“Got those reports done yet, private? The griffins are set to arrive soon and we needed those dossiers yesterday,” called a gruff mare voice from above. I opened my eyes and lifted my head from my desk with a groan. The clock blinked across my face in dull red; four thirty. Four thirty on a Friday, to be exact. It should be a crime for anypony to be working this late. Besides, I had already handed over those papers to Silver Spear on Tuesday, must’ve went and lost them, typical meathead. I looked up and over towards the pony who had the gall to bother me on a Friday afternoon.

Naturally, it had to be the worst possible pony - my boss. We locked eyes for a moment, mine exhausted and hers filled with passion. Leona Flameheart, a mare known for her ferocity, both towards her own employees and of course, in protection of the princess. Leona truly embodied what REINS was looking for; conviction of steel and an infectious self-confidence that rallied even the most menial of office workers.

She was hugely overqualified for sitting at her desk all day. Luckily for her, she spent most of her time in the field, the spear of light from the shadows of REINS. Needless to say, her name was fitting, and her appearance everything expected of it--a shining golden coat complemented by a gorgeous orange mane, leaving her gleaming like a sunset. Upon her flank was a shield with flaming pen, pure and honest, a symbol for everything she was and what the best of us could be. I couldn’t compare.

The moment ended as quickly as it had come, and I broke away from her look. Sighing, I searched my desk for the papers she requested.  She would need extra copies, I assumed, for her own records.

“Yes, ma’am,” I answered, ruffling through the many papers scattered across my desk during my impromptu nap. “Right here ma’am,” I dumped the relevant ones into a folder with levitation and floated it over to her.

She looked at the folder with a frown before taking it with a hoof and sliding it neatly beneath her wing. “You look like shite, private.” She stated bluntly.

“I’m sorry ma’am, it’s been a long week.” I answered, looking down at the mess of papers eclipsing my desk. The work wasn’t what exhausted me, not really -- it didn’t help, of course, but the root of it was something I definitely had no intention of letting miss Fireheart know. Definitely not. But suffice to say, sleep had been rather fleeting lately and it was rather obviously affecting my work at this point.

“Take off early, Ash. We don’t need some washed-up, pathetic excuse of a stallion” - I grimaced, turning away - “wasting away its hours here when there are clearly much more important issues to you, like staying in your damn bed. Look around you Ash-- everyone’s tired, fuck, even I’m tired. But, no one’s given up, not one pony here, except you. Get the fuck out.” And without another word, she left for her office. The conversation, like everything else around here, ending on her command.

I slumped for a second and shook my head. She was right, I had already mentally checked out. Too caught up on other things. The office had been in overdrive this week. It always was with delegations from other countries, but this time was somehow more serious. This month, the griffins were finally traveling across the border. Usually, the only time talks happened between the two races, Celestia herself made the trip to Griffinstone. The empire hadn’t sent a single envoy for over one hundred and fifty years and to make matters worse, the king himself was coming. Rumors sprang up boundlessly, as rumours do, ranging from assassination plots to clandestine love interests. Of course, most of them were bunk. However, we have to take each and every one of them seriously. There was always the chance one of them was correct. Every single individual coming with the king was being scrutinized to the smallest detail, everything from the children to the oldest hen. Nothing would escape REINS.

So far, there had only been hints and rumours of any trouble, nothing concrete. There were talks about some alicorn killing artifact being found, or that the griffons had found a way to rob ponies of their magic. It was absurd, of course, but REINS had to take every threat to the crown seriously, no matter how trivial or stupid. None of us expected anything to come of these, the princesses could take care of themselves better than any of us could.

I sighed again and stood up slowly, the hustle of the office resuming its usual tune. I hated my job, I really did. Working at REINS, the Royal Equestrian INtelligence Society could be incredibly fulfilling. We were the first line of defense for Equestria, and by proxy, Celestia.

At least, the higher-ups were. I was basically an intern. My father had been a guard, and his father, and his father’s father and his… well, you get the idea. The family pressure to follow in their shoes had been pretty heavy, but it just wasn’t what I wanted. Instead, I enlisted for REINS; I started nearly two months ago, as Private Ash. Close enough for my family to get off my back, at least. That is, as long as they thought I was doing field work.

Field work was difficult to start with my cutie mark being a manilla folder with a few papers stuffed inside. Honestly, what could be a more boring talent than that? Literally fit for a paper pusher, just desk work inside an already monotonous job. I wanted some excitement, some adventure--not to be stuck inside all day. The best I ever got were stakeouts, and those were delegated to me due to how damn boring they were. Day after day, nothing but paperwork and meetings. It’s not like they were very interesting meetings either; more pomp and circumstance than meat. There was never any real substance to it. I turned away from my desk, weary and ready to leave the day behind. Leona was right, as she usually was--I was just done.

I started to walk out through the office, returning casual goodbyes as I went. The weekend was upon us, and that meant a little bit of fun this weekend, away from all the stress at REINS. But first, to home.

I left the office and made my way towards my dingy apartment. The path back wasn’t long, all it required was a quick trip through some side streets and skirting around a busy market. It was around this hour, when ponies got off work, that the market entered its apex. Ponies flocked there for a quick purchase before finally heading home for the weekend. The stores that made up the market here lined the streets, encompassing much of the area this close to the castle; the few that remained were what made up the side streets--small and cramped, yet prime real estate that sold for quite a pretty penny. Of course, the markets never really catered to those who lived here; most were tourist traps or novelty shops. They aimed purely for those who had to come see the Princess, or simply the crown jewel of the capital itself. None of this really applied to me.

Despite working at REINS, I didn’t have any posh apartment near the castle itself. No, I was closer to lower town, further down on the terrace that Canterlot rested on. Just a single crossing of a bridge and it was like stepping into an entirely new city. Gone was the light, airy feeling, where wealth abounded, and every stallion, a noble, and every mare, a lady. Gone were the guards and ponies agape with wonder at the sights, the tastes, and smells of a world they didn’t belong to. Gone was the sound and fury of merchants and customers at war, bargain prices taken just a bit too seriously, and bits too valuable to simply give up. The world of the town below was one eclipsed by too tall, too old buildings that leaned on each other for support, casting long shadows against Celestia’s exposing day and the ponies living underneath. And somehow, the ponies seemed sketchier than the actual buildings themselves. It was just--seedy.

I stepped in front of a building made entirely of brick with few windows dotting the front. Apartments mostly lined this street, nearly all of them built in the exact same manner, with just the few necessary stores here and there, nothing posh, nothing fancy. The best that could be said was that everything needed was close. It wasn’t hard to just pop over to a local bakery and grab the night’s meal. That wasn’t to be tonight though, tonight it was straight to my apartment.

Technically, it wasn’t even mine. My parents paid for it, Canterlot being expensive as Tartarus to live in and all. Even though they were my parents, they weren’t exactly the embodiment of generosity. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, dad would always say. They helped me just enough to make a living. And so here we were, my apartment being just about as cheap as you could buy in this city, part of a mass produced block. A single bedroom, bathroom off to the side and a small, yet invaluable, kitchenette. Not even a closet, just a set of drawers for the meagre supply of clothes I owned, most of which had been most generously supplied by the guard. They were plain things, dress uniforms and the like. Uniform and expressionless as the walls that framed the room. I didn’t bother decorating. There was never enough time or funding. When it really came down to it, the apartment was just a place to lay my head down and sleep. That being said, a bed and a single, large mirror were all that I really own.

Still, stepping into the door after a long day of work was heaven. The worries of the week were behind me, and after a quick step into the shower, the day was washed away. Now, the night was upon us. I glanced over to the clock on my dresser. 4:55, plenty of time left.

I stopped in front of the mirror and began to cast a spell. I really did love magic, although my choice of magic wasn’t the most common one. My appearance and cutie mark would lead you to believe my magic would be plain, or boring; powerful enough to levitate files to my superiors but otherwise good for naught. In reality, my magic was focused on making everything the opposite; illusion was my passion, if not my special talent, and I was really good at it. I closed my eyes and focused hard, the intricate spell work weaving around myself. I could feel my body change and bend, the gentlest touch shifting the senses.

When I opened my eyes, my body had changed. I immediately looked into the mirror before me, a smile resting on a face only familiar in my dreams. Gone was Ash, the stallion. Gone was my coat of white and brown mane. Gone was that accursed manilla folder from my flank, no longer damning me to monotony. In everything’s place, a mare stood. Her coat--my coat now--a dark, enticing purple set against a darker blue mane, with a single stripe of bright cyan running through it, bringing light to the darker colors. Silver eyes completed me, eyes that trailed along my figure, assessing every angle, every cut, until they rested upon my flank. And surely enough, there lay a new crest upon my flank; a mirror trimmed with golden filigree. My mane fell over one of my eyes, loose strands breaking away from the mass of hair. I tried to fix it with a quick jolt of spell work, but it wanted to be rebellious. Despite gravity being an ass, I smiled, beamed, for what felt like the first time in days.

Every day of my life everypony only ever saw Ash, the stallion. They didn’t see me, they didn’t see who I really was. It’s funny, illusions are usually cast to hide the truth, to enrapture and captivate the audience, yet now it revealed all, and set me free. It wasn’t easy, but it was complete. At last, I was complete.

I wasn’t done yet, though, I couldn’t just go out without getting a little dressed up. Not for the first night of the rest of my life.  I cast another spell, layering illusion atop illusion. A soft, cyan dress, matching the stripe in my mane now rested across my form. Nothing too complex or convoluted, I didn’t want to lose control over the spell after all. The nights stayed warm, so the dress needed to be light and airy, flowing and resting just above my hooves, the same color as my mane. It was perfect, at least for a night out with friends. I gave a little spin in the mirror, giggling to myself as the skirt lifted and my mane spun into my face.

A knock at my door broke me from my reverie. I glanced over to the clock, seeing 5:15. My guest had arrived. “Coming!” I called, a little squeak flavoring my voice. If the spell worked as it should, then I wouldn’t just look like a mare, I would sound like one, too. That was the hope, at least. I looked in the mirror, reassuring myself that the illusion still held, quickly fixing my mane in the process before making my way to the door. Then, with hooves mentally crossed, I swung the door open, revealing my guest.

Summer Breeze, a white pegasus with light blue mane stood in the doorway. A friend of mine from REINS.

“Hi! Come on in!” I gestured past myself, welcoming Summer in.

“Hello.” Summer answered, concern etched on her face. She stepped in slower than usual. “Is Ash home? Him and I were supposed to go out.” She peeked a little past the door, craning her neck, like I would be hiding in a corner. Finding no pony, she looked up at the door, double-checking she had the right apartment. I raised an eyebrow and gave a little smirk. Success!

“Right here.” I answered, pointing to myself, with just a hint of pride. Summer’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Her wings shot out, standing at attention. She lept up and threw her hooves around me in an embrace.

“Omigosh!” She practically shouted in my ear, “You actually got it working?!” She stepped back, holding me at arm’s length, a quick motion that caused my mane to fall over my face. Again. “It feels so real!”

“It’s still just a trial. But it looks pretty good, doesn’t it?” I answered with a small giggle, giving myself a quick lookover just one more time. I brushed my mane aside, smiling up at my friend. “It feels right.”

Summer let go of me, calming down a bit. Her wings settled back down and she looked over me much more critically, giving the full top-to-bottom. “This is crazy, I didn’t even know if it was possible.” I didn’t blame her. To be honest, I hadn’t been sure it was possible either, yet here I was.

“Well, it wasn’t easy.” I answered, my grin dropping a little bit. “Lots of sleepless nights, but worth it?” I finished with a nervous, hopeful smile.

“Oh my Celestia, I just can’t get over this. Look at you!” Summer continued, practically prowling around me like a predator. I couldn’t help but shift a little uncomfortably under Summer’s piercing gaze.

“Hey, hey, give a filly some room to breathe.” I said, gently pushing her away with my magic.

“Sorry,” Summer apologized, a hint of a blush forming. “Just making sure the illusion holds.” A slight tinge to her voice. She sat back on the bed, eyes still locked on my form.

“So where are we going anyways? You never told me.” I asked, sitting down beside her.

“Oh, just a local college party. I know a friend of a friend. There will be drinks and dancing and stuff like that.” Summer answered, waving a hoof in the air lazily.

“Am I going to be overdressed?” I stretched the fabric from my dress out a little across the bed, fanning out the skirt. Summer wasn’t wearing anything, a default state. I wanted to look at least sort of respectable for my debut. It needed to be special.

“Nah, I just didn’t feel like gussyin’ up tonight or anything. Where’d you get that dress from anyways?” Summer asked. She turned towards me, giving my dress, and myself, a scrutinizing look. “Didn’t think you would own anything like that, since, well- y’know.”

“Oh, it’s just another part of the illusion.” I started a bit dismissively. “Dresses are a lot easier to make than--all of this.” I gestured to myself. “Most unicorns could probably do something like this with practice. Is it too much?” I asked, giving my dress another, more critical look.

“No, no, not at all! It looks great! You ready, Ash?” Summer asked, slowly getting back to her hooves. It had been a bit of a long week for the both of us, after all the griffin hub-bub.

“I’ve been ready, I’ve always been ready, I’ve waited my entire life for this.”  I answered, voice rising a little as I went on. I took a deep breath before going on. “Oh, and just for tonight, can you call me Mirage?”

Summer smiled warmly. “Of course.” She walked past me, leading the way out, and bumped my flank with her own. I turned and followed Summer, pleasant thoughts swimming in my head as the night had simply begun.