Fire Emblem: Crossing the Divide

Chapters

Prologue - To Catch a Thief, Part One
Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Path Forward
Chapter 3 - A New Mission
Chapter 1 - To Catch a Thief, Part Two

Prologue - To Catch a Thief, Part One

It was a calm, quiet evening in the Crystal Empire, and though the streets near the Palace were still and undisturbed, two Crystal Guards stood fast outside the Palace gates. Their lances were held high, and though it was late…they both knew what their job was and exactly how to do it.

Most Crystal Guards assigned to night watch duties slept during the day in order to remain awake at their posts during the night. That way, when the Guards who woke in the morning came to switch posts, it would be a timely exchange. That was how Prince Shining Armor set everything up after the Changeling attack on Canterlot, during his wedding to Princess Cadance.

However, even as the Guards stood at attention, their eyes alert and scanning for any threats, an invisible form slowly moved down the street to the left of the Guards. The unicorn mare, even with her potent invisibility spell, saw the Guards blocking the main gate, and knew she had to either distract them or take them out of commission long enough to get inside and claim what was rightfully hers.

She had been in the Empire for a week now, memorizing the Guard's patrol rotations and their timing, thanks to a schedule she swiped from the Guards' barracks three days ago, and the servant's roster she also similarly procured two days before that. In case of trouble, she did have her magic, and a police baton she had enchanted to electrocute any unfortunate pony she struck with it. It wouldn't be a fatal shock, just a small jolt to knock unconscious.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be necessary, the unicorn thought. She was here for one thing and one thing only.

The Element of Magic, now in the hooves of Twilight Sparkle, the fourth alicorn, Princess Celestia's faithful student, and the Princess of Magic.

Princess of Magic, the unicorn mare growled scornfully. She had been Celestia's prized student before, and all because of one small mistake, she thought, her tutelage had been cut off, she had been cast out of the School for Gifted Unicorns, and banished from Celestia's presence.

"All because of one mistake. It was an accident, a total fluke", she thought bitterly. "All because I wanted what should have been mine."

She shook her head, clearing her mind. If she hoped to succeed on this night, she would have to concentrate on the task at hand. Right now, that task was getting into the Palace.

She quietly moved behind both Guards, and took out her baton. With two quick strikes, the Guards fell, knocked out cold. She dragged their forms to a garden nearby, hiding them behind some thick bushes. After retrieving their gate key, she swiftly unlocked the door and headed inside.

====
Prince Shining Armor hadn't learned his lesson, she thought amusedly, as there were no Guards on patrol inside the palace. She decloaked, and rendered herself visible again, as she approached the guest chambers. She knew that Princess Twilight disliked having personal guards, and she chuckled slightly at thinking of how this would change her mind going forward.

She cut the door open with her magic and slowly entered Princess Twilight's bedroom. To her glee, the Element of Magic lay on her bedside table, right in the open. She tentatively reached for it, and quick as a flash, swiped it and stowed it in her sidebag.

After checking that the Princess was still asleep, she headed for the door as quickly and quietly as she had come…except she didn't notice that while her back was turned while she stole the Element, the lights in the hallway had come on, and hoofsteps could be heard approaching.

Sunset quickly hid herself by turning invisible again, and as she hid behind a cabinet, she saw Prince Shining Armor, two Crystal Guards, and Spike the dragon enter the room, deep in conversation. Spike walked past the hidden unicorn, heading for his own chambers. The two Guards soon departed, leaving only the Prince in the room.

As Shining looked around to check if all was well…he noticed that something was missing from atop Twilight's nightstand.

"Twily! Get up!" the Prince shook the sleeping form of his sister. "Your Element's gone!"

As Twilight slowly roused herself, and yelped at seeing that her Crown was missing, Shining magically amplified his voice and yelled out "GUARDS! I NEED YOU IN THE GUEST CHAMBERS NOW!"

The unicorn mare, realizing she was trapped as hoofsteps echoed in the hallway, moved towards the door. Only, the light from the hallway shone through her invisibility at the same time that Princess Twilight got out of bed and moved towards the door.

The next thing the unicorn mare knew, she had been trapped in the Prince's magical grip, and her cloak was torn off, dispelling her invisibility. She was pulled towards Shining Armor, who glared at her fiercely.

"Nice try." he growled. "I don't know what you were thinking, going after my sister's Element, but I'm sure we'll find out. I think it's safe to say you're under arrest."

"Like Tartarus I am!" Sunset growled, smacking Shining with her baton. The good news was that the Prince was knocked unconscious, and she was freed from his magic. The bad news was that the Guards had arrived and had all witnessed this act.

The Crystal Guards roared "GET HER!" as one, and Sunset was quickly tackled, with her shock baton knocked out of her hoof. Sunset snarled as she struggled fiercely in an attempt to escape before she could be restrained. She began charging her magic into a large burst, and as a pair of hoof cuffs were about to be placed on her, she unleashed the ensuing pulse of energy.

The Guards were thrown in all directions, and though Twilight shielded herself, the Element was still in the thief's possession. She galloped for the door and out into the hallway, with Twilight and Spike in hot pursuit. The thief slung spell after spell at Twilight, with the alicorn either dodging or shielding herself each time.

"Get back here!" Twilight yelled now having taken to using her wings to catch up with the thief. Though Twilight wasn't as good of a flier, she knew that flying straight and fast was easy enough to do in her case.

The thief panted as she continued to sprint, as she did not have the advantage of flight to speed her pace. She was unable to concentrate enough to teleport, and her sidebag was coming loose from its strap. She needed to escape, right now.

For the thief, it was a race against time, and a very pissed off Alicorn. All races must come to an end, though, and as the thief tore down a hallway that led to the main gates, her eyes flared as she saw the Guards had set up a roadblock at the end of the corridor. At the center was an azure crystal mirror, and the thief slung a spell that would shatter the glass and allow her an opening.

However, neither the thief, the Princess, or Spike could have assumed what would happen next. The mirror began to glow a bright white, and a portal of some kind opened inside the frame. The thief tried to come to a halt, but her attempt was foiled by her being tackled by Princess Twilight and Spike.

As they rolled across the floor and straight into the portal, there was a blast of light, and the portal closed just as Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance turned the corner. The last thing all three saw of Equestria was the horrified looks of the assembled Guards and the rulers of the Empire.

Then everything went dark.

====

As the eyes of all three Equestrians opened, they both immediately locked onto the Element of Magic, which lay in between them. But before they could lunge for it, Twilight called out "Wait! Hold on, what just happened to us? Where are we?"

All three could see they were in an alleyway between stone and wooden buildings, and a large plaza lay outside the alley behind them. They could hear a numerous amount of voices speaking, both male and female, and young and old. Wherever they were now, it certainly wasn't in the Crystal Empire.

The thief stretched out her front legs, and to her shock, saw that she was no longer bearing an equine leg and hoof but a pair of arms and hands, much like a minotaur's, only slimmer and far less muscular. Their back legs had also changed, as they now had feet like a dragon. And they could see that their faces had changed as well. Suffice to say, they weren't Equestrian anymore. They were also now wearing a set of clothing, consisting of a white shirt, tan pants, a pair of boots, and a sidebag. On the other hand, Spike was very relieved to see that he was unchanged, and he dove for the Element of Magic. Sunset moved to intercept the baby dragon, and Twilight moved to stop her.

Only, their new bodies were still uncoordinated, and they all crashed into each other, and the Element flew out of their hands and into an open area. They both lunged again for the Element of Magic, drawing the attention of the crowd. As it would turn out, the plaza was hosting an open-air market, and as both of them fought to claim the Element, the murmurs from the crowd suddenly quieted.

And a voice called out, full of authority, one that made the thief, Spike, and Twilight freeze in place.

"Hey! You two had best stop that, right now. Otherwise…you might not like what happens if you don't."

The three turned to see the crowd had parted, and eight bipedal beings wearing blue cloth, steel armor and helmets, and bearing a mark of two wings around a teardrop-shape, came towards them, with lances at the ready. They were all male, judging by their stature, and though they were obviously curious or confused, they had their weapons set in case of trouble. The leader of the soldiers, who wore a gray command sash, motioned for them both to stand up.

Before either the thief, Spike or Twilight could begin speaking, a second voice spoke up.

"Well, this is interesting. What do we have here Captain?"

The lead soldier stepped aside and bowed to a new being who stepped out of the crowd. He was tall, and wore a combination of blue and white robes with silver armor and a cape bearing the same teardrop symbol as the soldiers done in gold markings. A sword with a circular hilt lay at his waist, and his messy blue hair, handsome and sharp face, and air of authority immediately made clear that he was in a position of ruling or great influence.

"Exalt," the lead soldier said. "With all honesty, we're not sure. We heard noises and signs of a struggle and came to investigate. I do know that this crown is most likely the reason behind the disturbance."

The "Exalt" was handed the Element of Magic, and after he looked it over, he then glanced at the stunned trio. Then he stretched out both of his hands after securing the Element to his belt. Twilight and the thief grasped them, and they were pulled to their feet. As Spike walked over and Twilight picked him up, the Exalt gave the dragon a curious glance before sighing.

"You three certainly are strange." he murmured. "Anyway, you are coming with me back to the Palace. I do want an explanation as to how this scuffle broke out, but this is not the place to hear it. Come quietly, and I'll hear you both out. Until then, this crown stays with me."

"Am I understood?"

The three quickly nodded in affirmation.

"Good." the Exalt replied. "Who are you, anyway? What are your names?"

"I'm…Twilight. This is Spike." Twilight said, deciding against using her full name. The thief shrugged, and added that her name was Sunset Shimmer.

"Well, alright then. An odd choice of names, but I'm not one to judge." the man said, before replying, "I'm Chrom. The Exalt and ruling King of the Halidom of Ylisse. Captain, I'll be taking these three back to the palace for questioning. In the meantime, see if you can find out any information about where these three may have come from."

"As you command, Exalt!" the lead soldier replied, and as the three were escorted through the streets towards an elevated section of the city, Sunset and Twilight's feelings of mistrust and anger towards the other was replaced with curiosity, unease, and trepidation.

After all, there was no telling what would happen next to any of them going forward.

Author's Note

This was a doozy to get moving on. Despite that I think I've rewritten this story four or five times now, I think I could never settle on a plotline that I could actually develop into a proper story beyond the first ten chapters.

This time, I think I managed to succeed in that regard. Just as a heads-up, there's no equivalent of Canterlot High in this, so for now, Twilight, Spike, and Sunset are the only Equestrians in Ylisse.

In the next chapter, Twilight, Sunset, and Spike are questioned by Chrom, and must stay with the Shepherds until the Exalt decides what to do with them. Back in Equestria, the aftermath of the break-in and the accident unfolds...

Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Path Forward

As Twilight, Sunset, and Spike followed Chrom through the hallways of the palace they were in, neither of the two Equestrians or the Dragon present knew where they were going, or even if they should say something to try and start a conversation with the Exalt. Chrom seemed to be occupied with leading them to their destination, whatever that might be, and the three of them didn’t particularly want to distract him.

That was the case, until they exited the palace and entered the grounds of a smaller estate-like building that lay next to a training ground, stables, a firepit, and a row of small sheds.

“Welcome to the Shepherds’ barracks.” Chrom said, as he opened the door to the main building. “Hopefully Miriel and Robin got everyone here in time. Not that it should be an issue by itself, anyway.”

“Why is that?” Sunset asked.

“Because the realm’s at peace, and apart from training recruits from the regular Ylissean military, paperwork, or other forms of business, there hasn’t been much to do that requires the Shepherds’ attention.” Chrom explained. “There are a few of them that are abroad at the moment, but if they show up later, we’ll introduce you to them.”

The three Equestrians nodded, and as Chrom led them into a large dining area, packed with wooden tables and chairs around a firepit and kitchen, they were met by a plethora of people who had already taken their seats, and were spending time amongst themselves in various ways. Most were talking, but two men off to the side were arm-wrestling.

The first contender was a burly and well-muscled man with blonde hair, wearing a Berseker’s light armor. The other contender had brown hair with a noticeable cowlick, who wore a set of green Paladin’s armor. A woman with short, curled, pale red hair, wearing the same armor, was cheering on the man with the cowlick.

Next, they saw Robin, who was speaking, and holding hands, with a blue-haired woman wearing a set of blue and field gray clothing with some silver armor, styled like Chrom’s own regalia. A sword that also looked identical to Chrom’s own blade lay sheathed at her waist. Twilight, Spike, and Sunset could clearly tell that they were dating or courting, judging by their facial expressions and body language. Or by the way that the blue-haired woman was leaning on Robin’s right shoulder.

Miriel was speaking with another man with red hair, who was wearing sorcerer’s robes and a thin set of glasses. His attire was colored a shade darker from Miriel’s, but otherwise, the design was practically identical. A plethora of magical tomes lay on the table in front of them.

Everyone else that was present were strangers, and as Twilight and Sunset sat down, Spike hopped up onto the table to get a better look at the assembled company. Chrom stood there for a while, watching the company pass the time for a few moments, then cleared his throat loudly enough to gather the attention of everyone present.

The assembled Shepherds jumped out of their seats and snapped to attention, and Chrom simply replied with “As you were”. The two men who were arm wrestling promptly restarted their match once they sat down.

“Looks like we’re all here.” Robin said as he and the blue-haired woman came forward. Twilight could now see the woman’s left eye bore the image they had seen on the guards who had first met them in the plaza, minus the wings. Upon turning to Chrom, the three saw his right shoulder also had the same image in blue, almost like an Equestrian cutie mark.

“Who are we missing, Lucina?” The Exalt replied.

“Say’ri is still in Chon’sin with Yen’fay for a festival, Walhart didn’t respond at all, Aunt Emmeryn’s still abroad with Priam, and Gangrel declined our invitation, for good reason.” The woman, apparently named Lucina, replied. “I’m sure you’ve had that problem come up before, father. Am I correct?”

Twilight, Sunset, and Spike each did a double-take upon realizing that Lucina was Chrom’s daughter, and now knowing that, they could see the family resemblance in shape, posture, and air of authority.

“Indeed. Having the former Mad King of Plegia inside the capitol of Ylisse?” Chrom chuckled. “Certainly not a good idea..”

“Agreed.” Robin replied. “So, let’s get this meeting started. Everyone, eyes here!”

The two arm-wrestlers again ended their test of strength as the eyes of all present turned to Robin, Lucina, and Chrom. Miriel soon came forward and stood beside the Exalt.

“I thank you all for coming here on such short notice.” Chrom began, then he stopped. “Wait a moment…Lucina?”

“Yes, father?”

“Where’s your mother and Cynthia?”

“They went out riding for a bit, I thought you were told that earlier.” Lucina replied with a raised eyebrow.

“I think he was, but he was halfway out of the palace gates when it happened.” Robin replied. “In any case, they should be here shortly.”

At that, the sound of hoofsteps and quiet whinnies could be heard outside, and as they quieted, the door opened. A woman wearing an elegant lavender dress along with silver armor, who had pale gray hair, entered the room and gave Chrom a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting down.

She was followed by a girl who shared the same hair color as Lucina, with an eager attitude and poise. She had her hair done in short, twin tails, and she wore a set of gray armor with some blue highlights and trim.

“That’s Chrom’s wife, Sumia, and Cynthia, their second daughter and Lucina’s sister.” Robin whispered to the three Equestrians. “Just so you’re all aware.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.” Twilight whispered back as Chrom called for attention for the third time. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Chrom introduced Sunset, Twilight, and Spike as the three newest members of the Shepherds militia. After a brief introduction to the various members who were present, Chrom and Sumia departed for the Palace, leaving Robin in charge until they returned.

At first, no one really knew where to begin a conversation with the new recruits, but Nowi, upon learning Spike was a dragon, broke the silence. Sunset eventually started a conversation with the Feroxi Swordsmaster Lon’qu, and Twilight ended up talking with Robin and Lucina.

However, in the minds of all three Equestrians, there was one common thought.

“What’s going on back home?…”

====

Back in the Crystal Empire, the general air among both Prince Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and the Guardsponies was, simply put, one of frustration. After the mysterious mirror portal closed, there had been several frantic attempts to reopen it by Shining Armor, Cadance, and even some of the Crystal Empire’s archivists.

All of these attempts were not successful, and as the mirror remained cordoned off in a secure room of the Palace, Princesses Celestia and Luna had both arrived once they had learned of the situation on their hooves.

“So where do we stand right now?” Shining Armor asked a Guardspony, who was overseeing the efforts by the Empire’s scholars to dig up any information about the portal, in a room close to the portal. “Any new developments?”

“Nothing so far, your Highness.” the Guardspony replied. “The Scholars have searched every section of the Royal Archives for any bit of useful information, and have found nothing yet.”

“Keep at it.” Cadance said, as she, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia approached. “Shining, will you come here for a moment?”

As Shining was led to a conference room, Celestia sighed and began to speak.

“I believe I may have a lead for us.” She said quietly. “But it is…dubious at best. Allow me to explain.”

“Shortly before Star Swirl the Bearded vanished, he left behind his personal journal and a series of notes that may be of use to us.” Celestia produced a leather-bound book and some faded, ancient-looking texts. “He spoke of a magical ritual that would allow him to cross between worlds that were linked to Equestria, once every thirty moons.”

“What do you mean by “linked?”” Cadance asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Think of the multiverse as a large spider’s web.” Luna spoke. “Certain realms are the joints, and the ways that they connect are the lines. These web-lines, so to speak, are weak-points between realms. And some of them are traversable enough that we could, theoretically, use Star Swirl’s ritual to search for Twilight, Spike, and Sunset Shimmer. That would be the thief’s name, just so you’re aware.”

“She was my former student, much like Twilight was. She attempted to access the Canterlot Archive’s Black Vault, and I had to cast her out.” Celestia continued. “But we can discuss that later. First things first.”

“So how does this help us?” Shining asked.

“Because we know that only the realms that are connected to Equestria are the ones that Twilight, Sunset, and Spike could’ve been sent to. Once we find Equestria in the metaphorical web, we search for any connected realms, and from there…” Celestia said. “We use the ritual to locate this world and we travel there to retrieve our missing ponies and the Element of Magic.”

“Sounds simple enough.” Shining mused. “So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that the ritual has yet to be perfected, and the dimensional web is constantly changing. Around every single moon, the web is reformed and the list of connections expands and contracts.” Luna sighed. “We have thirty moons in total, so we’ll need a two-pronged approach.”

“I get it. One set of ponies works on restoring the ritual, and the others search for the realm we need to go to.” Cadance nodded. “Once both sets are ready, we go get Twilight, Spike, and Sunset.”

“Then let’s get started.” Shining nodded, heading out of the room already. “We don’t have much time!”

Cadance sighed in a loving and yet slightly embarrassed manner, and she, Celestia, and Luna moved to follow.

Author's Note

Update!

There was a lot of info-dumping in this chapter, so bear with me. The next chapter will have some weapons and magic training, among other things.

Stay tuned!

Chapter 3 - A New Mission

Shepherd's Barracks, Training Yard

One week after Twilight, Sunset, and Spike's arrival in Ylisse

Sunset Shimmer deflected a blow from her opponent's wooden sword with the flat of her own wooden blade, and lunged forward, hoping to land the final blow. Her adversary, Lon'qu, easily dodged to the side and slashed at her arm. Sunset ducked, and countered the follow-up strike, as their feet left many marks in the sand beneath them.

Watching this session was Twilight and Lucina, with both of them resting off to the side under a balcony. Two large canteens of water lay nearby, and Twilight's face was streaked with sweat. She wiped her brow and forehead clear with her already-damp sleeve, and began to catch her breath at last. They had just finished a lance-training session, and Twilight was quite exhausted, mentally and physically.

In the week since their arrival in Ylisse, Twilight, Sunset, and Spike had been quite busy. After their first meeting with the Shepherds, each of the three Equestrians were assigned a pair of mentors to help them in their training and adjust to Ylissean life.

For Twilight, her mentors were Robin and Lucina, Sunset's were Frederick and Lon'qu, and Spike's case had been taken up by Tiki and Nowi. All three of them had been journaling their progress and observations in their spare time, and each had already filled up one journal apiece. After all, having to learn everything that the Shepherds did over their various tenures meant intensive study in more than a few subjects.

Sunset had immediately taken quite readily to using a sword, and as Lon'qu put it, she was improving steadily with each sparring session. Twilight had begun learning how to use Ylissean combat magic from Robin, and lances from Lucina. Both of them were among the foremost in those fields, but not the best, meaning that advanced training could come later.

On the other hand, Spike had begun working in the Ylissean Archives, where his skills in maintaining books and libraries could be put to good use. After all, you didn't become the number-one assistant to a Princess of Equestria without picking a few habits up. Tiki had started Spike's training off on transcribing some of her stories from her time with the Hero-King Marth, and he already had one almost memorized.

Now, as Sunset continued to dodge, parry, and counterattack against her opponent, Twilight watched with bated breath. Lon'qu's movements were very hard to keep track of, and his skill with a sword was undeniable.

"How'd he learn to fight like that?" Twilight asked Lucina.

"From what I know, Lon'qu has trained with the sword his entire life." Lucina replied. "He even served Khan Basilio of Regna Ferox for a time as his champion, which honed his abilities further through combat in the Feroxi arenas. I did have to unseat him for a time in order to help my father out during the early stages of the war against Plegia, but it all worked out in the end."

"I see." Twilight nodded. "So...the Feroxi Khans, they decide who rules for a time based solely on gladiatorial combat?"

"To a point." Lucina said, after taking a sip of water. "The West-Khan and the East Khan, in this case Basilio and Flavia, do have their champions enter combat to decide who rules for a seven-year term, if I remember correctly. Father and the Shepherds actually helped Flavia defeat Basilio, and thus, she took over during the duration of the wars against Plegia, Valm, and the Grimleal."

"An interesting system." Twilight noted. "I"ll have to ask either of the Khans for more info if I ever meet them."

"You probably will at some point." Lucina replied. "They usually visit at times of importance, so don't be overly concerned with it."

At that, they turned back to watch the end of Sunset's sparring session. Sunset was getting tired, and her movements were becoming slower and less steady in the process. She tried to dodge a final cut from Lon'qu to her torso, but she stumbled upon doing so. The Feroxi swordsmaster jabbed her in the chest, causing her to fall to the ground in a heap. After a few moments, breathing hard, she stood back up and looked at her Mentor, awaiting his observations.

"You're doing well, Sunset." Lon'qu reported. "You need to keep your guard up towards your chest and front, and learn not to draw out a duel when it is not necessary to do so. The longer a duel lasts, the more chances there are that you will fall instead of triumph. Aim to finish those fights quickly."

Sunset nodded, as she was too exhausted to speak. As she staggered over and re-racked her wooden sword, Twilight offered her a canteen of water. Sunset took a long drink, and once she was finished, wiped her mouth clear.

"Thanks." she rasped, sitting down. "…what's next?"

"That's all for now, I believe, but let me be sure." Lucina said, standing up and consulting a list of tasks she pulled out of her satchel. "Yes, you're all set for the evening, and I would recommend getting some rest."

"We'll make sure to." Twilight said, as the two Equestrians headed to the main barracks. There, they would find clean clothes and a warm shower, and after that, a fine dinner. Which, to the two worn-out Equestrians, sounded just about perfect to them both.

====

After spending nearly ten minutes each in the baths, Twilight and Sunset, now very much refreshed, and in clean and dry clothes, headed towards the dining area. The two of them had partially made up over the incident that brought them to Ylisse, and for now, the Element of Magic was kept in a safe in the barracks that, for now, only Chrom or Robin could open.

Once they retrieved their plates and silverware, and then took their seats, it wasn't long before the rest of the Shepherds filed in and did the same. Only, there was a new face in the crowd. Sunset and Twilight blinked a few times at seeing her, because she wore the exact same attire as Robin, and both had gray eyes.

"Who is she?" Twilight whispered. "She's definitely a Shepherd like us, but we didn't see her a week ago."

"Well, judging by the fact that she's wearing Grandmaster's attire, and kind of looks like Robin if he was a she, if you get my meaning…" Sunset replied. 'Maybe it's one of his relatives or something?"

"Those are good observations" the woman called over to them both, causing them to double-take as she approached. "I was in the field with my unit when you arrived a week ago, so I wasn't able to meet you until now."

"My name is Reflet, and I'm Robin's younger sister."

"It's nice to meet you." Twilight said, as she and Sunset shook hands with their new acquaintance. "I take it you're a Shepherd?"

"Not exactly." Reflet replied, sitting down. "I lead the Ylissean Outguard, a special unit that's …partially like the Shepherds. The reason that we're not as well known is that we like it that way. We deal with threats to the Halidom before they would require intervention from the Shepherds or the Ylissean army."

"For example, we've just come back from stopping a group of pirates from setting up a main camp in the eastern shores. Many of our missions are…preemptive, I suppose you could say."

"Really?" Twilight was astonished, yet impressed. "That's fascinating. How did you come up with that?"

"It was my brother's idea, and once the Exalt gave approval, I volunteered to lead and train those that joined me." Reflet nodded. "It's not exactly a role that gets you publicly rewarded, but the best rewards are often the small ones.”

“Such as the look of relief on a village chief's face when I told him that those pirates I mentioned wouldn't be a problem to his people going forward."

“So, on another note, how’d you three join the Shepherds? I’d imagine it happened recently.”

“We joined a week ago, and it’s a particularly long and complicated story.” Twilight replied. “We’re still working things out on our end.”

“I’d like to hear it sometime, but I won’t press you further.” Reflet nodded. As the four of them turned to their food-laden plates and just then began to eat, the sound of a bell could be heard from the center of the camp. To the Equestrians’ collective surprise, everyone present promptly stopped what they were doing and headed out of the mess hall.

“What’s going on?” Twilight called out to Gaius, who was passing by. “Where’s everyone going?”

“To the main hall!” Gaius replied. “That bell means we’ve got somewhere else to be! So get moving!”

After they hastily said goodbye to Reflet, the three Equestrians followed after Gaius, leaving their plates behind as well.

====

“Alright, is everyone here?” Chrom called out from the command table in the main hall as the Shepherds filed in and took their seats, with Twilight, Spike, and Sunset finding seats near the middle. Once Chrom was notified that all the currently available Shepherds were present, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

“We’ve just received a letter from a messenger that came from a village in the southwestern coasts of Ylisse. A few splintered pirate crews have apparently united under a new leader, and they’ve been raising hell at any village they find.”

“Sounds simple enough to me.” Vaike called out.

“You’d be mistaken, Vaike.” Chrom continued. “These pirates have also gotten into the slave trade, and have taken several hostages as leverage over the villages they’ve attacked to keep them from calling for help.”

“The messenger that we just received was one of these hostages, but he managed to escape and made it all the way here on horseback to warn us of their next target, which they plan to hit in three day’s time. Robin has already come up with our battle plan, which is as follows..”

Robin then came forward and set up a map for all to see as he spoke.

“We know that the pirates are heading to the northwest, and their next target is a village with a large bay to its south. There’s two main routes to get across the bay, a stone bridge and a foot trail. The bridge is the fastest way to the village, but is completely exposed to aerial and ranged attack. The foot trail is a long way around, but it’s heavily forested and thus impervious to mounted attack.”

“As such, our plan is to form a two-pronged defense on both the bridge and the clear end of the trail, and lure the pirates into a bottleneck, where we can trap them once reinforcements arrive from the nearby forts. That means we’ll need two teams.”

“The first team, which will be positioned at the bridge, will be led by yours truly, and supported by…Virion, Frederick, Stahl, Cordelia, Kellam, Maribelle, and Twilight. The second team will be led by Chrom, and supported by Lon’qu, Sully, Vaike, Cherche, Gregor, and Sunset Shimmer. Each team will split up once we know the pirates are coming, and take defensive positions at their assigned location. Once we have these pirates where we want them, we take our reinforcements, where we push to eliminate their commander and free the hostages.”

“Any questions?”

“How well are these pirates armed and organized?” Frederick asked.

“From what the messenger told us, they’re equipped with steel and iron weapons. They’ve also managed to recruit some mounted units, including cavaliers and Great Knights, with only a few magic users. Their leader is also reportedly a Griffon Rider, so expect most combat to be hand to hand.”

“Any chance of enemy reinforcements?” Vaike called.

“From what we can tell, the pirates are betting everything on this attack, so it’s not likely, but keep your eyes open. Our opponents are desperate, so they’ll try every trick they can think of to defeat us.”

“Any other questions? No? Then let’s get moving!”

As the Shepherds prepared to move out, Chrom brought Twilight and Sunset aside.

“This’ll be your first time in battle, so are you both prepared?” He asked. Twilight and Sunset both nodded in response.

“Good. Just keep in mind that these pirates are like many of the enemies we’ve fought in the past, meaning they will try to kill you and fight to the death if necessary. So show them the same. Understood?”

“Yes, we understand.” Sunset said. “You can count on us both.”

“Glad to hear it. Now mount up.”

As the three of them headed to the assembled convoy at the gates of the Shepherd’s barracks, Chrom rode out towards the southwest, and the others followed with great speed. Twilight breathed in and out, trying to steel herself for the upcoming battle as they rode.

However, as they passed by a thicket outside the walls of Ylisstol, a lone figure in the bushes watched them depart. He was clad in the Hoshidan garb of a Master Ninja, and was armed with a silver katana and shuriken.

Kaze gazed intently at the Shepherds as they vanished over the horizon, and then he leaped back into the shadows to alert his master, Corrin, the King of Valla, of this new development.

Author's Note

Update!

Chapter 1 - To Catch a Thief, Part Two

"I don't get why you're so upset, Twilight." Spike said in a deadpan, as he watched Twilight pacing around the room they had been locked in, along with Sunset Shimmer. The thief in question had sat herself down in a corner near a bay window, and was watching the city below with an air of barely hidden curiosity. The room itself was moderately furnished with a table, chairs, a few empty shelves, and other decorations.

"Because we're in jail, Spike!" Twilight replied with a distressed tone. "First my Element gets stolen, then we end up in a strange world trying to get it back, and now we're locked in a cell while the Exalt or whoever decides what to do with us! So yes, I'm on edge, why aren't you!?"

"I'm better at hiding it." Spike shrugged. "Besides, we're not technically in jail, Twilight. I mean, look around. Does it even seem like we're in a jail cell right now?"

Twilight sighed, and collapsed into a chair, placing her head on the backrest and giving off a loud groan.

"Like I said, better at hiding it." Spike said to himself, only the other person in the room with them decided to comment.

"Heh, you've got a point." Sunset shrugged, chiming in. Both Spike and Twilight looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What? I'm stuck here too. And It's not like I wanted any of this to happen in the first place. I planned for everything...just not for this I suppose."

"And what exactly does that mean?" Twilight asked incredulously. "Why, exactly, did you feel the need to take my Element?"

"You might find it hard to believe…" Sunset replied. "But I was Princess Celestia's student once. I lost that position, and my place in the School for Gifted Unicorns, because of a...misunderstanding between us. A total mistake."

"What kind of mistake are we talking about here?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Celestia's a very forgiving soul. I can't imagine what it would've taken to anger her that much."

"I may have…" Sunset sighed bitterly. "...attempted to break into the Canterlot Royal Archives's Black section in search of some forbidden magic I wanted to study."

Twilight and Spike's jaws hit the floor. That section of the archives was restricted to all but the Royal Sisters, and those that were allowed in by special permission of the Crown. It was kept that way for a good reason, as many of the relics and magical texts stored there were exceedingly dangerous, if not deadly. Some items kept within had been the cause of previous threats to Equestria.

"That's...certainly something that would anger her." Twilight stammered.

"Yeah, no kidding." Sunset replied. "I was cast out, and I had to travel abroad just to stay out of trouble. After I heard all the stories about you and your friends, and how'd you'd ascended, well...I guess I felt I needed to get some payback for everything I'd been through. Look where that got us."

Twilight nodded slowly, and sat down next to Sunset.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to go through all that." Twilight said. Sunset gave a nod of gratitude, and at the sound of the door unlocking, the three of them stood up sharply. Chrom walked in, alongside two others.

The first was a being only slightly younger than Chrom, with messy gray hair and lilac eyes. He wore a purple coat with some gold armor, and a sword lay at his waist, sheathed. There was also a book of some kind attached to his belt, with a vibrant yelow cover that bore the image of a thunderbolt.

The other was an older woman with thin glasses, who wore sorceror's robes and a brimmed mage's hat. She carried the Element of Magic in her hands, along with a pen, paper, and some ink.

"Take a seat." Chrom said, and the three of them did so. "So, your names are Twilight and Sunset Shimmer?"

"Well, my full name is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight replied. "And that would be Spike. He's a dragon, though still rather young."

"A dragon, you say? Fascinating." the woman said, walking over towards Spike, who looked up at her curiously. "Would you mind if I satisfied my curiosity for only a few moments?"

"Sure, I guess." Spike said. The woman proceeded to look over, lift, poke, or examine every inch of the dragon, which did include a small demonstration of his fire-breathing capabilities. After only a few minutes, she stepped back, satisfied with her work.

"You'll have to excuse Miriel." Chrom said as the woman sat down. "She's the Sorcerer in charge of the Ylissean Mage's Academy. Her inquisitive nature kind of comes with the position."

"You can use magic here?" Twilight and Sunset both asked.

"Oh, you are students of the arcane arts as well?" Miriel replied. "Please demonstrate if you are able. The more we know, the better for your case."

Twilight focused hard, and soon, she felt her magic come back. Instead of focusing into her horn like in Equestria, she felt it flow into her hands. With that in mind, she lifted a nearby couch into the air and set it down with just as much ease as could manage, given her sudden change of using her hands over her horn.

Sunset, on the other hand, summoned a small orb of white flame in her right hand, opting for a simple illumination spell.

"That is certainly impressive." Miriel noted, then began quietly and yet quickly mumbling to herself as she jotted a myriad of notes down on a sheet of paper. "Which was done with seemingly no use of a spell tome to control the flow of the energy. Both subjects harnessed and manipulated magical energy flawlessly, and the ease of use on both subjects suggests they are both capable of more powerful feats than just summoning or levitation…"

Twilight and Sunset turned to Chrom and his other companion, who had yet to say anything. The man in the purple coat merely shrugged and spoke in a polite, yet experienced voice.

"Like Chrom said, she's a mage through and through. '' he said, chuckling before composing himself. "My name's Robin, by the way. I'm a Grandmaster Tactician, second in command of the Ylissean Military, and field leader of the Shepherds Militia."

"And my best friend and brother in arms, to boot." Chrom added. "So, now that we've gotten all that out of the way...let's hear your stories. How'd you come to Ylisse, and what does it have to do with this crown?"

"That'll take a while." Twilight admitted. "It's long, complicated, and you probably won't believe us."

"You won't know that for sure until you tell me." Chrom reasoned. "So what are you waiting for?"

"Nothing, I suppose." Twilight replied, Sunset nodding in agreement. "So, I suppose we should start from the beginning...in the world we come from, the realm of Equestria, 1000 years ago..."

====

"Hmm…" Chrom murmured to himself, processing all he had heard and the stories he had listened to. After about an hour and a half of non-stop conversation about Equestria and all its facets, including the details of the event that brought them to Ylisse, Robin and Miriel leaned back in their chairs, having used a small bit of magic to transcribe the conversation onto the spare sheets of paper that Miriel had brought with her.

There had been quite a lot of back-and-forth talking regarding the differences of Equestrian and Ylissean magic and in some cases, technology and engineering, among many other subjects. Chrom had found it hard to believe at first that Princesses Celestia and Luna were immortal, but at that point, Robin had whispered something to him, and he nodded, and didn't express further doubt.

When asked about it, Chrom gave an amused huff and told them of Tiki, a member of his Militia, the Shepherds, who was not only a priest of their patron goddess, Naga, she was also immortal like Celestia and Luna. Apparently, she could remember and recite many tales of Chrom's own ancestor, a Hero-King named Marth, who she had also travelled with countless years ago.

After that brief detour in the conversation, Twilight and Sunset had told them of the three pony tribes, and eventually, Twilight's adventures in Ponyville. Which included her and her friend's victories over Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra, and only recently, Lord Tirek.

Which did inevitably lead to her ascension to an Alicorn, her coronation as the Princess of Magic, and finally, the incident in the Crystal Empire that led to their arrival in the marketplace.

"Well, that is quite a story." Chrom nodded. "And one that will take time to process. But for now, I've made my decision regarding what'll happen as a result of your disturbing the peace in the marketplace."

"So...are we going to jail?" Twilight asked fearfully. Chrom began to chuckle, and then laugh loudly, causing everyone else in the room to send their very confused gazes to him. Eventually, he settled down, and spoke.

"No, you're not going to jail. Far from it." he smiled. "I would normally let you off the hook and turn you loose, seeing as no one got hurt or any harm done, but seeing as you're strangers here and you have no real way back home at the moment…"

"I think it's for the best if you consider an offer I'm willing to give you. You'll all have a reasonable place to stay, plenty of things to do, and the usual comforts of food and board."

"What's the catch?" Sunset asked. "There has to be one, right?"

"The catch is that I want you to join the Shepherds as our newest recruits." Chrom smirked. "I've already seen you're very talented with magic, and even though Ylisse is at peace, the Shepherds are always needed to keep it so. And if you join, I'll see what I can do in order to help you three find a way back to your world. Who knows what benefits a connection between Equestria and Ylisse could bring to both of our worlds. We stand to learn so much from you, and vice versa."

"So, what do you say?"

He stuck his hand out, offering it to them. Twilight looked at Sunset, who gave a small smile.

"I'm in if she's in too." Twilight said, causing Sunset to flinch slightly, but eventually, the three of them each shook Chrom's hand in acceptance of his offer.

"Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Spike, allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Shepherds militia." Chrom nodded, as he handed Twilight the Element of Magic. "Follow me. I'll show you to the barracks. Robin, Miriel, gather everyone you can."

"Got it."

"As you wish."

As Chrom led the three of them into the palace, while Robin and Miriel took off down a separate hallway, Twilight, Spike, and Sunset's minds were filled with wonder about what could happen to them next.

Author's Note

Update!

The reason this chapter wasn’t posted yesterday was that the google doc of this on my iPad became partially corrupted, and I did manage to copy it to a new doc as to not lose my progress.

Anyway, next time, an introduction to the Shepherds, Sunset starts sword training with Lon’qu, and Twilight receives advice from Lucina.