My Little Pony: Lion Heart Princess: Donut's Secret War

The foul Changelings had infiltrated almost every corner of the Pointyplot Empire. Battles raged in the streets. Ponies fled for their safety, but everypony they encountered that they thought they could trust turned out to be a Changeling in disguise.

"Truly," murmured Princess Donut, watching the chaos below, "these are the times when spirits break."

The Pointyplot ponies below gazed up to see the reassuring sight of their leader, Princess Donut, wings outstretched, flying overhead. The Princess's magenta coat reflected off every shiny surface, perfectly complimented by her flowing, red and black striped mane. She wore black metal boots, a black necklace and a black crown, in memory of her late parents. The crown sported a large red gem, symbolizing the Princess's deep emotional devotion to her subjects. Her cutie mark of a pink frosted donut glistened as she spun through the air. The Princess's heterochromic eyes, one an earthy green and the other a lovely sky blue, scanned for threats around her. Many assumed her heterochromia was genetic. She didn't have the heart to tell them otherwise. Her horns glistened as she fired off spells to aid her people below. Yes, horns. As a Pointyplot pony, she had two: a horn on her head and a horn on her rear end, where a lesser pony's tail would be. The tail horn allowed her to use two types of magic at once, or amplify her magical ability greatly. The magic of the Pointyplot Ponies rivaled that of even Alicorns. This was the cause of much jealousy on the part of the Alicorns, but since the Pointyplot Ponies were instrumental in the construction of the Elements of Harmony, the jealousy remains largely suppressed.

Princess Donut flew past the orphanage where she normally delivered her daily shipment of donuts. There were no donuts today, however. Most of the children left inside were probably Changelings anyway. She flew on, shedding a tear for the poor orphans. Her strong wings caught the wind perfectly, allowing her to quickly climb skyward. The two Changelings pursuing her followed suit. Princess Donut grinned. They had fallen right into her trap. She kicked her hind legs forward, aiming her rump horn straight at her pursuers. A quick blast of magic is all it took to fry their wings. The Changelings realized their folly too late and screamed as they plummeted to the ground.

Another pair of Changelings charged. The Pointyplot Princess was not scared, however. She quickly dispatched them by grabbing one with her magic and impaling him on his wing-pony's horn. The jagged Changeling horn stuck fast, and the pair tumbled out of control, splatting against the side of the Pointy Palace, a building consisting of twin giant spires rising out of the center of Pointopia.

Princess Donut pitched towards the towers, diving between them. An entire flock of Changelings gave chase, unaware that they were being funneled by the two spires towards the fountain that lay between them. The Princess splashed down in the fountain's reflecting pool and quickly charged both horns, feeding her magical energy into the large fountain. Before the Changelings could react, an arc of magical energy surged forth from the fountainhead, streaking up between the towers. Every Changeling in its path was bisected, and as it reached the tops of the tower, it exploded radially, slicing up several more groups of Changelings unlucky enough to be in its path.

Princess Donut stood in the cool, fetlock-deep water and gazed upward at the darkening sky as Changeling parts rained down around her.

"How did it all come to this?" the Princess wondered aloud.

Months ago, far north of Pointopia, a wedding was taking place in Canterlot. This was no ordinary wedding, however. This was the Royal Wedding between Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband, Shining Armor. But something was amiss during this happy occasion. The bride was not who she was meant to be. The evil queen of the Changelings, Queen Chrysalis, had attempted to impersonate Cadance as her first step to a full scale invasion of Canterlot. As her plans came crashing down around her, Chrysalis found herself blasted out the window atop an ever-growing magical sphere. The entire Changeling army found itself tumbling at near sonic-rainboom speeds southward. They passed over a desert, above a forest, over the Equestrian border line and crashing down outside a small hamlet named Hayvana, one of the northern reaches of the Pointy Empire.

Realizing her Canterlot full-frontal assault plan was flawed, Chrysalis began another, this one dripping in subterfuge. Hay-vana only had a population of a few dozen ponies. Five Changelings infiltrated the town under the guise of being tourists. Every night, they would abduct one house's worth of townsponies, replacing them with Changeling spies. It wasn't long until they controlled the entire town.

From there, the Changeling plague spread from town to town, hitting increasingly larger cities. Running low on numbers, the Changelings realized they need not abduct every single pony, just enough to maintain dominance. The secret theft of the Pointy cities went unnoticed for a few more weeks. Then, reports from the northern towns of strange goings-on finally led the Pointyplot Intelligence Agency to put two and two together. Students in Jahayca not knowing the Pointyplot Pledge of Prosperity. The town baker in Hayvana suddenly being unable to produce her Empire-famous banana-creme donuts. Mail delivery ponies in Hayti, a confusingly laid out city, no longer being able to follow their routes. News of the Changeling attack on Canterlot was the last piece in the puzzle. The Pointyplots had a Changeling infestation, and their first step was to contain it. A military perimeter was established around the affected towns. Princess Donut pledged her support for the besieged settlements through a megaphone as she flew over, promising, should any non-Changelings be left in the town, that the Changelings took their prey alive, and that the Provincial Pointyplot Army will find them and free them as soon as possible.

One sunny morning, Princess Donut alighted on the large balcony outside the Pointopian orphanage, her front horn bearing as many donuts as it possibly could carry. She pushed the massive, ornate wooden doors open and greeted the orphans inside. Her horns lit up, levitating a donut to each filly and colt. The children gobbled the donuts down with childlike enthusiasm, and Princess Donut smiled at their innocence.

"Princess," spoke a young colt, "We love seeing you every day, and we especially love the donuts you bring us, but don't you have more important things to do than to visit us orphans?"

"No, my little Pointyplot pony," Princess Donut giggled. "Visiting you all is the most important thing I do all day! I love to see the smiles on your faces. Not many know this, but I am an orphan myself."

The fillies and colts gasped, their eyes starting to water because of their Princess's sad story.

"Yes, it is true," sighed the pretty pink Princess, beginning to tear up a bit herself now that she was remembering her parents.

Her mother had been a nag, always demanding her daughter to be better while offering little help. Donut had tried to hard to please her, and time and again had failed. Her mother would only ever punish her with disapproving looks and lectures. Donut's father was much worse. Yes, Princess Donut's father, King Cruller, was very cruel indeed. He drank heavily, and when he didn't get his way, he'd take it out on his wife and daughter. To this day, Princess Donut has panic attacks whenever she hears the crack of a whip. It is why whips have been outlawed in all of the Pointy Empire for nearly a thousand years.

"But you little orphans do not know how lucky you are," murmured the Princess as tears streaked down her face. "Sometimes, it is better to have no parents at all."

The foals began to sob loudly.

"No, no, please do not cry, children!" The Princess implored. "One day, each and every one of you will have loving families that care for you! Just you wait!"

That seemed to calm their spirits. Satisfied, she took to the air and departed for the Pointy Palace. As she flew, she made a mental list of what she planned to do that day. First order of business was to visit the Royal Court. Perhaps that visiting guard from Equestria would be there. Flash Sentry had brought the news of the Changeling invasion of Canterlot, and Princess Donut was so enamored with him that she bid him stay on vacation in Pointopia for a few weeks. The pair had dined together every night since, and Princess Donut was very happy with him. Perhaps she would even ask him to be her very special somepony! These thoughts died in her head as soon as she burst through the door to her Court to see that she was already there.

The other Princess Donut turned to face the intruder.

"A Changeling in the Palace!" cried the fake Princess Donut. "What a pitiful attempt at subterfuge. Guards!"

Princess Donut's eyes widened in fear as her evil doppleganger's eyes blinked green. Around half of the guards' eyes in the room flashed the same color green. The rest, Princess Donut surmised, were already replaced by Changelings. Her heart fell as Flash Sentry's eyes blinked green as well.

"Guards," Flash Sentry commanded in an enthusiastic monotone. "Kill the impostor!"

Princess Donut dove through the nearest window and out onto the spiral balcony wrapping around the Pointy Palace. An alarm was raised as she escaped, calling all guards in to attack. Princess Donut ran as fast as she could, drawing her magical blade Nightshade from the gem in her crown. A guard charged her, but she dispatched him quickly by hurling him over the balcony's railing with her magic. He bounced off a store awning below, collapsing dazed but unharmed into a basket of laundry that had been placed nearby. Two more guards attacked. Princess Donut struck at one with Nightshade, decapitating him in one slice. The green blood that spurted from the neck stump confirmed her first Changeling kill. The Changeling corpse landed on the other guard, pinning him to the ground. Princess Donut leaped over the two and over the railing, using her wings to glide to the top of the building across the street. Guards had been posted on nearly every rooftop, however, so Princess Donut had to fight her way through the city.

The guard on the rooftop she had just landed on drew his sword. She parried his blow, and, using her tail magic, swept his feet from under him. He clattered to the ground. She leaped to the next roof. Two more guards leaped to the roof to join her. She swatted the one upside the head with the flat of Nightshade, knocking him towards the other. His companion stumbled to catch the falling guard, and got Nightshade in the face for his trouble. The guard's exterior dissolved into that of a Changeling as Princess Donut withdrew the blade. Five more guards leaped across the gap between the buildings. Princess Donut conjured a temporary magical barrier between them and the roof they were leaping towards. All five collided with it and tumbled into the street below. Two of the guards, normal Pointyplot ponies, landed safely in well-placed hay carts. The other three splattered on the ground, revealing mangled Changeling corpses.

Across town, Princess Donut caught sight of an airship. The crew had begun casting off. This was her opportunity. With Nightshade held out in front of her, pointing the way to go, she leaped from building to building. A guard landed right in front of her, blade already in mid-swing. Nightshade blocked admirably, but was knocked out of Princess Donut's magical grasp. She gasped as the magical blade scraped and bounced along the rooftop, sliding off the edge. The heart-red gem on the Princess's crown glowed and recalled Nightshade, which turned into a red mist and disappeared into the gem. Princess Donut let out a frustrated growl. She grabbed the guard's own sword with her magic and bent it back around, impaling the guard in the face. The unfortunate Changeling howled and dropped his disguise before collapsing on the rooftop. Two more guards fell out of the sky. Princess Donut caught them both with her magic, flinging one off the roof for a safe splash-down in a pond. The second found himself slammed face-first into the roof and reverted to his normal Changeling appearance. As the Changeling staggered around in front of her, Princess Donut drew Nightshade from her crown again and put him out of his misery.

Only a few blocks remained between the Princess and the airport. She leaped across the street. A guard on the other side hurled himself at her in an attempt to knock her down to street level. Princess Donut spun in mid-air and bucked the guard aside, sending him crashing into another awning. This did reduce her momentum slightly, and she barely made it to the other roof. Another pair of guards leaped to the roof to stop her. She brushed one off the roof with the flat of Nightshade's blade. The other, however, turned out to be a competent swordspony. Princess Donut struck first, but found her blow blocked by the baddie's blade. He returned in kind, forcing the Princess to give up ground. The pair matched blow-for-blow as the guard pushed Princess Donut back towards the edge of the roof. The rest of the chasing guards stopped in their tracks to watch the display of supreme sword skill. Cornered, Princess Donut realized where she was. This was the roof of one of the city's most prominent blacksmiths. Thinking quickly, she sliced the cap off the nearby chimney and shoved her attacker's head down it. The blast furnace below roared, but not loud enough to cover the sound of the Changeling's screams. The pony's lifetime of sword fighting experience had amounted to naught. Moments later, the screaming mercifully stopped and the body of the Changeling slumped away from the chimney, only to reveal that the foul creature's head had been baked in the form of the guard it was imitating. Princess Donut regarded the grotesque corpse.

"Eww, nasty," she deadpanned.

The guards watching the display all had their mouths hanging open in shock. The Princess took this opportunity to get in a pre-emptive strike on the few remaining guards in her path. Before the group of guards on the next roof could react, she landed in the middle of them. A quick buck knocked one of them off the roof and onto the back of a passing Changeling on the street below, killing the Changeling but allowing the guard to escape unharmed. Nightshade sang as it cut through the air, slicing through the rest of the guards' throats. They all reverted to Changeling form, gasping for breath as they choked on their own blood. Princess Donut dropped her hold on Nightshade, allowing it to return to her crown. She took off running, hopping to the last few buildings between her and escape.

As the airship cast off the last line, the Pointyplot Princess hurled herself towards it in a blind leap of faith. She grabbed onto one of the dangling ropes. Turning, she gave a sarcastic salute to the pursuers that had gathered, menacingly shaking their weapons, on the building far behind her. She shimmied up the rope, then took flight. Alighting unseen atop the balloon, she hid herself just in case the airship's crew were under the same bewitching spell as her guards.

As the beauty of the Pointy Empire unfolded before her, Princess Donut silently wept for her nation.

"Mr. Seeker," said Captain Clear Skies, "please conduct a fly-around inspection of the ship. These sorts of things are standard procedure, you know."

Seventh Seeker saluted and took to the sky, slowly circling the hull of the vessel. His keen eyes examined every nook and outcrop along the ship's weathered hull. Every crate, rope and hatch on the deck were scanned by his discerning gaze. Finally, he flew above the level of the balloon, and came face-to-face with a very surprised Princess. Princess Donut yelped in surprise and leaped over the side, gliding down to the deck. Seventh Seeker gave chase and landed right behind her.

"Captain!" he announced. "I found a stowaway atop the balloon!"

"That's the Princess!" retorted the Captain.

"No, it's a Changeling impostor!" yelled another crew member.

"Kill her!" screamed a fourth.

Princess Donut gasped and drew Nightshade. "I do not wish to harm you," she declared, getting into a defensive stance, "but I will defend myself!"

The sight of Nightshade proved her identity. "Stand down!" ordered the Captain.

Half the crew did not obey him. The two vocal crew members drew their swords and pounced. She parried the first pony's strike, but ducked the other, leaving the attacking pony to impale himself on her strong front horn. The Changeling screamed in agony as it reverted back to its normal form, stuck fast on Princess Donut's horn. He screamed again, this time in fear, as another hostile crew member leveled his musket at the Princess. A bang resounded around the deck, launching a musket ball straight into the head of the unfortunate Changeling impaled on Princess Donut's horn, the Princess herself having ducked out of the line of fire. The impaled Changeling did not die from the shot, however. His agony was prolonged until his colleague made another swing at the Princess with his sword. Again, she dodged out of the way, but not far enough for the poor, suffering Changeling on her face. The Changeling's severed head splattered on the deck. Seventh Seeker saw his chance and charged the Princess from behind. She tossed her head back, flinging the dead Changeling from her horn and into the face of Seventh Seeker, who tripped and tumbled on the deck, ending up pinned under the headless corpse. With one quick slice, Nightshade separated the front of the attacking crew member's torso from his back half, sending another Changeling corpse to the deck.

"We've got a Changeling mutiny on our hands!" cried the Captain, seconds before a Changeling hoof rammed itself into his muzzle.

This sent the rest of the crew into a frenzy. Crew members turned on each other, immediately coming to blows. Swords were drawn, pistols were drawn, and chaos ensued. The musketeer finished reloading his gun and took careful aim at Princess Donut again. She saw this, and, grabbing his weapon with her magic, quickly turned the gun around and fired. The musket ball exploded out the back of the Changeling's head, causing him to stumble back and tumble overboard. A few more crew members, still confused over the identity of their Princess, charged her. She swatted one upside the head with the butt of the musket, rendering him unconscious. The deck cannons glowed, one glowing green to match that of the Princess's tail horn, and the other glowing blue to match that of her fore horn. The two cannons were brought to bear against the Princess's last two attackers. One blast hit a Changeling straight in the barrel, knocking the wounded creature overboard to fall to his death. The other cannonball caved in another Changeling's head. The unfortunate creature grabbed at his new iron noggin with his fore hooves before collapsing in a heap on the deck.

At this point, most of the crew had dealt with the attacking Changelings. The remaining few were dispatched and lay in the many pools of green blood running along the deck. Princess Donut surveyed the aftermath of the carnage and was helping a few unconscious and injured crew members to their feet when a realization struck her.

"Where is the Captain?" she cried.

The crew looked around in a panic. Princess Donut took charge and lead them down below decks. There, in the cargo hold, Captain Clear Skies was fighting a doppleganger of himself.

"About time!" said one of the Captains.

"Yes, get this brute off me!" called the other.

The two rolled to a stop and stood, facing each other.

"I'm the real Captain here, this one is an impostor!"

"Don't believe his lies!"

Princess Donut slowly approached, wielding Nightshade. The magical blade glowed in the darkness of the hold, casting intense shadows on the Princess's determined face.

"Captain," she murmured, raising Nightshade to strike, "forgive me."

She brought Nightshade down in a quick slice, carving off a piece of one of the stunned Captains' cutie marks. The injured pony screamed in pain, reverting to Changeling form. Princess Donut quickly brought Nightshade around, slicing through the horrid creature's throat and leaving it to bleed out on the floor. The Captain sighed in relief.

"Thank you for your help, Princess," he said. "We owe you our lives."

"Think nothing of it," elegantly replied the Princess, allowing Nightshade to return to the gem in her crown. "But I do require passage to the large Provincial Pointyplot Army Base near Rio-hay-Janeiro with all haste."

"We would be happy to take you there, my Princess," intoned the Captain. "Since we lost half our crew, our Southward progress will be slowed, but we should be able to make Rio-hay-Janeiro by tomorrow morning."

"That will have to do," nodded the Princess. "Thank you, my little Pointyplot pony."

"You are most welcome, milady," replied the Captain. "Welcome aboard the PPS Star Catcher."

Captain Clear Skies bowed and motioned for his crew to return to work. He led Princess Donut on a tour of the ship, ending back on the deck. The Princess was happy to see the deck much cleaner than it had been when she left it. All of the Changeling blood had been mopped up, and the carcasses thrown overboard. She gazed over the side as the Captain checked with the navigator to make sure all necessary course corrections had been made. Pointopia was a faint dot on the horizon at this point, barely visible at all. Between her and her Palace lay the farms, forests, hills, valleys, streams, rivers and a few towns of the great Pointy Empire. In stark contrast to her day, the land stretched out before her looked so peaceful. She regarded the few dotted towns below, recognizing them to be Monterhay, Haynosa and Hayduras. Tears dripped from her eyes as she wondered if there were Changelings infiltrating those towns too, breaking up families and sowing confusion and contempt.

As the sun began to set, the Captain approached Princess Donut and spoke to her, finally breaking her out of her introspection.

"You look tired, milady," he observed. "Perhaps you would like to retire for the evening?"

"That would be wonderful," replied the Princess, blinking the tears from her eyes. "I have had quite a rough day."

"You may have my quarters," bowed the Captain. He lead her below decks and set her up in his quarters at the stern of the mighty airship. She bid him good evening and collapsed on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Princess Donut stirred in the middle of the night. Her ears pricked up, detecting that something was amiss, and her eyes popped open. Without moving, she glanced around the room. The compass hanging on the wall that had been pointing almost due South when she had gone to sleep was now pointing North.

"What..." she began, but before she could utter any more words, a pony pounced on top of her.

He pressed his body against hers, pinning her wings to her sides and her legs to the bed. She could barely make out the face of Captain Clear Skies in the darkness, a triumphant sneer on his face. She felt his hot breath on her cheek as he laughed, then felt the cold steel of a dagger press against her neck. Her eyes snapped over to her crown that was sitting on the table beside her bed, but the Captain quickly followed her gaze and with a burst of green magic, knocked the crown to the floor and out of sight. Her terrified eyes stared up into his.

"Sorry, Princess," he smiled, "but you're not going to make it to Rio-hay-Janeiro."