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.