

Faith looked up at the other princess, down at the ground, and then just began cursing.

Author's Notes:

Yep.

I'm bad at chapter endings. This should be longer, but I figured part 2 would do better as its own chapter. So here ya go.

Letters and Lamentation

The two girls had resigned to sitting on the floor with their backs to the door, trying to ignore the slightly-but-not-quite distant sounds of war outside. They needed the distraction, in all honesty; if it weren't for Twilight's persistent curiosity about magic, they probably would have descended into despair and remained in such a state until their untimely demise.

Still cross about being made to remain in her room by the other princess, Faith had a bit of a scowl on her face, but Twilight hardly seemed to care, since the cat was still answering questions anyways.

"Well, what spells do you know?" came another quip from the lavender one, getting the frowning feline to rub the back of her head. If she didn't know any better, she'd think Faith was embarrassed to hear that one.

"In all honesty, I know five, but I've only mastered three... The energy checker, basic healing, and rejuvenation... I'm still working on telekinesis and a noise spell."

"A noise spell?"

"Yes... I have such an abysmally small pool of Narar magic that I cannot possibly use any more useful spells... I don't know. I thought it might be good for a distraction."

"... Would you mind showing me?"

A pause followed, and was followed in turn by Faith closing her eyes, pointing to the opposite wall, and whispering. "Saolano Ei. Saolano Ei. Saolano Ei. Saolano Ei. After about half a minute of this quiet chanting, it sounded like someone had thrown a rock at the other wall. Faith opened her eyes as her ears twitched in the noise's direction, giving the alicorn a look that said "unimpressive, isn't it."

Twilight's expression agreed, but she said nothing about its mediocrity. "... I see... I don't suppose you have a book about it?" she then asked, managing to avoid pointing out her (correct) observations regarding Faith's current lack of magical prowess. In response, Faith slowly rose from the door to look for one, and came up empty shortly after.

"I think I left it in the library," she replied softly, turning her gaze to the equine and freezing in place at the sudden smile that curved her lips. "... I'm assuming that books would be a better distraction from all of this for you than our idle conversation."

Twilight nodded.

Faith sighed. "Follow me," she let out, watching as her guest stood and opened the door for her, leaving the feline's chambers. Making sure to take her bow with her, she shut her door and began leading Twilight along. Some servants came alongside the pair and offered the pair their protection, and one in particular offered Twilight Sparkle a sheathed sword. Twilight tried to politely decline the offering a few times, but they just kept insisting, practically shoving the covered blade into her arms. She only took it willingly (if reluctantly) when they reached the staircase at the other end of the hallway, taking the weapon by the sheath and just holding onto it. She'd put it down later.

As the two princesses walked, Faith managed to steal a look through an unoccupied arrow slit in the wall. What she saw was actually somewhat comforting, despite it all. She could see her father's forces fighting valiantly - and desperately - to keep the invaders at bay, with all manners of weaponry being used on the opposing army. "So far so good..." she muttered quietly as she walked away from the slit, leading the alicorn to the second floor. This time, she brought Twilight to the first immediate door on their left, tugging it open to reveal a slightly above average library. Twilight Sparkle's brow furrowed slightly as she scanned the room; it wasn't quite as large as her library back in her castle, and it definitely didn't hold a candle to the Royal Library back in Canterlot. But it was well stocked by all appearances, so she didn't complain.

"Hello?" a male voice called out, a figure stepping out from behind a bookshelf with a quill and scroll in hand. It was, indeed, a male. A dog from the looks of it, with brown and white fur and large, floppy ears. Were it a normal, feral dog, it wouldn't be unlike a Saint Bernard, sans the cartoon-y barrel-o-booze. The rough robed canine spotted his princess and the foreign princess and gave a sincere, if disturbed smile. "Ah, Your Highness... g-good evening..." he greeted, his voice carrying his fear well.

"Hello, Fredrick... Where is the Archmage? Is he on the walls?" Faith asked, approaching the dog with crossed arms. The male nodded. "With due respect, Princess, yes, but I must be left to my work... Your father has ordered that I take records of his history now while we still have time... May Uuro strengthen my addled mind..." With all of that said, he then walked away, pulling down books and hastily committing as much to parchment as he could.

Twilight and Faith watched him go for a short while, the former being unable to stop thinking on their peril now while the latter heard his quiet, fearful prayers and began to orally mime them herself.

The winged unicorn then re-realized that she was standing in a library, quickly moving to peruse the selection. She was mainly looking for texts on magic and how it worked, as well as anything else that might tell her more about where she was and how she might get home.

Funnily enough, the very latter of the above was at the bottom of her list. Despite the Element of Loyalty not being present, she didn't want to abandon these peo-... poni-... creatures in their darkest hour... She'd never sleep again if she bailed now. So she searched the shelves, snatching up texts occasionally and placing them on a nearby table as she went. In doing this, she felt some semblance of order and purpose.

Once she had a good number of books laid out on the table - at least a dozen - she sat down and began voraciously reading them.

Faith, meanwhile, was finishing a long, fear-wrought bout of prayer just as Twilight started reading, noting the other princess's placing and moving to look over her shoulder at the title of the rather thick tome: "The Novice Mage." She peered at the page.

"Magic can be used by any creature of any age, so long as they can speak the appropriate incantation and have the power to do so. When a creature casts any spell, it will always drain from the appropriate pool of magical power. When a given pool is exhausted, the spellcaster will not be able to use any magic.

It is known that magic power replenishes over a great period of time, though the ways by which it does so is not. And to answer one question that I hear all too frequently, it is impossible to make one's magical pools deeper.

In order to cast any spell, all of these factors must be true:

- The caster must be chanting the spell's incantation

- The caster must continue chanting for a given amount of time (more powerful spells require longer periods of chanting, I find)

- The caster must have enough magical power to sustain the chosen spell.

It should be made clear now that if one attempts to cast a spell that they cannot power, they will feel intense pain. And should they be foolish enough to continue, their demise will be quick, but painful."

Twilight took these words to heart as she continued reading, now flipping through the pages and, more or less, skimming for important details that she might need later. Whether or not she didn't mind or care about the pink cat reading behind her was up for debate.

---

Princess Celestia suppressed a yawn as she began to raise the sun early that morning, a silly-captioned mug of coffee floating next to her. It wasn't bad enough that her faithful student had sent her a letter at 2 in the morning, but... well, Twilight Sparkle woke her up at 2 in the morning with her letter. While she wasn't happy about the sudden awakening, she knew that she couldn't be angry at Twilight. She only did something like that when something was truly wrong.

And indeed, it was truly wrong. The reappearance of the Crystal Mirror disturbed her, and continued to disturb her as the sun goddess and Princess Cadence exchanged late night letters over the manner. Cadence made quite a (surprising) effort to point out that nopony had seen the Mirror being stolen, moved, teleported, copied, or anything else that a devious pony might come up with. With this communication, Celestia and Cadence had resolved to travel to Princess Twilight's home in the morning.

Had is the key word here. As she took another sip of coffee, she opened one eye to see another letter materialize on her left. The Raiser of the Sun put her "Praise the [coffee bean sun image here]" mug down and unrolled the letter, reading it over. She was first struck by the handwriting. She recognized it as Spike's, but it wasn't the same mostly-legible-but-still-somewhat-sloppy text she was used to seeing. It was messy, marred with mistakes, scrawled by a panicked hand claw. Princess Celestia began to read it from the top, aloud.

Dear Princess Celesta

Twilight's gone! I looked all over the casle, but I can't find her! I think she went in the Mirror! Come quick!

Spike

"Twilight's gone!" Those two words made her heart sink... She wasn't sure what to think... Was this a prank? Why would Twilight Sparkle write a letter about the Crystal Mirror (at 2 AM, no less), and then decide to enter the portal? Was Spike managing to conveniently miss her every time he could have found her? Could she have used that strange spe-

"Is something the matter, Sister?" Luna's voice startled the tired Princess, getting her to look back with wide eyes. Then she sighed, taking a deep breath and making Spike's newest letter float over to the Moon goddess while also bringing out all the other letters she had received since 2 in the damned morning. She watched with worried eyes as her dear sister's inquisitive expression turned to one not unlike her own. "... Oh no..." was all she could muster.

Celestia took a deep breath to calm herself and to regain her composure, making a point to chug the rest of her coffee before quickly leaving the room. She loudly ordered that her guards immediately prepare a chariot, followed closely by Luna.

---

It took just under an hour for the two reigning Princesses to reach the faithful student's castle home, landing on a surface at the top and racing down into the structure. And while she wasn't expecting Owlowiscious to flap into view a mere inch from her face, the fact that the bird seemed eager to fly off towards the throne room was certainly not unwelcome... all things considered.

The Princess of Day and Night burst into the grand throne room to see the leading owl perch itself atop the Mirror. Spike was surprisingly absent, but in his place were a sleepy Rarity, a not-so-sleepy Applejack, and a very anxious Rainbow Dash. The mares all glanced at the alicorns as they darted into the room, declaring their names simultaneously but not bowing. They couldn't. Twilight was gone.

"Where is Spike?" Celestia inquired in a slightly breathless, very concerned voice.

"He said he was goin' to go get Fluttershy an' Pinkie, then ran off," Applejack replied in that southern drawl of hers before turning to look at the Mirror. The damned thing was still giving off that same red glow, though at this point, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were no longer paying attention to it.

"I'm telling you, I heard somepony say something!" the cyan flier insisted loudly to a yawning Rarity.

"Come now, Rainbow Dash! This is not the time to be making jokes! ... Leave that to Pinkie Pie."

"But I DID!"

"Enough." This one came from the Princess of the Night, moving forward while still watching the Crystal Mirror. "... Rainbow Dash... What did you hear?"

The rainbow maned mare landed in front of Luna and immediately began a Pinkie Pie-ish but unnerved, near breathless rant. "I just got here like..." A very brief pause for estimation. "... five minutes ago and I flew in the window and saw Rarity here and the Mirror and then I started looking for Twilight, but I couldn't so I came back and hovered around the Mirror and then I heard somepony whisper something that I couldn't understand and the-"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she brought herself to a stop, holding her breath as she listened. It was very faint... an eerie whisper. Princess Luna had shot her gaze to the Mirror, having apparently heard it too, while Rarity and Applejack looked on in sheepishness and curiosity respectively.

"... The voice... I cannot understand what it is saying," Luna confessed, seeing Rainbow Dash nodding.

"Me neither. But that's totally what I heard!"

"... What does it mean, Sister?" Celestia asked, stepping forward while Applejack stepped away. The Sun goddess's countenance looked very much distraught... It was a discomforting sight, to say the least, and did little to help ease her fears for her friend.

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the telltale sounds of rapid hooffalls on marble flooring. Enter Pinkie Pie, dashing wildly into the room and towards the gathered mares with Spike clinging to her mane and neck for dear life. The hyper pony skidded to a halt right next to Princess Celestia, making the riding dragon fall off and hit his arm on the floor below. His subsequent glare went unnoticed as Pinkie Pie looked at the Mirror with... a neutral expression...

At the same time, Fluttershy flew into the throne room through the same window as Rainbow Dash, landing beside the Mirror and meekly greeting her friends and the Princesses.

---

"So... um... What now?" Fluttershy managed as the group sat in a circle around the glowing Mirror, looking at her hooves while holding back more tears.

She was met with silence. Not wanting to see her cry, Applejack shuffled closer to her yellow furred friend and put a hoof over her shoulder. "Ah'm sure Twi's doin' just fine... it's the same Mirror, right?"

Everypony nodded, and Rarity spoke. "So she's in the same place, then. Then she's safe! After all, Sunset Shimmer isn't there anymore... she'll come back in no time, I just know it!" Her voice carried a certain confidence to it now, and it seemed to help everypony's mood a little... but just a little.

"Should we go in after her?" Spike chimed, walking up to the Mirror and poking its surface with a finger and watching as it gave way to the appendage. "I mean, I've been there before. I can find her myself!"

"I can see the merit in such an idea..." Princess Celestia commented, though followed it with a shake of her head. "... But look at the Mirror, my little ponies..."

All of them did as instructed, her sister included, eyeing the glowing Mirror curiously.

"That glow is unnatural... It is magical, but..." she started, aiming her horn as it began to glow. It appeared as if she were trying to interact with the Crystal Mirror somehow, but nothing was happening. "... I cannot use it. I also feel... an immense evil coming from the Mirror... Do you all feel that, my little ponies?"

All of those gathered slowly nodded their heads.

"I cannot imagine that this magic has not affected the Mirror. It may not lead to the world of humankind at all anymore."

---

"Kaza Aakplet Hkilik Zya Nove... Kaza Aakplet Hkilik Zya Nove... Kaza Aakplet Hkilik Zya Nove... Kaza Aakplet Hkilik Zya Nove..." came a series of deep, chanting voices, black cloaked figures standing in a circle in... what used to be the Market District. Their hands were opened towards a seemingly random part of the ground.

For better or worse, the chanting did not continue for much longer. Five large orbs of flame emerged from their hands collectively, settling to the floor beneath them. With this spell cast, all five turned to walk away from their handiwork.

---

A sudden quake and an earsplitting BOOOOOOM sounded from the city, shaking the keep and all its defenders, never mind the invaders. Now the entire city was on fire, and the resulting pillars of smoke could be seen for miiiiiiles! Faith Áilleacht and Twilight Sparkle glanced up from the books they were reading and their once somewhat calm expressions became fearful once more. "... Wh-What in the blazes was that...?" Faith uttered quietly.

Twilight shook her head out and continued reading, finding a section in a tome about magical history and tearing into it (figuratively.)

---

Without warning, the Crystal Mirror's red glow intensified greatly, taking all of those gathered by surprise. Fluttershy and Spike darted for cover immediately, and once they were sure that the glow wasn't stopping, everypony followed suit.

It turned out to be for the best.

As Applejack and Rarity ducked behind Twilight's throne, an explosion rocked the entire castle, no doubt waking all of Ponyville. Windows shattered and some less well-constructed furniture broke. But one casualty was far too great.

The Crystal Mirror now laid in a state of... great and grievous disrepair, shards scattered everywhere and hidden among glass. The frame that held it had bent in on itself somehow. And, perhaps most devastatingly of all, the Mirror's magic was gone...

Rainbow Dash was the first to peek out of her cover near the ceiling, spotting the remains of the object and letting out a sharp gasp. One by one, ponies (and a dragon and owl) looked out at what had just caused such an explosion. Nopony said a word; none of them could form the words needed. The Crystal Mirror was broken, gone... with its magic... gone, it would never serve as a portal again... Princess Celestia began to weep quietly, hiding her visage in her Lunar sister's mane while the latter attempted to comfort her. The rest of the Elements of Harmony could not help themselves.

Fluttershy and Rarity began to cry, the latter trying to pick up the pieces to frantically piece the reflective glass back together. Applejack stood there in silence, taking her hat off and holding it to her chest while Pinkie Pie sat and sniffled beside her. Her mane and tail were flat and her expression was very clearly no longer claimed by the usual happiness that "plagued" her. Rainbow Dash hovered closer to the scattered glass shards, clearly fighting tears of her own as she kept repeating "nononononono...." under her breath.

And poor Spike... he waded into the sea of shards and began to slowly and hopelessly pick up the few large pieces, sniffling and sniveling all the while. He ignored the glass that painlessly embedded itself in his thick scales, just wordlessly collecting the pieces to try and reassemble it... But even he knew it was hopeless.

Pinkie Pie slowly stood up on all fours, walking slowly and carefully towards the Raiser of the Sun. "... Princess Celestia...?" she quipped, summoning the ruler's tear clouded gaze. "... Will Twilight come back soon...?"

Princess Celestia could not bring herself to answer. How could she? So distraught by the loss of her student that she could not be there for her little ponies. Her silence was a message to all ponies and dragons and owls in that throne room. She said nothing, but did not need to. The Elements, Spike, Owlowiscious, Luna... They all knew what that silence meant.

"For all we know, Princess Twilight Sparkle is gone. And she's never coming back," it said, nay, screamed. Despaired sobs, cries, whines, and whimpers sounded throughout the throne room until the rooster crowed, and some time after.

Author's Notes:

If you can find the FTL reference in this chapter, you deserve no less than 23.14 mustaches. I guess. I dunno how this whole emote based economy works.