"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.