//------------------------------// // Chapter 57; The Mirror // Story: The Wander Through Lands Unknown // by Tomas Lutwig //------------------------------// I sat awake in the small room, the morning sun only just starting to rise and turn the nearly black sky to a deep blue as stars slowly followed the moon in it's decent. Having returned to the day car after laying awake in the bed I was given for the day and a half trip to the Crystal Empire, I found a quiet enjoyment in watching the night's end and day's beginning. Silently I scrutinized the admittedly shaky plan I had put together earlier the previous day, before and after my rather polite request for the mares to 'go away'. My thoughts wondered though as I noticed the slow decline of strong grasses that had been coating the fields for miles. I let out a tired sigh as my eyes drooped, 'The fact that Rainbow Dash is right is probably what bugs me the most' I finally concluded. 'I guess it's just sad that even though none of it was real, it still hurts so much to think about' The sun's slow accent into the sky cast a near blinding light into the room as the train passed a mounting making me flinch away. Sitting back on the cushioned seat, I leaned my head back trying to relax as the train's wheels rattled on. Moments later I heard a light knock on the room's door, making me jolt to look at the sliding door. Blinking a few times I rubbed at an itch that had formed behind my eyes. 'What could one of them want so early?' I wondered before offering a scratchy “Come in” The door slid aside to reveal Fluttershy who poked her head into the car's room, a look of concern on her face before it relaxed as she offered a quiet “Oh, there you are.” Rubbing a hand down my face I faced the pegasus mare, “Ah, Fluttershy. What can I help you with?” “O-oh no, I don't need anything. We were just wondering where you had gone. When we woke up Twilight went to check on you, but you weren't in your room.” Fluttershy offered, her quiet voice I had to strain to hear with the lack of sleep. “Are you alright?” “Ah, yea fine.” I said waving a dismissive hand before a yawn shook me. “I couldn't really sleep. The feeling of moving while trying to sleep isn't something I'm used too. I came here to think rather than lying in bed.” I offered the mare a tired smile. The look of concern returned as she approached a few steps. “Oh dear. You really should try to get some sleep, trying to stay awake after a sleepless night isn't good for you.” A pensive look crossed her face for a second before looking back up at me, “Are you sure the train was the only thing keeping you up?” I let out a light chuckle, “Oh no, I'll be honest I'm rather nervous about not only having to try to not make an ass out of myself in front of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, there's also the whole deal with not only going through the portal and trying to deal with getting Princess Celestia's old student back, but also hunting down a trio of chaos causing sirens.” I rubbed at the side of my face, letting my hand pull at the skin before letting it drop into my lap. “That does sound like it would be stressful” I heard Fluttershy reply softly as I turned to look back at her. “B-but are you sure that's all that's bugging you?” She seemed to shrink behind her mane as I looked her over for a second before letting out a sigh. “I assume you're talking about Rainbow Dash's comment?” She nodded in response making me nod back, my mouth scrunching up as I thought. “I-if you don't f-feel comf-” Fluttershy stuttered for a moment before I held up a hand to stop her. I shook my head as I looked at my bag, set safely between my legs. “It's fine.” I said. Silence fell over the room for a moment as I thought of a reply to the mare. This time Fluttershy didn't speak, seeming to recognize my silence. “My main concern with the whole ordeal was that it... affected me so strongly. Even though not a bit of it was real. I think I could deal with the changelings and their love sapping, even being trapped in that dark, cramped, cell as long as I was. It's just...” I trailed off, trying to think of an explanation. “What happened?” Looking back up at Fluttershy I saw the fear in her eyes. The fear wasn't for herself however, it was fear for me, for what I was going through. Closing my eyes I turned away again. “I can't say I've ever really had anyone that I've truly loved, not in the romantic sense that the changelings were trying to take from me.” I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling of the small train car's room. “They ended up latching onto an image that my mind spawned while I had been trapped in stone, the first time.” I quickly reiterated. “I don't remember exactly what the dream was about, but it was wonderful.” A smile formed on my face as I thought about the passing memories of the dream. “I can only think she was supposed to be my girlfriend. Maybe a few inches shorter than me, a little chubby but still beyond beautiful with long coppery hair.” The smile quickly faded as my eyes dropped down the wall, tracing the rivets and joints in the metal and wooden decorations. “Chrysalis first tried to seduce me by transforming into her. After I laughed in her face, she quickly changed tactics, deciding to manipulate my dreams rather than try again in real life.” My eyes finally stopped on the seat across from me, red cloth covered with a cotton filling, comfortable enough. “It became a bit of a game for her I think. When I awoke, I found myself in a hell that she crated, cold, silent, pitch black, I was even clamped to the wall in shackles.” A gasp sounded from the mare, though it went unnoticed. “I even believed that Princess Celestia had completely given up on me, leaving me to be trapped there forever.” Turning, I looked out the window to find the sun had gone up considerably along with the landscape changing to that of a snowy wasteland with no real landmarks in sight. “I sought refuge in those dreams, building a life, loving her, even going so far as marrying her.” Trails of salty tears made their way down my cheeks, losing themselves in my beard. “Then while we were camping one night, a-” I choked for a moment before clearing my throat. “A monster attacked us. I... I tried to get her away, to distract it, I was quickly dispatched. Injured badly enough I couldn't move, only watch. Watch as it...” I choked again, this time breaking down into sobs. My eyes were clenched shut as I cried quietly, even as I felt something warm wrap around my shoulders pulling me into a comforting embrace. For minutes I sat there, the sound of my friend's steady heartbeat and quiet cooing soothing me just as her hooves and wings did. Weariness won out, as I felt my consciousness slowly start drifting. The steady beat accompanied by clacking of metal against metal. A gentle voice sounding, saying words that were meaningless to anyone but the speaker. I watched silently as a young man, my brother, road away on his bike. Waving a hand as I stood next to a taller woman, my mother. “Just gotta hope he has fun, right Bret?” her voice sounded making me look up at her. The voice sounded again, though the words were meaningless, babble as her face grew brighter. “I bet I can stare at it longer than you can!” a young boy's voice sounded making me look over to see a challenging smile on his face. “You're on!” my voice rang out defiantly, turning back to the painfully bright light of the sun. Birds chirped around me as I blinked, the bright light fading to a pleasant light, illuminating the dark streets around me. 'I wonder why birds are chirping in the middle of the night?' I silently questioned, a breeze pushing the warm night air through my hair as I walked down the street. A lamp flickered to life above me making me look up to see it flashing sporadically before brightening, the light paler than the normal yellow. Blinking I looked away from the overly bright headlights of the oncoming car. Letting out an annoyed sigh, I closed an eye silently cursing the driver for not paying attention to the alignment to the headlights of his car. A thumping sound made me look back to the road in front of me only to realize that I was riding off the edge of the asphalt road and onto the dirt shoulder jolting my vehicle to the right. My headlights illuminated the dark fronds of a willow before they banged against my windshield. My heart lurched as they parted to reveal the sturdy trunk of the tree. I jolted awake to hear banging. Looking around I grimaced from the light that shined in through the window, before taking in my surroundings. Rubbing a hand down my face I looked towards the door leading out of the train car's room. “Wanderer!” A familiar voice sounded. “We're going to be arriving at the Crystal Empire in five minutes! You need to get ready!” After a moment, I recognized the voice as Twilight Sparkle's. A groan sounded from me as I sat up, aches sounding in my back from the abnormal sleeping position. “I'm awake Twilight” I just about shouted, aggravation sounding in my voice. If Twilight noticed, it didn't sound in her voice. “Alright, just make sure you're ready!” I grumbled quietly under my breath as I heard her hoofsteps grow quieter. Blinking a few times I rubbed at my face with gloved hands. A few light smacks jump started my thoughts before I sniffled. Yawning I looked out the window, squinting against the bright light of the sun as it reflected off the snow. Looking ahead of the train, I saw glimmering spires that stood out against the predominately white background. After blinking my eyes grew wide at the sight of the Crystal Empire growing closer and closer. The city shined in the noonday light of the sun, standing out even against the sudden grasslands that cut off the snow. 'Wow' I thought marveling at the sight before a knock on the door grabbed me from my wonder. “Waaaanders! We're almost to the Crystal Empire! Are you going to stay trapped in there all the way there~?” Pinkie Pie's voice sounded behind the door making my eyes roll as I chuckled. Grabbing my bag from the floor of the train car's room, I stood up only to notice a distinct yellow spot against the red seat I had been asleep on. Reaching down, I picked up what looked to be a feather from a large bird. Turning the feather over in my gloved fingers, I looked it over a gentle smile forming on my face. Shaking my head from my pleasant memories I tucked the feather into the small pouch on my belt. 'I'll have to thank Fluttershy later' I thought pulling the door open. The pink party pony herself stood on the other side, looking up at me with a large grin on her face. “Heya Wandy! Did you have a good nap?” Silently I wondered if Fluttershy told the other mares about what had happened before shrugging the thought off, it didn't matter. “Yea, actually I did.” I replied to the Pinkie Pie's smile with one of my own. Pinkie's smile only grew. “Oh! That's good! Ponies tend to get sooo grumpy if they don't sleep enough!” She started walking down the corridor towards the next door leading to the next car, a distinct spring to her step. “And we can't have you being all grumpy when you meet Flurry Heart!” She leaned over putting a hoof over the other side of her mouth. “Foals tend to get really grumpy if you show up grumpy too.” she said in a hushed voice. I chuckled at the mare's antics before nodding. “All too true Pinkie, all too true.” The hyperactive pink mare and I walked through a few cars, her excitedly telling me about the Crystal Empire and how she and her friends saved it from King Sombra. “And Princess Cadence was like 'Whoosh!' and grabbed Spike and the crystal heart right outta the air! Then she swooped around and said something, I wasn't really close enough to hear her, but then she threw the crystal heart towards the castle and then all the crystal ponies turned all crystaly! Then everything started glowing! All of a sudden we were all crystaly and this magic wave went 'Swoosh!' through us and King Sombra was all 'Auuugh!' and exploded!” Pinkie finished holding her hooves out as she stood on her hind legs. The other patrons of the train, ranging from crystal ponies to normal ponies stared at the both of us, some in shock and fear of me, others watching in confused awe of the hyperactive happy pony. “Then what happened?” I asked, a smile on my face as I watched my pink friend fall back to her four hooves looking up at me. “Pshhh, like you don't already know.” Pinkie said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Spike got rewarded for helping save the Crystal Empire, we went back to Equestria, Twilight freaked out because she thought she fai-” Pinkie Pie was interrupted as a pink aura surrounded her muzzle, though she didn't notice, her jaw continued moving even though her mouth was clamped shut. Looking over I saw Twilight among her group of friends, horn alight staring at Pinkie Pie. Noticing my look she offered a sheepish smile. “You probably don't want to hear that story, I mean it's not all that interesting” I rolled my eyes, “I do already know it Princess.” I started towards the exit the small group stood next to, Pinkie following, still talking though her mouth was shut, only offering “Mmmmhmm hmm m hmm mh”s. As we neared I smiled towards Fluttershy who returned it. “Ah, uh, Hey Wanderer” Rainbow Dash's voice sounded making me turn towards the mare, who was flanked by both Rarity and Applejack, both of whom seemed to be looking at her with an obvious intensity. “I, uh, well ya see... About yesterday?” I nodded holding up a hand, “Don't worry about it. Sometimes we all let our mouths get ahead of us.” I said offering a shrug. “Oh really? Whew that's good to hear.” A great deal of the tension seemed to evaporate out of her. A posh “Ahem” sounded behind her making all of the tension return as she turned to face the two mares. “Ah, well actually. It wasn't all that okay. I was informed that I shouldn't of said... what I did. And I'm s-sorry.” she finished looking up at me expectantly, a hint of a plea for help showing in her pink eyes. I offered Applejack and Rarity a raised eyebrow which they promptly ignored, turning away acting like they were interested in anything besides Rainbow's apology. Looking back down at the mare I nodded. “Thank you Rainbow Dash, admittedly that comment did hurt quite a bit after what happened. Don't worry about it though, I had a bit of help dealing with it so I think I'm alright.” The cyan mare perked up, blowing a sigh out between pursed lips. “That's great! I'll try to watch out for that in the future.” She turned back towards her two friends before leaning in. “Between you and me, they threatened to do some majorly un-awesome stuff if I didn't apologize.” I chuckled imagining what some of the threats could've been. I winked before drawing a line over my mouth with my thumb. “Last Stop! Crystal Empire!” called over what I could only assume to be the intercom of the train before it finally lurched to a stop. A few of the less prepared ponies, and myself included, stumbled a bit before the doors opened revealing the crystal city. The door quickly became a bit of a rush to get out, even as I looked further down the train other doors opened to release small rivers of ponies of different shapes and sizes. Thankfully, being a 'personal friend' of Princess Twilight, we managed to get off the train rather quickly, with only a few bumps from ponies who were obviously in a hurry. Looking towards the large crystalline city I found my breath catching in my throat for a moment. Awe stopping me, as the show had not done the impressive city justice. Past grasslands and agricultural plots started houses of different shapes and sizes, ranging from small crystal-like buildings that looked like they had grown from the ground itself, to massive crystal mansions that even from here I could tell were masterpieces of carving and architecture. Even a large dome-roofed stadium that had a golden image on it's side, though simple in design and decoration, seemed elegant and in no way out of place amongst the beautifully crafted homes. Though all of the buildings paled in comparison to the massive Crystal Palace with it's tall spires that seemed to reach to the sky itself, it's arched supports also being the shelter of the crystal heart, the city's protector. 'Wow...' I thought, thoroughly surprised by the beauty. A tug on my arm pulled me away from my sightseeing to see Twilight's horn ignited once again, this time attached to the sleeve of my jacket which was lightly pulling me towards their group, which had grown in number by a few. A number of armored crystal ponies stood at attention near the group of mares, with the exception of one familiar orange pegasus in what appeared to be Equestrian royal guard armor. Following the pull of Twilight's magic, I headed towards the group. The guards escorted us through the city streets up into the palace, two breaking off to open the large doors and the last two breaking off as we entered the throne room to stand on either side of the crystal throne. Princess Cadence was turned talking to her husband who stood at her side before turning towards our little group. “There you girls are!” Cadence says as she starts down the steps of her throne. I watch as Twilight splits off from the rest of the group raising an eyebrow as the two meet before they start dancing. “Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” they both recite, going through the little dance before they stop giggling and hug one another. “It's so good to see you again Cadence!” Twilight says, a smile across her face as the two step back. Cadence nods, a similar smile on her own face. “It's good to see you too Twilight! Flurry Heart has been asking about you!” Having had to bite down on one of my fingers to keep from laughing at the two mares, I felt my hand drop back to my side at the name 'Flurry Heart'. I blinked at the pair of mares for a moment as they talked about Twilight's apparent niece. 'When did this happen?' I found myself questioning. Thinking back through what I remembered of the series, I found a faint memory of hearing about Cadence being pregnant, but the majority of it was a blur. 'Seems what I don't know of this universe is growing rather rapidly.' I thought as Shining Armor approached his sister giving her a hug. 'Hopefully this won't be too complicated with these two. Maybe if I'm lucky I can just head off tonight' “We got Princess Celestia's letter, though she didn't explain what she needed to use the Crystal Mirror for.” Shining Armor's voice sounded, catching my attention back on the conversation, as the stallion motions towards me. “And is this the 'Wanderer' that the letter mentions.” My eyebrows raised as the trio looked over at me prompting my approach. “Yes your highness, I am the Wanderer.” I said kneeling, trying to remember the protocol for meeting royalty. “Please, rise Wanderer. Any friend of Princess Celestia's is a friend of ours” Cadence's voice sounded. As I rose though, I caught a scrutinizing look from Shining Armor. “Princess Celestia was planning on sending the Wanderer here through the Crystal Mirror to retrieve one of her old students who had escaped through it into the dimension beyond.” Twilight said, answering Shining Armor's question. “As well as a trio of sirens that he believes were banished there as well.” This time both sets of eyes fell on me, Princess Cadence offering a curious expectancy while her husband offered a similar look to earlier, as if trying to get a gist of my person just by my looks. 'To be fair, he's probably had quite a bit of experience profiling dangerous ponies or other creatures.' I thought before nodding. “Yes. I actually requested this of Princess Celestia, as due to both her wayward pupil and the small group of sirens are likely causing great havoc in this other dimension.” The pair blinked in surprise though the Prince's eyes narrowed if only fractionally. “That can't be good, though I do ask how did you come by this information? If on speculation alone it seems rather...” Cadence started, looking away as she rolled her hoof, trying to think of the right word. “Dubious?” Shining Armor finished for her eyes still on me. Princess Cadence tilted her head, hesitantly agreeing. “I was thinking unfounded, but that does work.” I opened my mouth to reply, but Twilight beat me to it. “Actually, in the case of Sunset Shimmer, I would be willing to believe it, if only for the fact of what Princess Celestia told me about her, and her rather... rude reply to the Princess' attempt to reach out to her.” I watched as Twilight pulled the journal out from her saddlebags blinking as she offers it to the two royals after flipping to the correct page. 'This is actually going better than expected. Well, if Shining Armor would quit looking at me like he wants to fry me.' Shining Armor's face contorted in a look of aggravated disgust while his wife let out a surprised gasp. “Of course we also have the threat against the crown on her head, if nothing else were to stick.” I offered getting a look from both of the rulers. Slowly I paced back and forth in the castle's guest room I had been offered. Admittedly it was more sparse than I imagined it would be, being in a castle and all, but I shook it off. 'Not as though I'll be here for long' I thought waiting for Princess Cadence or Shining Armor to send for me. The royal pair had, after a bit of discussion, explained that the mirror was not open yet and would remain without power until later tonight. Silently I thanked God for the coincidence we had arrived when we did. I did ponder though what exactly the two royals knew, as while Princess Cadence had been cordial, if not respectful in our first meeting, Shining Armor had been all but hostile. Thinking back on it, I wagered with myself that the pair had received a letter or two from Princess Twilight about a 'Wanderer' who had been incorporated into the royal guard only to turn face and run immediately after the ceremony. A tired sigh escaped me as I stopped my pacing and sat down on the edge of the bed. 'If I could go back in time...' A humorless chuckle sounded as I thought of the spell Twilight had used to go back in time and warn herself of the impending danger, or lack there of. 'Almost makes me wonder if I could be allowed to try that. Talk myself out of being an idiot...' After a moment I shook my head, putting a hand on my chest feeling for the familiar cool flame. Flopping back on the bed I finally started to relax, trying to think of what I would do after getting back from that damn high school. A chuckle sounded as I thought of dealing with Sunset, the immediate concern before getting back, by tying the young woman up and waiting until after dark before simply tossing her through the portal with a piece of duct tape covering her mouth. A frown replaced the smirk as I thought of Applejack's words. 'Females, always spoiling my fun.' I thought sarcastically. My thoughts began to wonder as I laid back, forming ideas of what I could make after getting back to my forge, what different runes I could try after having been too cautious of the magics involved. 'I could always try to add a couple runes to this one.' I felt for the small knife with Blueblood's horn as the handle. I thought about the knife for a moment longer before sitting up and unsheathing the knife. Examining the blade I found few issues, though as I ran a nail along the edge I let out a sigh as the nail caught. Rolling my eyes I reached for my bag before grabbing the stone I normally used for sharpening. 'Need to forge me a steel or something. If I keep this up I'm going to end up having to scrap the blade and make a new one due to it getting too thin.' A knock on the door sounded through the room making me jump, nearly cutting myself. Letting out an annoyed sigh as I checked my hand where the edge had scraped, I turned and looked up at the door “Come in.” I blinked in surprise as Shining Armor walked through the door, watching as he stopped halfway in noticing the knife and stone. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked from the two objects to my face. “A rather strange time to be sharpening your weapons.” he said after a short silence. I shrugged indifferently, “If you don't take care of them, there's no point in having them. Though admittedly this is a tool rather than a weapon.” I looked back down at the blade, running the stone along the edge. The sound of the blade against the stone was the only sound for a few moments before I glanced back up at the prince. “Is there something I can help you with your majesty?” Curiosity and disgust crept into the annoyed look he was giving me as he watched my hands. “Is... is that unicorn horn?” he finally asked. Blinking at him I opened my hand showing the handle of the knife, the white horn's point poking out as I looked at it. “Oh” I said a mix of emotions forming at the thought of the source of the horn. “Yea, ripped it off Blueblood's head after he tried to kill me.” Flipping the knife around so I was holding the blade I displayed the entirety of the handle. Shocked disbelief filled the unicorn prince's face as he looked at the horn. “What? I know that Prince Blueblood is a bit of a pompous jerk, but why would he try to kill you?” I let out a humorless chuckle as I looked over at the knife's handle. “Well with all the rather distrusting looks, I assume you know about me being imprisoned in the dungeon of The Princess' castle?” I asked looking back over at him earning an unpleasant look at the mention, though he nodded. “Well Prince Blueblood decided to visit the newest, and only, addition to the cells. After a rather annoying attempt to ignore the Prince, I told him exactly what I thought of him.” I said, motioning circles with the knife's handle. “Him and two of his little buddies decided they didn't like that. So they decided to beat me. After a few more choice words, he made the unwise choice to shoot magic at me. See during my little excursion into the Everfree forest, I found this nifty little amulet that absorbs magic and heals me, while also giving small bursts of strength. So I ripped the horn from his head before he could finish me off. His buddies ran off, and well...” I motioned with the knife again before flipping it back around and checking the edge. Shining Armor face was unreadable as he looked me over again. I could almost imagine that a part of the stallion was happy, someone had finally brought the pompous ass of a prince down a few pegs. The other part however, wasn't as easy to interpret. The fact that I had been around his sister for quite some time, had deserted my position in the guards, killed Tirek, had assaulted one of his sister's best friends. I didn't even know how much the stallion knew, but obviously it didn't set well in his mind. After what felt like a long silence of the two of us looking at one another Shining Armor let out a tired sigh, seeming to reserve himself to having to help me. “I came to check if you were ready. The portal should be open within the hour. My wife was wondering if you would need anything specific before you went through.” I blinked back at the stallion, surprised more than anything. Looking back down at my knife I chewed my lip absentmindedly before shaking my head. “Not that I can think of. Thank you for your concern though, your majesty.” His eyes narrowed, though less from anger and more for a tired wish for being done with me so he wouldn't have to ever look at me again. “Princess Cadence's concern.” He corrected before turning around. “If you'll follow me, the Mirror's location is less than well known around the castle, and I'd like to keep it that way.” Nodding, I put my things away. Keeping only the small knife tied to my belt as I put the other miscellaneous items in the backpack. As I rummaged through the small pouch on my belt my fingers found the ring of fog which I took out and looked at for a moment. 'I don't even know if this'll work when I get over to the other side.' I thought looking over the swirling mass of white that seemed to spin endlessly within the pearl. I quickly replaced it in the pouch, 'Added security' I finally thought. “Anytime would be good, Wanderer.” Shining Armor's voice sounded from just outside the door catching my attention. Wincing silently at the backpack, and the thought of leaving all of the things behind within it, I followed the stallion through the crystal halls. Standing before the horseshoe shaped mirror a I looked over the many decorative spirals, inset stones, and other horseshoe shapes that lined the bottom before looking up to the rearing earth pony at the top. Taking in the sight of the mirror I looked down to see a man, a young adult in looks though an unsure expression over his tired face. His clothes were tattered, the quilted forest green shirt having lost the majority of it's color, now being a dull green of a parched plant. The pants were worse looking, faded gray with patches of the dark black they had once been where knee pads had been, his boots were in a similar shape; the soles having nearly lost all of their treads, the laces being frayed and old falling apart simply holding the boots on his feet, the leather similarly discolored from the sabatons that normally rested on the boot's tops. There were colorful ponies that surrounded him a few feet back, though they wore expressions that ranged from a concern for his well being to a happiness that he would be gone, if only for a short amount of time. 'With friends like these...' He found himself thinking before turning back towards the pink alicorn princess. “You said the portal should be open soon your majesty?” I asked. Princess Cadence nodded, her hair bobbing with the movement. “Yes, though I must inform you that the time that the portal is open is... less than constant.” she said, an unsure look forming on her face. My eyes widened as I looked at her before they narrowed. “What do you mean?” Out of the corner of my eye I could see Shining Armor tense, “The portal doesn't stay open constantly, rather it opens for a few hours before closing for days on end. The time frame the portal holds to seems to change over the years, growing longer or shorter. The time you have to return could be anything from days after you go through to weeks with the portal opening and closing as time passes.” Worry creased my brow as I looked away from Princess Cadence to the tall portal, the young man looking back at me with accusatory eyes that were framed with the same worry. “Is there something wrong Wanderer?” A similarly implicative voice sounded making me glance through the mirror to Shining Armor. 'It just feels like the rules keep changing on me' I thought. Turning back I smiled as genuinely as I could while shaking my head. “Of course not, your majesty. Simply trying to decide the best course of action to convince our wayward unicorn back through.” The smile was fake, I knew it, a few of the ponies that had been around me longer might notice it, the prince however... “Of course, I wish you the best of luck.” he said nodding offering a smile that I noticed didn't reach his eyes. “Best get this show on the road then” I muttered turning back from the group of ponies and walking towards the mirror's surface. Stopping just before the final step, I reached a hand out to touch the cold glass' surface only for a feeling similarly to passing through water to reach my brain as the hand disappeared with a bright white light surrounding where my wrist seemed to end. Pulling the hand back through I noticed no difference. Looking back up to my reflection I swallowed hard before walking through the water-like surface.