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.