The unicorn sat upside down on her couch, eyes locked on the door. The deadbolt it concealed mocked her from the thick wooden frame. She could almost see it, keeping the entrance firmly sealed and keeping her deliberately outside of the world. Every butler she had acquired over the years had always held a key on them, so they could enter and exit at will. Now Alula found herself in possession of the sweet, ever so rare silver instrument. In a room filled with things that should not exist, this was the most precious artifact she could hope to have. A single silver key. And though her belly rumbled like a crying foal, she refrained from swallowing it.
A sudden sound caught her ears and she went rigid, flipping over. Her wings fluttered, carrying her to the door and up to its accompanying peep hole. It was never meant to have such a thing, however after the drilling incident, some kind construction pony was courteous enough to slip a small glass piece in it to make it a mirror. All that could ever been seen from the hole was a blank wall. The spyglass gave Alula a field of vision only half as wide as herself, so she had quickly lost interest in the thing as her room continued to fill with impossible things. Now, however, she was grateful for it, as she watched the slightly distorted form of a blue butler trot up to her room. With a gleeful laugh, Alula shot away and his the floor, giving only the barest hint of a groan as her wings disappeared.
She raced across the room and dove across her bed, gathering up the blankets and bundling them around her. Seconds ticked by and there was the characteristic sound of the deadbolt sliding away. Then a pony walked inside and the door relocked automatically.
"Princess Erroria?" The stallion spoke with the kind of confidence only an arrogant pony on his first day could have. The alicorn in question fought the urge to gag as she reached forward to grip a broke slinky. Her horn lit it up and tossed it across the room, ensuring that it smashed to the ground with several quick little thumps that disappeared around the side of the couch. The butler flinched and whipped around, eyes snapping onto the furniture. "Princess?" With his arrogance now masked in a tinge of caution, Alula was much more relaxed. She scooted toward the edge of the comforter and peeked out the edge, stifling a giggle.
There was the sudden rush of hoofsteps behind the butler and he skipped forward, ears pinning. "Alright, young filly. That's enough, come out right now." He stamped a hoof. This was characteristic of all new butlers. They hear the stories and think themselves capable of handling just a filly. Then, the show begins.
Suddenly, the tv in the corner flipped on with a sudden thump, immediately followed by a girly shriek. A child's voice rushed out, pitched higher than any normal filly. "Daddy? Daddy, are you there?" Butty glanced back at the television and blanched, finding the hideous creature on screen.
"Goddess, what is that?" He shuddered down to his bones. "Princess, I know you're here. Enough with the games." The tv gave another thumping sound and the channel switched. Across the brightly lit screen, a boy was chasing a few adult beasts through a house.
"Are you my mummy?"
"Princess Erroria!" The butler snapped, stamping his hoof. "Enough of these silly games. You are a young filly and just because you're not a real princess doesn't mean you can take it out on others with these silly games!" Even the characters on the television paused at his stinging words. Alula could not help her tiny gasp, nor the spasm through her muscles that sent her leaping out from beneath her blanket.
"I'm a real princess." She scoffed, sizing up this new stallion. Not as old as the others, but still rather ancient. Two strong wings hung at his sides. Rare in a butler to be anything other than an earth pony or a unicorn. Still, he was merely a butler and how dare he? Alula told him just that. "I'm not on Celestia's throne, but you can't tell me I'm not real!" Her cheeks blazed, her eyes narrowed and dangerous.
The butler set his sights on her for the first time and snorted with surprise and disdain. "Please, you're an earth pony. You're no alicorn princess." He raised a brow and hoisted the heavy tin tray up onto the counter. "Now come on, eat your soup."
Alula felt something within her tick. Her eyes widened and narrowed in quick successions. "I-I am too an alicorn princess!" Her pale cheeks burned beneath the yellow fur, nearly glowing a bright orange. The butler glanced back, his sharp blue eyes taking in her small, earth-pony form. A small hum of disbelief and disinterest rumbled out from within him and he uncovered the plate of cold carrot soup. Alula's face crinkled, her features distorted and wild. "How dare you? I... I am your princess!" Her body heaved and her flank began to flash. A silvery white feather appeared across it in an instant. "I'm as much of a princess as those-those little pretend gods!" Another flash changed the feather into a single bit. It flashed again- again and again. Finally, a red triangle with strange runes almost like numbers in its middle flashed across her flank, branding itself seemingly into her skin. The young filly's body distorted, her wings striking out from her back. A horn burst through her forehead, bringing with it a spark of magic. The tin tray lid flung itself into the air, careening across the ceiling with a loud shriek.
The butler reeled back, his face wrinkling in horror. He watched the filly transition swiftly from an earth pony into an alicorn. She did not stop. Her wings shrunk and her stature swelled, then the horn fell back into the filly's skull as her wings burst back out. Her body seemed to shrink as her bones hollowed and her weight lifted. Then she was an earth pony once more, then a unicorn. Her face twisted and her eyes flashed over with an eerie white light. The butler recoiled further, a snort of disgust erupting from within him. Things began to fly about the room, all carrying the same shimmering silhouette that surrounded Princess Erroria's horn.
The tray lid suddenly dropped from the ceiling, landing heavily on the back of Butty's head. He grunted and toppled over, eyelids fluttering.
Alula instantly reverted back to a mere pegasus. She skipped back as her eyes returned, finding the motionless form of her new blue butler on her floor. Panic and fear crawled through her gut and she raced toward the door. The silver key fit easily into the lock and the deadbolt swung back with a metallic swish. Its accompanying latch clicked and the door swung open. A rush of cold, clean air swept about her, sucking her out the door and into the hallway. The door behind her slammed shut, with the delicious silver still in its lock. The deadbolt slid back and trapped her on the outside world.
There was a pony down the hall, his shimmering yellow armor gleaming in the light of a nearby window. His eyes darted to the door and the pike at his side stooped. Shock ran across his expression and his voice filled the corridor. Alula glanced back to see two more similarly clad guards stumble from a side hall, clambering hastily toward her. Fear sparked through her heart for the first time in her life. A sweet, sharp pain stabbed her gut, flowing through every vein and working its way into her tense muscles. Despite the agony and the sickened churning of her stomach, a grin splayed wide across her face. A horrid, unconctrollable laugh rose from within her, making the guards pause. The watched her heave and giggle in the hall, stumbling into the wall and leaning against it.
"Don't let her get away!" The first guard shouted, making a charge. Alula met his dazzlingly green eyes and she gasped. Another stab of fear opened a wave of panic. Her body convulsed and her eyes glazed over. From a newly emerged horn, light flooded the coridor. There was a blinding flash and a loud crack that sent everypony dashing away. When the glare cleared, there was nothing but a blackened streak across the wall where the princess had been.
"Oof!" A small yellow unicorn fell from the sky. She landed heavily inside an old wooden wagon. The driver shouted and glanced back but and found the filly in a pile of her belongings. The filly's blue eyes stared up fearfully for half a second before fluttering shut. Her body went lax and she groaned, her head lolling forward.
The grey pony whipped around to the storefront beside the cart. "Mommy!"