Slave to Desireby libertydudeChaptersThe InvasionThe ConfessionThe ReclamationThe InvasionBANG! The wheel covered in glittering opal dipped into the pothole. The royal carriage jostled, its contents bobbing up and down for half a second before settling. This elicited a grunt from its inhabitant, who quickly readjusted the crown upon her head and smoothed the now-rumpled pillows she sat amongst. Her hoof felt the sleek silk of her surrounding violet comforts, which made up the majority of her carriage’s interior. The rest consisted of a bed tray table covered with crumbs from a daisy sandwich and the curtains separating her comforts from the outside world. Her other hoof crossed over the smooth gold that made up the crown’s body, before coming to a rest at the center. A large hole remained at the crown’s middle, a holder for a large jewel that no longer remained. A deep sigh escaped the wearer. I gave up the Pegasus Crystal for the good of ponykind, Queen Haven thought. I was willing to compromise on that, no matter how fabulous it looked on me. She gave a contented look to her back, where feathered white wings fluttered. But I actually got something out of that transaction. Now they’re making me- “Maretime Bay is just ahead, Your Highness!” a booming voice called from the carriage front. Sergeant Blitzwing, sitting atop the carriage’s front, was the voice’s owner. Haven blinked, vague annoyance upon her face. “Understood, Sergeant!” she replied before sitting up. She stuck her face through the separating curtain and squinted. The harsh beams of sundown were already starting, a problem amplified by the bright reflections upon the ocean the carriage skirted alongside. Yet even these beams could not hide the settlement now in sight. A long cluster of two and three-story buildings followed the shoreline, each painted in varying hues of blue, yellow, and purple. Brick streets zipped between each line of houses like a life-size maze. Vague dots bobbed up and down the streets. Above all of this sat a large industrial factory, whose sign could just be made out in large type letters even from the distance: CANTERLOGIC INDUSTRIES PROVIDING HARMONY INSTEAD OF HATE Haven snorted. They nearly start a war between the races and now they act like they’re an innocent babe, she thought. Why didn’t they have to disband in the name of unity? Haven’s face scrunched in disgust, and she threw herself back into her carriage. Why do I have to be the only one who gives something up? she thought, teeth gritted. She launched herself back onto the pillows, unspeakable curses about to come flowing out of her mouth. Yet her tongue held, for she detected a faint scent of vanilla starting to fill the carriage. Haven sat back up. “Who released that scen-?” She stopped, frozen by the being in front of her. She was a light purple unicorn with aqua-colored hair. Protruding from her mane was a sharp-angled horn. A wide smile filled the mare’s face. “Hiya, Queenie!” she squeaked. “Ack!” Haven fell back, falling deeper into her pillows and her legs flailing in the air. “Gotta whiff of my new vanilla perfume, huh?” Izzy said, taking a deep breath. “Aah! Such a great smell!” “Miss Moonbow!” Haven barked, regaining her feet and smoothing her hair. “Are you trying to cause a succession crisis? I nearly had a heart attack!” “Oh no! Do you need an aspirin for that? We can stop at the pharmacy on the way into Maretime Bay!” “No, I do not,” Haven said, readjusting her empty crown. “What I need is a calm environment where ponies don’t pop into my carriage out of nowhere.” “Oh, I see. You’re one of those “I Hate Surprise Parties” kind of mares, huh?” “No, I’m one of those “I Hate Surprises PERIOD” kind of mares.” “So that’s why you threw us in prison when we first came to Zephyr Heights!” “It was certainly a reason.” A quick sigh escaped Haven’s lips. “Why are you here, Miss Moonbow? I thought you and Princess Starscout were working on the Unification Day preparations.” “Well, we were going over the last minute plans for the Unification, but then I saw your carriage coming near the lighthouse.” She pointed to the tall red and white structure sitting on the high shoreline. The glass from the top of the lighthouse reflected as brilliantly as the water did. “And I said I should go say ‘Hi’ to you so that you didn’t feel too lonely because Zipp and Pipp were staying in Zephyr Heights to run things and you might feel sad and maybe even pull out of the Unification Ceremony because you can’t merge city-states on bad vibes, y’know, and if you pulled out, then Bridlewood might pull out too and then Maretime Bay and then a gigantic bloody civil war would happen and really kill the mood we’ve had going for three years.” She hopped up and stood proudly. “So, here I am, your Officially Unofficial Unification Ceremony Ambassador to make sure that frown is upside down for your whole visit! Ta-da!” She thrust herself into a pose, forelegs open as if for a hug. “So…how am I doing?” “You are improving my mood exponentially,” Haven said in a tone closer to a growl than actual words. “Fantastic!” Her ears shot up. “Ooh! I think we’re here!” She grabbed the curtains and pulled them open. The sunlight didn’t pierce the carriage as much, for Izzy pulled the curtains facing land rather than the ocean. A view of the street appeared, with ponies walking along the bricks and concrete. Tradesponies hawked their wares from wooden carts loaded with snow globes and other memorabilia regarding Unification Day. Most seemed to be utterly enthralled in their business transactions, with only a few glances spared for the carriage and its inhabitants. “Not even a parade,” Haven grumbled. “Oh, do you want one?” Izzy said enthusiastically. “I can round up a few of the Canterlogic employees! Miss Moonstead gave them the day off to prepare for the Unific-!” “Forget it! I just…urgh!” Haven fell back onto her pillows and threw a foreleg across her eyes. “Please just let me suffer these last few hours of sovereignty in peace!” “Don’t be silly!” Izzy said, landing on the pillows beside Haven. Her forelegs crossed behind her head. “We’ll suffer toget-“ BANG! The carriage’s back right wheel shook hard. “Woah!” Izzy cried, rolling in the pillows. Haven lifted her head and grimaced. “Watch those potholes, soldier!” she called out. “I’m in a bad enough mood already, and a sore back won’t help!” BANG! The left rear wheel gave the same shake. A long screech filled the air, and the carriage vibrated with each lurch forward. Haven rolled her eyes. “With the way today’s going, of course the carriage wheels would break. I’ll probably have to…” She gave a small shiver. “…walk to the hotel.” “Don’t worry, Queenie!” Izzy said, putting her hoof around Haven’s neck. “The streets here are very nice. You won’t even break a swe-!” BANG! The front right wheel gave next, and the carriage stopped. Haven groaned, then thrust the curtains open. “Sergeant!” she barked. “What is going on he-?” She froze, horrified at the sight around her. Ponies were dashing every way they could. Some jumped over the carts they had just been frequenting, the goods spilling everywhere and smashing atop the concrete sidewalk. Haven and Izzy, herself now drawn to the sight, gasped as blurs of motion swooped down upon the fleeing ponies. In a flash, the ponies were gone, the last thing the duo seeing was the ponies’ legs kicking in the air as they blasted upward. Izzy shot a look toward the front of the carriage. The seats were empty where the coachstallions had once sat. Her eyes shifted to the back wheels, which now sat broken. Three slashes cut diagonally through each wheel. She turned back to Haven and noticed she still stared forward as if in a trance. Izzy followed her sightline. A light blue stallion in grey armor laid sprawled upon the ground. His helmet sat a few feet away, still spinning from the impact that had ripped it off. Yet for as wretched as Sergeant Blitzwing looked, it was the light yellow creature stooping over him that elicited the sharp gasp from Izzy. The being looked like a bird on the front half of its body, with a white head like an eagle and claws of a falcon. Its back half looked more akin to a pony, with long legs and hooves clicking upon the sidewalk. Both halves looked ragged and emaciated, flesh barely pulled over the bones. Izzy scrunched her nose. She could smell the creature from several yards away. “Drink this, my lovely,” the creature cackled. The tone sounded female, though tinged with an easy cruelty. “It will make you feel better. It will make you handsome.” She removed a small glass bottle with a glowing emerald liquid inside. She uncorked the vial and lifted it to Blitzwing’s mouth. “Hey!” Izzy cried out. “Leave him alone!” The creature looked up at them. For a moment, hatred filled her face. Then she relaxed into her previous joviality. “New friends,” she whispered, barely audible over the screams of the few ponies still fleeing. “New friends to play with. New friends to work with.” Izzy looked toward Haven. The queen still gave no impression she was even lucid, still staring at the creature and her crippled sergeant in silence. “Um, Queenie?” Izzy squeaked. “I’m starting to get the feeling this lady doesn’t want to be friends in the good way. Should we skedaddle before she has us in a saddle?” Haven made no effort to move or speak. She just stared at the creature now starting to make its way back toward Blitzwing. “New friends stay put,” the creature said, wagging one of its yellow talons. “Need to make other new friend handsome again.” She lifted the vial to Blitzwing’s lips. “Stop!” Izzy cried, rushing out towards the two. Not a second after her hooves hit the ground, she let out a fierce scream. The same blur she and Haven had seen lift ponies into the sky came down upon her. Hard claws grabbed her rump and her hair, hoisting her into the air despite the intense pain burning through her scalp. A grey form filled her vision. TWACK! Izzy felt herself falling to the ground. Through the tears had built up from the pain, she could see the bricks of the road coming closer. She threw her hooves out to break the fall, even though she knew it would break her legs. She closed her eyes and braced for impact. TWOOMP! Izzy’s body stopped. She opened her eyes and gasped. Haven held her in her forelegs like a bride by a groom, one hoof under the back and the other under the knees. Haven’s wings fluttered, soft fwiff-fwiffs filling the air with each flap. Her crown glistened in the setting sun and sent sparkles dancing upon the ground. Yet something had undeniably changed with Haven. Her face, normally plastered with an arrogant smirk or exasperation, stood in a placid glare. The creature below her seemed as unnerved with the queen’s face, shrinking back toward the ground in equal parts surprise and fear. A faint whisk came from above them. Izzy looked up just in time to see two more of the creatures, one tan and the other white, zipping toward them in a flash of movement. In less than a second, they would be upon the duo. Izzy didn’t even get a chance to blink before she was flipped in the air. She tumbled above Queen Haven and gasped as the scene below flashed before her eyes in the same way as flipped photos, her twist spinning her face toward the sky and then the ground and back to the sky again with each revolution. On the first turn toward the ground, Izzy could see Haven rear her back right leg. On the second, the first creature careened earthward. The third, the second creature grasped Haven’s hair. The fourth, Haven grasped the creature and rolled her body backward. The creature, unprepared for the maneuver, let go of Haven and tried to rebalance itself. On the fifth, Haven pushed the off-balance creature into the building closest to them. A sharp gasp escaped the creature as its face slammed into the solid brick wall. On the sixth spin, Izzy landed back within Haven’s arms. “Woah!” Izzy gaped. “I didn’t know you could fight, Queenie.” If Haven heard the compliment, she did not register such. Her eyes were scanning the sky, tracking all the blurs descending upon Maretime Bay. Then, both mares’ eyes fell back toward Blitzwing and the initial creature. The latter gave a furious hiss and launched herself up at the duo, wings beating against the air in a furious rhythm. “Catch,” Haven said in a bored tone. Izzy felt herself thrust forward. She waved her legs furiously about, horrified at the snarling face and grimy talons thrust toward her face. To her surprise and relief, the creature seemed to want to avoid contact as much as Izzy did, for she readjusted herself to zip just below the startled unicorn. Just as she started to reassume her ascent, the creature found two hooves impacting the top of her skull. Her avoidance of Izzy had opened her up to an upper assault from the scowling queen. Now it was Haven’s wings who beat loud enough to be heard, her legs pushing the creature all the way down to the sidewalk. CRACK! The creature landed flat upon her back. Haven, using the creature’s body as a launching pad, pushed off to return to her flight. Zipping back toward the still-hurtling Izzy, Haven grabbed the unicorn’s tail just before the unicorn could slam into the concrete. “Wow,” Izzy said, her face hanging barely an inch above the sidewalk. “You’re putting all those Kung-Hoof instructors to shame!” A sharp grunt came from Haven, who let Izzy fall flat on her back. “Let’s resuscitate Blitzwing and then-“ A slight movement in the corner of her eye caused Haven to jerk backwards. A light blue hoof punched the air in front of her, followed by a maddened chuckle. Haven fell back to the ground, her stoicism falling away into genuine terror. Blitzwing stood before her with a mirthless smile. While his body still looked the same in his armor, his limbs jerked and twisted in a way that made his body spasm with each step. Unmistakable madness filled his face. “Your Majesty,” Blitzwing said in a hissing voice. “Please come with me. She has so much to show you.” Haven’s eyes shot back toward the yellow creature she’d just dispatched. The glass vial around her neck now sat empty. Haven returned her gaze to the maddened soldier. “Sergeant Blitzwing, snap out of it!” she barked in an authoritative tone. “You are a soldier for Zephyr Heights, not these hippogriffs’ master!” “She’s your master, too,” Blitzwing mumbled, twitching with each step. “She’s everypony’s master. They just need to see.” His eyes hardened. “You need to see.” He leaped forward, forelegs clutching for Haven’s throat. The attack caught Haven off-balance, and she fell to the ground before she could flap her wings. Her body landed hard upon the sidewalk, dazed just long enough for Blitzwing to land atop her. His hooves wrapped around her throat. Haven’s back legs kicked, but his knees pressed against her stomach. No room for her wings to flap, she found herself staring up at the frenzied face of her once-loyal soldier. Blackness began to swim in her eyes. “Wakefulness shall bring enlightenment,” Blitzwing cooed. “Go to sleep, Your Majesty. She’ll make your dreams come tr-“ CLANG! Blitzwing fell to the side, a second wound appearing on his head. Haven sat upward and gasped, both for air and in surprise. Standing in front of her was Izzy with Blitzwing’s discarded helmet, now with two matching dents. Izzy smiled. “You know things are getting crazy when we’re using helmets to attack heads!” Haven’s relief quickly gave way to concern. The blurs swooping down into the city had started to thin above them, but they were replaced by a mass of hippogriffs descending toward them at the street level. “Come on!” Haven said, shooting up into the air. She swooped down toward the crumpled creature, nabbing the now-empty vial hanging from her neck. She then grabbed Izzy with their previous bridal carry. They shot toward the nearest alley, the howls of their pursuers coming from the main street. “Moonbow!” Haven barked over the rushing wind and angry cries behind them. “Do you know somewhere we can hide?” “Oh yeah!” she said. “Take two rights here and go straight on until Morning.” “What?!” “Morning Bar and Grill. It’s a little place nopony really goes to anymore. Our not-so-friendly friends won’t check there.” The ConfessionHaven doubled back to the original street, Izzy whispering directions as they skulked down the largely empty streets. She’d hated slowing down, loving the feeling of the rushing wind through her feathers, but she realized that the move was useless with creatures that could also fly. The thought also occurred to Haven that the creatures would more likely be searching the air rather than the ground for a pegasus. So the two of them walked quietly to their destination, keeping to the lengthening shadows that started to cover most of the streets. “Over here,” Izzy whispered, pointing down the alley they were hiding in. “The building on the right, next to the alley.” She trotted towards the adjoining building, Haven stepping lightly behind and her eyes darting all around them. The sky still held splotches of hippogriffs far above them, but they couldn’t see them even with their excellent eyes. Shouts came from a distance off. Haven focused on Izzy, who pointed to a door that opened up into the alley. Izzy smiled. “We’ll go in here so they won’t see us out front.” Haven nodded, following her through the door, whose rickety hinges squeaked. No creature seemed to stir from the noise, however, so Haven simply closed the door. She took in the sight before her. The bar had certainly seen better times, with the cobwebs hanging from the wall shelves behind the bar. Dark, dusty bottles stood in random places along the shelves, if they were standing at all. Just as many seemed to be collected in small piles on the floor or tipped over on the bar itself. Haven watched her step, careful not to step anywhere with shattered glass. “What’d I tell you?” Izzy said. “Empty as a bowl of cereal.” “Yes,” Haven said, sighing when she looked at a cockroach on the floor skittering back to its hiding place. “Though I will confess, I would have preferred a more luxurious hiding spot.” Izzy grinned. “That’s the Queen Haven I know!” Puzzlement filled Haven’s face. “What do you mean?” “Well, it’s just that ever since you saw that whatchamacallit attacking Blitzwing-“ “Hippogriff. Half-pony, half-eagle.” “Right, that. Anyway, ever since then, you’ve been, well…weird.” Haven scoffed. “You’re one to talk, Miss Moonbow.” “No, I mean weird for you. You became all silent and serious and not focused on glam and your appearance at all. I mean, you haven’t even fixed your hair yet.” Haven glanced into the dusty mirrors behind the bar and groaned. Her mane was disheveled in every place, and her tail looked like it consisted of nothing but split ends. “Oh, this will be such a chore when I get to the hotel.” “Okay, but why did you become, you know, super serious and stuff?” Haven stared out at the outside light, already dimming from the oncoming sunset. “Miss Moonbow, under ordinary circumstances, I would let the mystery twirl around in your mind for the rest of your days.” She sighed. “But today is a strange day for both of us. Besides, I suppose I owe it to you for saving my life from Blitzwing.” Izzy beamed, before hopping up onto an empty barstool. The seat gave a loud squeak once her rump landed upon it. “Story time!” She cringed a moment, recognizing her loud exclamations were antithetical to their hiding. “So,” she now whispered. “What’s the deal? Did you used to be a Royal Guard? Eat a special fruit that made you the best fighter in the land? Read too many Miss Mare-vel comics as a filly?” Haven cocked an eyebrow at the eager unicorn for a moment, then took her own seat at the bar. She stared ahead at the dusty mirrors in front of her. “Miss Moonbow, I need to tell you something about Pegasi royalty.” She leaned against the bar, her stool creaking with her weight. “As far back as our recorded history goes, our culture has prided itself on having the fastest and strongest warriors in the world. And for the longest time, it was believed that the Kings and Queens of Zephyr Heights should be strongest of the bunch. Lead by example and all that.” Haven turned to Izzy, eyes hazy like she’d woken up from a long dream. “So, all the way back when I was a filly, my parents trained me in the same arts that their parents had trained them in. How to be the fastest flier, how to be the strongest lifter, and…” Her hooves clenched. “…how to be the smartest fighter.” Izzy gasped. “You mean…you were trained to be the Bestest, Fastest, Strongest Pegasi Ever?” Haven wanted to laugh at the unicorn’s earnestness, but she held her face firm. “If you want to call it that. For us, it was just the normal thing to do if you wanted to rule. We needed to fight as well as our soldiers did and be as smart as our most intelligent scientists. That meant hours of physical, mental, and social training. Doing work-outs that would make the most intense bodybuilders give up after ten minutes. Reading scientific and military journals so fast that you could absorb an entire novel in twenty minutes. Understanding psychology to the extent you could influence others’ decisions by a mere smile.” “Woah,” Izzy said. “You must have become super-duper smart and strong.” A vainglorious smirk came across Haven’s face. “I did. I remember how proud my father was when I managed to pin him to the ground, even though he was twice my size. My mother gave me an entire closet of silken dresses when I managed to finish a mathematical equation none of the royal scientists could crack. They both cheered when I became the belle of Zephyr Heights’ society parties, beloved by everypony who exchanged words with me.” Her smile softened, more wistful than vain. “I still remember the faces of all the stallions who were begging me for a dance that night.” “Aaw,” Izzy cooed. “It must have been so wonderful being the best Pegasi ever.” “It was…sometimes.” Haven’s hooves clenched. “But most of the time, it was just hard. If a new flight record appeared, I had to beat it. If a new scientific field popped up, I needed to become an expert in it in five hours instead of five years. I needed to be the best.” She stared back into the mirrors, eyes hardened with determination. “And I was. I was. I was the strongest, the smartest, and the most beautiful queen to ever live. I earned my crown, and nopony could argue I didn’t deserve it the day my father passed.” Her eyes fell down to the ground, head shaking. “But there’s always aftereffects from that kind of life. I was always on edge, perceiving every single problem as a direct challenge toward me. Any flier who went a little bit faster than me had to be surpassed. Some scientist who discovered a stronger conductor had to be superseded by my new conductor.” She was quiet for a moment before saying: “I even married Zipp and Pipp’s father because I’d been feuding with another girl for his hoof. For the first few years of our marriage, I brought him with me every time I went to parties I knew that mare would be at. Not because I wanted his company, but because I wanted her to know I had won. I loved him, make no mistake, but our love was secondary to me. I needed him as a trophy to know I was the best.” She looked down at the bar at her fractured reflection. “It wasn’t until I was pregnant with Zipp that I realized how much I needed to change. If I kept things the way they were, I would’ve been trying to sabotage my own daughter with her own training, just to make sure I was still the best. So, I just quietly ended all of the training, for both myself and Zipp.” Izzy nodded. “It must have been hard to change so much of yourself.” “In some ways. I’d always loved the parties and the attention, so emphasizing that part of myself wasn’t hard at all.” She looked outside, where the shadows had lengthened all the way across the street. “It was that hot-blooded part of myself that needed to be shunted away. That desire to be the best and to beat whoever challenged you, whether mentally or…physically.” Izzy shuddered, thinking back to their scuffle with the hippogriffs. “I couldn’t hide that part of myself out there,” Haven said. “It was like a switch went off in my head and I just wanted to hurt those hippogriffs.” She turned away from both Izzy and mirror. “It’s not the part of myself I hoped to see coming here.” Izzy extended a hoof to Haven’s shoulder. Her soft breathing echoed throughout the empty bar. “It’s okay. You’re not just some arrogant meanie who wants to beat everypony you meet into a pulp. You were trying to protect me and Blitzwing.” Her hoof dug a little deeper into her fur. “Even back when you were pretending to still be able to fly, you did it because you thought it would keep your subjects calm.” Haven nodded, less in agreement and more acknowledgement she had heard Izzy’s words. Looking back up at Izzy, her face grew determined. “What I am is not important right now. What’s important is who these hippogriffs are working for.” Izzy leaned back in a thoughtful pose, pulling a pair of thick glasses out of her mane and placing them over her eyes. “Indeed. And since you’re the super smart one, what would be your theory, Queen Doctor Haven?” Haven rolled her eyes, before pulling out the vial. “I’d say whoever’s in charge of this invasion is the one feeding the hippogriffs this.” Izzy leaned forward and pontificated the vial, scratching her chin. “A fair assumption. Do you think that’s what was making that griff all weird?” “I know it.” “Mind altering substances of ill intent.” Izzy’s eyes started rolling to the back of her head. “The tool of all meanie heads and ne’er-do-wells.” Haven shook her head. “The problem is determining what it’s made from. Without any scientific equipment, we couldn’t know if it was made from pollywood or petunias.” “Perhaps, Queen Doctor Haven,” Izzy said, hooves touching together, “we can do the old sniff test, as fashioned by Dr. Manedel in his experiments with peas?” Haven stared at the faint traces of green shining through the glass. “This could be dangerous to even sniff.” Haven extended the vial to Izzy. “Here, you smell it.” “Okay!” Izzy took a long, deep whiff. “Mmm-mmm! Smells like cinnamon.” Haven stared at Izzy for a few moments like a scientist to a lab rat. Then, seeing no change come over the unicorn, Haven took a sniff of her own. Izzy’s cinnamon claim had been true, though Haven detected something else. Faint, but still strong enough to bully its way through the rest of the ingredients… Her eyes went wide. “Witchweed,” Haven said, holding the vial now like it was a dead snake she’d prefer to throw away. “Ooooh!” Izzy said. “My mom used to tell me about that. She said that it could increase a unicorn’s magical powers.” “Yes, but with a very nasty caveat: addiction.” Izzy nodded. “Yeah, even before we lost our magic in Bridlewood, the town elders banned Witchweed. There were a bunch of young unicorns who took it to ace their magic quiz at school, but they took too much and they went a little, y’know…” She spun her hoof in a clockwise motion beside her head. “…Coo-coo.” “I’ve heard of batches driving ponies insane, but enslaving an entire race to your will is unheard of. Witchweed is supposed to be very short-lasting, no more than five minutes at most, but those hippogriffs were going several minutes without needing another dosage. And there were thousands of them!” She shook her head. “I’m afraid we might be dealing with a bigger menace than we’d initially hoped.” Izzy gasped. “Do you think whoever’s behind this made a batch for ponies too?” “Absolutely. They were trying it on Blitzwing.” She sat up. “But only on Blitzwing. Izzy, did you see anypony else being force-fed the potion during our escape?” Izzy scratched her head, glasses coming slightly eschew. “Now that you mention it, no. We saw ponies being abducted or beaten up, but not drinking anything.” “Exactly. What if whoever’s behind this doesn’t have the formula for ponies yet?” “What do you mean?” “Well, when Blitzwing attacked us, he was trying to kill me rather than just incapacitate or capture like the hippogriffs were doing. The hippogriffs’ master wanted all of us alive, but Blitzwing was going to kill me under their control. Whoever distilled this probably knew the potion they used to control the hippogriffs wouldn’t work entirely on the ponies. Witchweed is a very tricky plant to distill, so different species would probably need different variations of the same potion. Just to be sure, though, they decided to test the potion on the first pony they got their hooves on, and Blitzwing happened to be the first one they came across.” Izzy gasped. “But that means whoever kidnapped all those ponies probably wants to test new and improved potions on them!” Haven nodded. “And when they happen upon the right formula, they’ll turn pegasi, unicorn, and Earth Pony alike into mindless slaves for their army.” “Then we’ve got to go warn everypony outside the city.” Izzy started for the door. “First Zephyr Heights, then-“ “No,” Queen Haven said, standing up. “We’ve got to stop whoever’s doing this now, by ourselves.” “What?!” “Think about it, Miss Moonbow. Right now, the hippogriffs’ master has only the hippogriffs themselves to protect them. They can’t control any of us ponies yet, at least not effectively. They’re probably holed up somewhere nearby, trying to perfect the potion that’ll control us.” “Makes sense.” “Right now, they’ve got the hippogriffs out searching for any stragglers. If we try to leave, we’re more likely to be spotted fleeing than if we head right for where the mastermind is hiding.” She sighed. “Besides, even if we do escape the hippogriffs, by the time we reach Zephyr Heights, the leader may have perfected the potion and switch everypony to thier side. Instead of fighting one army, we might bring our reinforcements into a situation where they’d have to fight four.” Izzy gave a glum look. “You’re right. But how are we going to find this mastermind? Maretime Bay is not a small place, and we’d have to search-“ Just then, the dusk having fallen deeper, a bright glow appeared outside the window. Both Izzy and Haven’s first instinct was to jump over the bar and hide, but they withheld the urge to instead stand extremely still. For several seconds they waited for the glow to move or wane, but it just sat still in the bar window. Carefully, Haven eased her way toward the window. Peeking from the side of the window frame, her eyes widened. The glow came from a distant hill that sat above the town. Atop the mound was a large circular building, whose lights now beamed out into the town below like Hearth’s Warming lights. Dark splotches interrupted the flow of light every few seconds. Shadows of hippogriff wings cast dark shadows upon the city below, and harsh cries could be heard from the building. Izzy, having worked up the courage to follow Haven to the window, gasped as she stared up at the sight. “They’ve taken over Canterlogic!” she squeaked, her glasses falling to the floor. “More than that,” Haven intoned. “They’ve made it their base camp.” “Do you think that’s where their leader is?” “I’d bet my entire kingdom on it.” Izzy fiddled with her hooves. “So, assuming you’re right, if the mastermind’s there, how do we stop them?” Haven, still staring out at the display, gave a terse response: “We kill them.” Izzy’s face filled with horror. “W-What?!” Haven sighed and turned toward Izzy. “Miss Moonbow, whoever is controlling the hippogriffs is doing so through a blood potion. Mixing their own blood in with the Witchweed, the potion gives them control of all those who drink it. It’s the only way a mind control potion of this scale could work. Thus, there’s only two ways to break this mastermind’s hold: either wait for the potion to wear off, which we have no guarantee would happen, or sever the blood link that anchors the mastermind’s control to the hippogriffs. And there’s only one way to do the latter.” “Maybe there’s a misunderstanding,” Izzy said in the softest voice she'd ever used. “Maybe whoever’s doing this can be convinced to change and turn everypony back and we don’t have to hurt anypony…” Izzy’s sentence faded while she looked back at her companion. The darkness had fully encompassed the city, as well as Haven’s face. Yet still visible from Canterlogic’s glow was the burning eyes of the Queen and a look that made Izzy shiver. It was the face of that mare from so long ago, who would take pride in standing on a challenger’s neck and hold a lover as proof of war booty rather than from affection. “Maybe,” Haven said. “But I’m prepared if we do need to hurt somepony.” The ReclamationThe journey to Canterlogic HQ took more time than Haven would have liked. Hippogriffs seemed to be flying by every second, and only the darkest of shadows kept them from spying the two ponies on the street. Flight had quickly been ruled out, as word of the super-fast pegasus would’ve gotten round and focused the hippogriffs’ gaze toward the sky. Walking took longer, but Haven knew it was more likely to keep the ponies hidden. Of course, the greatest hindrance was Izzy herself, who seemed to want to freeze up the second any sort of disturbance happened. Even when their way remained open, Izzy seemed like she could barely inch forward without a commanding hiss from the queen. Haven didn’t need to be a mind reader to know why she was so hesitant. She’s one of the Restorers of Friendship, Haven thought, ducking behind a crate. She sees the good in everypony, even somepony who does something like this. Haven shook her head. I wish I could afford to have such an outlook. Izzy came up behind Haven and settled in the same cover the crate provided. The duo sat on the end of Main Street, just where the road began to curve up toward the brightly lit headquarters. The road was deserted save the patrolling hippogriffs whose shadows danced over the cobblestones. From their hiding spot up to the top of the hill was about two hundred yards of open space. Haven didn’t need night vision to know that dozens of hippogriff eyes were wandering the stretch of land, ready to initiate attack the second they saw something amiss. A soft grunt escaped Haven. “No way are we getting in without attracting attention.” “Maybe we should go back,” Izzy whispered. “Try to find others around who could help us.” Haven shook her head. “Even assuming there are others like us who escaped, we don’t know how long it would take to find them. Besides, with only two of us, we’ve got more freedom to maneuver.” Izzy rubbed the back of her leg. “More freedom to hurt somepony.” Haven wheeled around and pushed Izzy against the wall. The impact gave a sharp thunk, though either the hippogriffs above them didn’t hear it or didn’t consider it worth investigating. “Listen, Moonbow,” Haven said in a calm tone. “I know this is hard. I don’t like it either. I’d hoped there would never be another day where I’d have to dip back into that part of myself again. But life doesn’t always give you a buffet, filled with hundreds of dishes to pick and choose. Sometimes you get moldy bread and gruel, and you have to decide whether to starve or shove that disgusting meal down your throat. Well, the death of this mastermind is the gruel, and if we don’t eat it, the new Equestria you and your friends fought so hard for may die before it’s even born.” She eased off Izzy, letting the frightened unicorn land back on the ground. “I won’t ask you to help me when the killing time comes,” Haven said, taking slow breaths. “I won’t ask you to throw me a parade when this is all over. I just need to know if you are going to help me stop whoever is behind this.” Only the fluttering of the hippogriff wings and trash blowing down the street made any noise. “Okay,” Izzy whispered. “I’ll help you.” Haven gave her an appreciative back pat. “Thank you.” She turned back toward the hill, peering out at the Canterlogic HQ building. The front of the building was the circular showroom ponies entered for demonstrations of new technology. Haven saw the front doors remained open, but there stood a group of hippogriffs milling about just outside them. These griffs proved to be the exception, for most of the hippogriffs seemed to be entering and exiting the windows lining the sides of the showroom. They were rectangular and laying on their long side, propped open by tiny bars protruding from their bases. “Front door’s out of the question,” Haven whispered. “Our best bet is going through the windows and hoping there’s a hiding spot we can quickly zip into.” “Won’t the hippogriffs see us going in?” Izzy said softly. “Not if they’re watching something else.” Izzy’s mouth formed an “O” shape. “You mean a distraction?” Haven nodded. “I’m welcome to any suggestions.” Izzy sat down and began to scratch her chin. “Well, there’s always the Marching Band Distraction. That’s where I wear a bunch of instruments, play them as loud as I can, and run down the middle of the street.” Haven shook her head. “Too sacrificial. Better to have something that lets you stay hidden rather than painting a target on your back.” “Hmm…Oh! What if we did the Half-Off Sale Distraction? We could put up a really big sign that says a store is offering all their stock at fifty percent off and-” “Moonbow, do they look like they care about a sale?” “Yeah, they seem more the ‘pillage everything and smash all glass cases’ type. Oh, I know! The Horrendous Super-Kaplooie Distraction!” A thin smile came across Haven’s face. “Keep talking.” For the first time since the invasion had started, things seemed to be calming down around Maretime Bay. Two hippogriffs stood guard near the front doors, though they seemed to be spending more time staring into the dark city below. “Night nice,” the first hippogriff said. “Night nice,” the other said. “Ponies out back stopped screaming finally. Sleeping potion calm them down.” “Hope the Mistress fixes them. Ponies no good when-“ KER-BOOOOOOM! A brilliant light filled the night sky. A faintly-hued blue mass exploded above the town. The noise nearly matched that of a sonic boom, the sound shaking the foundations of every building and shattering those windows unfortunate enough to be in the middle of town. Yet this display not only kept its color, but repeated its boom every five seconds. “All of you, fly!” a shrill female voice called from inside the showroom. “Find out who is causing that explosion!” The two hippogriffs, recognizing the voice of their mistress, instantly took off. The rest of their brethren likewise took to the skies, pouring out of both the front doors and the higher windows. As the flow of hippogriffs began to slow to a trickle, two masses began to dash across the open lawn. Even with the brilliant light above the town, no hippogriff caught sight of their forms. Their eyes sat only upon the booming menace that had overtaken their newly conquered territory. The forms soon came to a stop under one of the windows, before one grabbed the other under the forelegs and lifted them into the opening. Fortune going their way, the duo spotted an unfurled curtain sitting beside their entry point and zipped into the waiting abode. “Good work,” Haven whispered, settling into the curtain. “Maybe they should’ve had you as the Officially Official Fireworks Manager.” Izzy smiled, then cast her eyes downward. The showroom appeared the same as it had always been. A long, elevated runway stretched into the center of the showroom from the main stage. Studio lights hung around from the walls and ceilings, ready to illuminate any part of the room that needed to be lit. The main stage sat with an unopened red curtain draped across its entire length. Yet it was the creature sitting right where the runway met the stage that caused Haven and Izzy to stare. She sat atop a black throne covered with symbols depicting whiskered beings with pointed ears. The creature herself matched these symbols, thin whiskers protruding from her face and sharp ears sticking out of her head. A swath of orange hair fell from the top of her head to her chest. Her body was tall and covered with a dark brown fur. The garment she wore reminded the duo of a tacky bathrobe; purple fluff covered the exit points for the robe’s neck and arm sections, while the rest of the cloth remained a faint red. She gripped the arms of the throne with two palms, the right more tightly than the left. The bandage upon her left palm disclosed the reason. “What an obnoxious racket,” the creature whined, staring ahead at the bombastic blue menace still perplexing her soldiers outside. She brought her right paw up and flicked the air. The front doors instantly shut, as did the windows. Haven jumped slightly when their entry point slammed closed as well. As soon as the locks clicked, the explosions outside faded into a distant thudding. Sound-proof windows, Haven thought. “Oh, I’ll have to put whoever started that mess in Sanitation,” the creature said, shaking her head. “Let them know that Catrina does not tolerate such irritation in her domain.” She looked at the runway in front of her and smiled. “Though you already learned that, didn’t you, Sergeant Blitzwing?” Haven and Izzy could barely withhold their cries. Just in front of Catrina laid Blitzwing, his body shuddering and jerking with frantic irregularity. His armor had been long disposed of; the splotches of color upon his skin now being bruises and half-healed scratches. “A pity you ponies don’t have the same digestive enzymes as hippogriffs,” Catrina said, a soft tsk-tsk-tsk coming from her long teeth. “That would’ve made things so much easier. Alas, the new potions are being made, and in a few hours, Equestria will begin anew just as planned.” A soft smirk. “Just with a different ruler than you anticipated.” Now’s the time, Haven thought. Her hooves pushed against the wall, ready to launch herself toward the feline before she’d even hear a thing. “Alright, Izzy,” Haven whispered. “I’m going to go for it. Turn your eyes away if you don’t want to-“ Just then, Haven realized Izzy was gone. The lump she’d left in the curtain remained in the fabric and her vanilla scent still lingered in the air, but the unicorn was nowhere to be seen. Where did she-? “Miss Catrina?” Izzy’s voice chimed. Both Haven and Catrina instantly zeroed in on the unicorn, who stood at the end of the runway. Haven repressed a scream of frustration and horror, while Catrina looked down at the tiny equine with bemusement. “Well, well,” Catrina said, standing upright. She was at least twelve feet tall, unencumbered due to the high walls of the showroom. “It seems one of my little ponies has come back to the stable.” “Miss Catrina, would you please free my friends and the hippogriffs?” Izzy said in the most genuine voice Haven had ever heard. Catrina gave a thin smile. “And why, silly filly, would I ever do that? Most kitties need to throw a mountain of catnip to get any kind of following. Why would I give up four whole armies?” “Because my friends’ mother is hiding nearby and she’s super-duper tough and she will kill you if you don’t,” Izzy said apologetically. Perplexion filled Catrina’s face, her eyes darting around the room. They did not catch Haven’s hiding spot, so they returned to the po-faced unicorn before them. “Ba-ha!” Catrina cackled. “You ponies have a delightful sense of humor. Perhaps I’ll let you be my court jester when I become Empress of Equestria.” “I’m not kidding,” Izzy whined. “Queen Haven is actually pretty sweet, but she’s, like, got a dark side that you don’t want to coax out.” “Queen Haven, you say?” She ran one of her bare paws along the twitching Blitzwing’s back. “Ah, yes. I’ve heard about her from my new friend here. Pity he won’t last much longer; we had such an insightful discussion about the last Pegasi monarch. Forced to step down because her subjects still resent one little fib she told them.” She glanced knowingly around the room. “A shame she isn’t around here. I would offer to help her keep her crown. We could be partners in conquering Equestria. The neighboring countries of New Abyssinia and the Pegasi Kingdom. What lovely gifts we could exchange every winter’s solstice!” Silence maintained itself in the showroom for a few moments. “Um…” Izzy said. “Not to be rude, but why are you announcing that aloud like Haven’s actually here?” “Because, my purrrrr-fectly puny pony, if Queen Haven was nearby like you said, I venture she would want to hear my offer. I’m sure she’s a mare of certain…convictions. No creature becomes Queen in this world without putting all of themselves into the occupation. To have it just ripped away after all that work…” She gave a sympathetic shake of the head. “I just don’t know what that would do to a mare.” She gave a knowing smirk, before whipping out a small green vial. A deep emerald liquid sloshed around the container. “But I do know what a mare like that would do to keep her kingdom.” Haven clutched the curtains around her like they were life preservers in the middle of the ocean. Her thoughts were frantic, bouncing, flying. She knew she couldn’t trust the cat down there, she couldn’t, but…but… “I don’t want anypony to be hurt,” Izzy said. “I want this fighting to end and for everything to go back to the way it was.” Catrina lifted her chin and stared down at the pony. She was deep in thought, her nose twitching. Her paw went down to the throne and placed the green vial upon the armrest. Then, raising her right paw again, she gave a sharp flick. “Aiiiiieeee!” Izzy screamed. She was flung all the way across the showroom by an invisible force, landing in a heap among a stack of boxes. “Pathetic!” Catrina howled. “Sentimental child! Do you think I would trade the thousands of servants I have? That vial is but a drop of the Witchweed potion I have at my disposal! I am a sorceress without a peer, ready to take whatever I wa-“ CRACK! Catrina tumbled to her knees. She grasped the back of her head, a sharp yowl hurling out of her throat. When she brought her paw back, she could see a faint smear of blood upon her paw. Her eyes shot back to the boxes, where Haven was helping Izzy up from her tumble. “I wondered when you were going to show yourself,” Catrina said through a grimace. “Though I must say, if your plan was to accept my offer of friendship, you chose a very purrrr-culiar way of taking it.” “I don’t want a thing from you,” Haven said, planting her hooves upon the floor. “Nothing but a body.” “Hah! So your little friend wasn’t lying when she said you wanted to kill me. How fascinating to see such violent tendencies from such cuddly little creatures!” “You dug this grave for yourself. Blood potions always carry the risk of killing those whose blood are mixed in.” Catrina lifted her bandaged left paw and wiggled her digits. “Rrrrrr-ight you are. In fact, when I first started experimenting with the Witchweed, I was worried my distillations would prove absolutely useless if they required an entire pint of blood for each batch. But I’m not some marketplace witch doctor who knows a good diarrheic or two. I refined my potions until a single drop of blood was all that was needed.” Haven glared at her. “You’re going to lose more than just a drop by the time I’m done with you.” A wagging finger emerged from Catrina’s robe. “Oh, my dear Queen, your temper overwhelms your common sense. You see, my refinements didn’t just extend to blood conservation. I also enhanced the connective energy the potion gave its host and its imbibers.” Haven’s face wavered. “You mean-?” Catrina gave a gleeful nod. “That’s right. Whatever I feel, they feel. The flow is one way, of course; it wouldn’t do to suffer every time one of those buffoons bumped their knee. But every ache I suffer in my beautiful body is one my whole army shares.” She grinned maliciously. “And should I, say, suffer an unfortunate demise, be it a horrific accident or a planned assassination, every single one of those tied to me by the potion would drop dead themselves.” Haven’s head shook furiously. “You’re bluffing. Nopony would risk all of their soldiers’ lives to-“ “Nopony would, I agree. But cats are a different breed, my dear Queen. I could throw a sister from my litter into a herd of Rockadiles and not even lose a minute of sleep.” She stepped off the runway, her claws scraping against the floor. Her pupils narrowed and locked in on the two little ponies. “And I won’t lose even a second when I’m finished with you.” With shocking speed, she thrust herself at the two ponies. Only Izzy and Haven’s dash opposite ways managed to save them. The save proved to be momentary, however, for Catrina hit the ground and bounced off like the hard floor was rubber. She aimed her body up toward Haven’s uprising body, claws slashing wildly for a piece of the Queen. Haven zipped lower, the miniature knives just swishing above her, and shot under the conqueror. The move proved unwise, for Catrina’s claws on her lower legs extended. Before Haven could zip to the side, the legs kicked toward the Queen and dug into her back. Haven’s forward momentum brought a trio of deep, red lines along the length of her back. “Aaaah!” Haven screamed, wings freezing from the pain and sending her tumbling head over heels upon the ground. Tears started to fill her eyes, though she could still make out the long form of Catrina now swishing toward her. She prowled forward on all fours, tail twitching behind her with each step. “I always loved playing with my food,” Catrina giggled. “Makes the meal so much more interesting.” Haven pushed her hooves into the ground, desperate to stand. The wounds in her back started to scream before she could even get a quarter of the way up, though, and she immediately collapsed. “Yes, get up,” Catrina whispered, not even ten feet away and poised to strike. “Get up and throw yourself into battle. Give a warrior’s scream and throttle me until the life is gone from my eyes. Kill those thousands of hippogriffs with a single stroke. Prove to yourself you are still a queen, a goddess made flesh whose words are life and death. Enshrine yourself in Equestri- ZAP! An ear-piercing howl filled the room. Haven saw Catrina leap thirty feet in the air and dig her claws into the ceiling. All four of her paws embedded in the plaster, Catrina’s eyes searched for the new menace that had pierced her in the side. “There’s more where that came from!” Izzy hollered. She stood beside Blitzwing, her horn smoking a light blue color. Catrina cackled. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy throwing you into my next potion. Bones, blood, muscle!” She leaped down from her perch, teeth bared. “A private horn for my collection!” As fast as before, she landed upon the ground and launched toward Izzy. A fantastic flash filled the room. Catrina found her paws clutching thin air, then a thick red curtain that the claws embedded themselves into. Another rage-filled howl filled the showroom while Catrina viciously tried to pull herself free of the dense curtain. Izzy stood five feet away from her original position, the tell-tale sparkle of a teleportation spell dancing around her. Haven braced her front legs upon the floor. Moonbow’s not going to last long like this, she thought. Her magic will run out and Catrina will- A flash of green came across Haven’s face. She squinted, trying to find the source of the light amidst Catrina’s howls and Izzy’s new barrage of magic upon the cat’s exposed backside. Her eyes followed up to just above Blitzwing, where the throne stood. Atop the armrest sat the same green vial Catrina had showcased earlier. Haven’s face grew determined. Flapping her wings, she shot up into the air and started toward the throne. Grabbing the potion, she zipped toward the still-struggling Catrina. Seeing her friend’s approach, Izzy halted her assault. “When I get out of this,” Catrina hissed, “I’ll eat your alive and screa-!” CRACK! Haven’s legs connected into Catrina’s back, vertebrae snapping upon the connection. Not wasting a second, Haven grasped Catrina’s hair and pulled her head back. “You worked so hard on this potion,” Haven said, grimacing. “Why let it go to waste?” She then ripped off the cork and dumped the potion into Catrina’s waiting mouth. The cat’s eyes grew wide and she begun thrashing about, finally pulling herself free from the curtain. Haven just managed to pull away before Catrina slashed her, though the cat’s actions seemed more like thrashing desperation than a direct target of Haven herself. Catrina gasped her throat with one hand and shoved another into her gullet, pressing to activate the gag reflex. This effort soon subsided as a horrible scream came from her throat, and her paws shot toward her stomach. A gurgle began to fill the air as if a hundred ponies had empty stomachs voice their complaints at the same time. A final scream came from Catrina just as a brilliant burst of light shot out of her eyes and throat. Haven and Izzy turned away, the white fluorescence being a thousand times more brilliant than the sky-bound scene they’d created outside. Then, as quickly as it started, the light ceased and Catrina fell to the ground. Carefully, Haven made her way to the crumpled form of the cat. Catrina’s face was gaunt and her cloak torn all over. Haven stretched out her hoof toward Catrina’s still face. A faint whisp of air flowed from Catrina’s nose, and the queen gave a soft sigh. “Queenie!” Izzy hollered from the throne. “Sergeant Blitzwing is coming to!” Haven zipped over to the throne and leaned over Blitzwing. The sergeant’s eyes blinked rapidly, before a relieved sigh escaped his lips. “You’re safe,” Blitzwing choked out. “So are you,” Haven sighed. “It’s alright. We stopped Catrina.” “Did you-?” “No. No, she’s still alive. I wasn’t going to risk the hippogriffs’ lives if she was telling the truth.” Blitzwing nodded. “She was. I didn’t get the best of that potion, but even I felt those kicks you gave her.” Haven gave a soft smile. “I’ll apologize to the hippogriffs when they’re lucid. Speaking of which…” Haven shot toward the closed windows and stared out. The Horrendous Super-Kaplooie Distraction had started to die down, now only consisting of a few quick blasts of turquoise in the sky. No hippogriffs seemed to be flying in the light, but Haven’s eyes quickly found them sprawled upon the grounds outside the showroom. Most seemed to be rubbing their heads, confused at their surroundings, or keeled over and losing their lunches. Haven zipped back toward Izzy and Blitzwing. “The hippogriffs are coming to,” Haven said. “Not looking so hot, but better looking than if they were dead.” Izzy gave a soft sigh. “How did you know to do that? Giving Catrina her own potion?” Haven shook her head. “During the fight, I remembered something from my childhood. Some ancient book I read said that with blood potions, the brewer needed to be careful to never imbibe their own potion. Otherwise this would create a phenomenon called a feedback loop. The magic in the potion would cease to work because it couldn’t differentiate the influencing force of the blood with the imbiber who shared the same blood. Most times, the potion would just stop working with little incident. In this case, however…” She stared at Catrina’s still unmoving form. “Catrina spread herself too thin. Even with just a little blood, she’d put her will into a thousand different beings. I wagered that the strain would be too much for her if she drank the same potion, and the hippogriffs would be free without too much impact.” Haven gave a relieved sigh. “Fortunately, I was right on both counts.” Blitzwing gave an approving nod. “You make us Pegasi proud, Your Majesty.” Haven stroked Blitzwing’s cheek. “Not as proud as I am to be your Queen.” The sergeant smiled, then drifted into unconsciousness. “He’s just asleep,” Izzy said. “I know,” Haven said. She started walking toward the door, now opened and letting the first traces of the sunrise into the room. “Let’s go find some help for him and the hippogriffs. The ponies should be coming out of the sleeping potion soon.” Izzy bounded off the stage and landed beside Haven. “He’s right, you know,” Izzy said with a smile. “You are a good queen.” Haven stared up at her head. The crown still sat there, despite all of the events of the past hours. A soft chuckle filled Haven’s throat. Images of the oncoming Unification Day treaties filled her mind. “Was a good Queen,” Haven said in a half-sigh.
The InvasionBANG! The wheel covered in glittering opal dipped into the pothole. The royal carriage jostled, its contents bobbing up and down for half a second before settling. This elicited a grunt from its inhabitant, who quickly readjusted the crown upon her head and smoothed the now-rumpled pillows she sat amongst. Her hoof felt the sleek silk of her surrounding violet comforts, which made up the majority of her carriage’s interior. The rest consisted of a bed tray table covered with crumbs from a daisy sandwich and the curtains separating her comforts from the outside world. Her other hoof crossed over the smooth gold that made up the crown’s body, before coming to a rest at the center. A large hole remained at the crown’s middle, a holder for a large jewel that no longer remained. A deep sigh escaped the wearer. I gave up the Pegasus Crystal for the good of ponykind, Queen Haven thought. I was willing to compromise on that, no matter how fabulous it looked on me. She gave a contented look to her back, where feathered white wings fluttered. But I actually got something out of that transaction. Now they’re making me- “Maretime Bay is just ahead, Your Highness!” a booming voice called from the carriage front. Sergeant Blitzwing, sitting atop the carriage’s front, was the voice’s owner. Haven blinked, vague annoyance upon her face. “Understood, Sergeant!” she replied before sitting up. She stuck her face through the separating curtain and squinted. The harsh beams of sundown were already starting, a problem amplified by the bright reflections upon the ocean the carriage skirted alongside. Yet even these beams could not hide the settlement now in sight. A long cluster of two and three-story buildings followed the shoreline, each painted in varying hues of blue, yellow, and purple. Brick streets zipped between each line of houses like a life-size maze. Vague dots bobbed up and down the streets. Above all of this sat a large industrial factory, whose sign could just be made out in large type letters even from the distance: CANTERLOGIC INDUSTRIES PROVIDING HARMONY INSTEAD OF HATE Haven snorted. They nearly start a war between the races and now they act like they’re an innocent babe, she thought. Why didn’t they have to disband in the name of unity? Haven’s face scrunched in disgust, and she threw herself back into her carriage. Why do I have to be the only one who gives something up? she thought, teeth gritted. She launched herself back onto the pillows, unspeakable curses about to come flowing out of her mouth. Yet her tongue held, for she detected a faint scent of vanilla starting to fill the carriage. Haven sat back up. “Who released that scen-?” She stopped, frozen by the being in front of her. She was a light purple unicorn with aqua-colored hair. Protruding from her mane was a sharp-angled horn. A wide smile filled the mare’s face. “Hiya, Queenie!” she squeaked. “Ack!” Haven fell back, falling deeper into her pillows and her legs flailing in the air. “Gotta whiff of my new vanilla perfume, huh?” Izzy said, taking a deep breath. “Aah! Such a great smell!” “Miss Moonbow!” Haven barked, regaining her feet and smoothing her hair. “Are you trying to cause a succession crisis? I nearly had a heart attack!” “Oh no! Do you need an aspirin for that? We can stop at the pharmacy on the way into Maretime Bay!” “No, I do not,” Haven said, readjusting her empty crown. “What I need is a calm environment where ponies don’t pop into my carriage out of nowhere.” “Oh, I see. You’re one of those “I Hate Surprise Parties” kind of mares, huh?” “No, I’m one of those “I Hate Surprises PERIOD” kind of mares.” “So that’s why you threw us in prison when we first came to Zephyr Heights!” “It was certainly a reason.” A quick sigh escaped Haven’s lips. “Why are you here, Miss Moonbow? I thought you and Princess Starscout were working on the Unification Day preparations.” “Well, we were going over the last minute plans for the Unification, but then I saw your carriage coming near the lighthouse.” She pointed to the tall red and white structure sitting on the high shoreline. The glass from the top of the lighthouse reflected as brilliantly as the water did. “And I said I should go say ‘Hi’ to you so that you didn’t feel too lonely because Zipp and Pipp were staying in Zephyr Heights to run things and you might feel sad and maybe even pull out of the Unification Ceremony because you can’t merge city-states on bad vibes, y’know, and if you pulled out, then Bridlewood might pull out too and then Maretime Bay and then a gigantic bloody civil war would happen and really kill the mood we’ve had going for three years.” She hopped up and stood proudly. “So, here I am, your Officially Unofficial Unification Ceremony Ambassador to make sure that frown is upside down for your whole visit! Ta-da!” She thrust herself into a pose, forelegs open as if for a hug. “So…how am I doing?” “You are improving my mood exponentially,” Haven said in a tone closer to a growl than actual words. “Fantastic!” Her ears shot up. “Ooh! I think we’re here!” She grabbed the curtains and pulled them open. The sunlight didn’t pierce the carriage as much, for Izzy pulled the curtains facing land rather than the ocean. A view of the street appeared, with ponies walking along the bricks and concrete. Tradesponies hawked their wares from wooden carts loaded with snow globes and other memorabilia regarding Unification Day. Most seemed to be utterly enthralled in their business transactions, with only a few glances spared for the carriage and its inhabitants. “Not even a parade,” Haven grumbled. “Oh, do you want one?” Izzy said enthusiastically. “I can round up a few of the Canterlogic employees! Miss Moonstead gave them the day off to prepare for the Unific-!” “Forget it! I just…urgh!” Haven fell back onto her pillows and threw a foreleg across her eyes. “Please just let me suffer these last few hours of sovereignty in peace!” “Don’t be silly!” Izzy said, landing on the pillows beside Haven. Her forelegs crossed behind her head. “We’ll suffer toget-“ BANG! The carriage’s back right wheel shook hard. “Woah!” Izzy cried, rolling in the pillows. Haven lifted her head and grimaced. “Watch those potholes, soldier!” she called out. “I’m in a bad enough mood already, and a sore back won’t help!” BANG! The left rear wheel gave the same shake. A long screech filled the air, and the carriage vibrated with each lurch forward. Haven rolled her eyes. “With the way today’s going, of course the carriage wheels would break. I’ll probably have to…” She gave a small shiver. “…walk to the hotel.” “Don’t worry, Queenie!” Izzy said, putting her hoof around Haven’s neck. “The streets here are very nice. You won’t even break a swe-!” BANG! The front right wheel gave next, and the carriage stopped. Haven groaned, then thrust the curtains open. “Sergeant!” she barked. “What is going on he-?” She froze, horrified at the sight around her. Ponies were dashing every way they could. Some jumped over the carts they had just been frequenting, the goods spilling everywhere and smashing atop the concrete sidewalk. Haven and Izzy, herself now drawn to the sight, gasped as blurs of motion swooped down upon the fleeing ponies. In a flash, the ponies were gone, the last thing the duo seeing was the ponies’ legs kicking in the air as they blasted upward. Izzy shot a look toward the front of the carriage. The seats were empty where the coachstallions had once sat. Her eyes shifted to the back wheels, which now sat broken. Three slashes cut diagonally through each wheel. She turned back to Haven and noticed she still stared forward as if in a trance. Izzy followed her sightline. A light blue stallion in grey armor laid sprawled upon the ground. His helmet sat a few feet away, still spinning from the impact that had ripped it off. Yet for as wretched as Sergeant Blitzwing looked, it was the light yellow creature stooping over him that elicited the sharp gasp from Izzy. The being looked like a bird on the front half of its body, with a white head like an eagle and claws of a falcon. Its back half looked more akin to a pony, with long legs and hooves clicking upon the sidewalk. Both halves looked ragged and emaciated, flesh barely pulled over the bones. Izzy scrunched her nose. She could smell the creature from several yards away. “Drink this, my lovely,” the creature cackled. The tone sounded female, though tinged with an easy cruelty. “It will make you feel better. It will make you handsome.” She removed a small glass bottle with a glowing emerald liquid inside. She uncorked the vial and lifted it to Blitzwing’s mouth. “Hey!” Izzy cried out. “Leave him alone!” The creature looked up at them. For a moment, hatred filled her face. Then she relaxed into her previous joviality. “New friends,” she whispered, barely audible over the screams of the few ponies still fleeing. “New friends to play with. New friends to work with.” Izzy looked toward Haven. The queen still gave no impression she was even lucid, still staring at the creature and her crippled sergeant in silence. “Um, Queenie?” Izzy squeaked. “I’m starting to get the feeling this lady doesn’t want to be friends in the good way. Should we skedaddle before she has us in a saddle?” Haven made no effort to move or speak. She just stared at the creature now starting to make its way back toward Blitzwing. “New friends stay put,” the creature said, wagging one of its yellow talons. “Need to make other new friend handsome again.” She lifted the vial to Blitzwing’s lips. “Stop!” Izzy cried, rushing out towards the two. Not a second after her hooves hit the ground, she let out a fierce scream. The same blur she and Haven had seen lift ponies into the sky came down upon her. Hard claws grabbed her rump and her hair, hoisting her into the air despite the intense pain burning through her scalp. A grey form filled her vision. TWACK! Izzy felt herself falling to the ground. Through the tears had built up from the pain, she could see the bricks of the road coming closer. She threw her hooves out to break the fall, even though she knew it would break her legs. She closed her eyes and braced for impact. TWOOMP! Izzy’s body stopped. She opened her eyes and gasped. Haven held her in her forelegs like a bride by a groom, one hoof under the back and the other under the knees. Haven’s wings fluttered, soft fwiff-fwiffs filling the air with each flap. Her crown glistened in the setting sun and sent sparkles dancing upon the ground. Yet something had undeniably changed with Haven. Her face, normally plastered with an arrogant smirk or exasperation, stood in a placid glare. The creature below her seemed as unnerved with the queen’s face, shrinking back toward the ground in equal parts surprise and fear. A faint whisk came from above them. Izzy looked up just in time to see two more of the creatures, one tan and the other white, zipping toward them in a flash of movement. In less than a second, they would be upon the duo. Izzy didn’t even get a chance to blink before she was flipped in the air. She tumbled above Queen Haven and gasped as the scene below flashed before her eyes in the same way as flipped photos, her twist spinning her face toward the sky and then the ground and back to the sky again with each revolution. On the first turn toward the ground, Izzy could see Haven rear her back right leg. On the second, the first creature careened earthward. The third, the second creature grasped Haven’s hair. The fourth, Haven grasped the creature and rolled her body backward. The creature, unprepared for the maneuver, let go of Haven and tried to rebalance itself. On the fifth, Haven pushed the off-balance creature into the building closest to them. A sharp gasp escaped the creature as its face slammed into the solid brick wall. On the sixth spin, Izzy landed back within Haven’s arms. “Woah!” Izzy gaped. “I didn’t know you could fight, Queenie.” If Haven heard the compliment, she did not register such. Her eyes were scanning the sky, tracking all the blurs descending upon Maretime Bay. Then, both mares’ eyes fell back toward Blitzwing and the initial creature. The latter gave a furious hiss and launched herself up at the duo, wings beating against the air in a furious rhythm. “Catch,” Haven said in a bored tone. Izzy felt herself thrust forward. She waved her legs furiously about, horrified at the snarling face and grimy talons thrust toward her face. To her surprise and relief, the creature seemed to want to avoid contact as much as Izzy did, for she readjusted herself to zip just below the startled unicorn. Just as she started to reassume her ascent, the creature found two hooves impacting the top of her skull. Her avoidance of Izzy had opened her up to an upper assault from the scowling queen. Now it was Haven’s wings who beat loud enough to be heard, her legs pushing the creature all the way down to the sidewalk. CRACK! The creature landed flat upon her back. Haven, using the creature’s body as a launching pad, pushed off to return to her flight. Zipping back toward the still-hurtling Izzy, Haven grabbed the unicorn’s tail just before the unicorn could slam into the concrete. “Wow,” Izzy said, her face hanging barely an inch above the sidewalk. “You’re putting all those Kung-Hoof instructors to shame!” A sharp grunt came from Haven, who let Izzy fall flat on her back. “Let’s resuscitate Blitzwing and then-“ A slight movement in the corner of her eye caused Haven to jerk backwards. A light blue hoof punched the air in front of her, followed by a maddened chuckle. Haven fell back to the ground, her stoicism falling away into genuine terror. Blitzwing stood before her with a mirthless smile. While his body still looked the same in his armor, his limbs jerked and twisted in a way that made his body spasm with each step. Unmistakable madness filled his face. “Your Majesty,” Blitzwing said in a hissing voice. “Please come with me. She has so much to show you.” Haven’s eyes shot back toward the yellow creature she’d just dispatched. The glass vial around her neck now sat empty. Haven returned her gaze to the maddened soldier. “Sergeant Blitzwing, snap out of it!” she barked in an authoritative tone. “You are a soldier for Zephyr Heights, not these hippogriffs’ master!” “She’s your master, too,” Blitzwing mumbled, twitching with each step. “She’s everypony’s master. They just need to see.” His eyes hardened. “You need to see.” He leaped forward, forelegs clutching for Haven’s throat. The attack caught Haven off-balance, and she fell to the ground before she could flap her wings. Her body landed hard upon the sidewalk, dazed just long enough for Blitzwing to land atop her. His hooves wrapped around her throat. Haven’s back legs kicked, but his knees pressed against her stomach. No room for her wings to flap, she found herself staring up at the frenzied face of her once-loyal soldier. Blackness began to swim in her eyes. “Wakefulness shall bring enlightenment,” Blitzwing cooed. “Go to sleep, Your Majesty. She’ll make your dreams come tr-“ CLANG! Blitzwing fell to the side, a second wound appearing on his head. Haven sat upward and gasped, both for air and in surprise. Standing in front of her was Izzy with Blitzwing’s discarded helmet, now with two matching dents. Izzy smiled. “You know things are getting crazy when we’re using helmets to attack heads!” Haven’s relief quickly gave way to concern. The blurs swooping down into the city had started to thin above them, but they were replaced by a mass of hippogriffs descending toward them at the street level. “Come on!” Haven said, shooting up into the air. She swooped down toward the crumpled creature, nabbing the now-empty vial hanging from her neck. She then grabbed Izzy with their previous bridal carry. They shot toward the nearest alley, the howls of their pursuers coming from the main street. “Moonbow!” Haven barked over the rushing wind and angry cries behind them. “Do you know somewhere we can hide?” “Oh yeah!” she said. “Take two rights here and go straight on until Morning.” “What?!” “Morning Bar and Grill. It’s a little place nopony really goes to anymore. Our not-so-friendly friends won’t check there.”
The ConfessionHaven doubled back to the original street, Izzy whispering directions as they skulked down the largely empty streets. She’d hated slowing down, loving the feeling of the rushing wind through her feathers, but she realized that the move was useless with creatures that could also fly. The thought also occurred to Haven that the creatures would more likely be searching the air rather than the ground for a pegasus. So the two of them walked quietly to their destination, keeping to the lengthening shadows that started to cover most of the streets. “Over here,” Izzy whispered, pointing down the alley they were hiding in. “The building on the right, next to the alley.” She trotted towards the adjoining building, Haven stepping lightly behind and her eyes darting all around them. The sky still held splotches of hippogriffs far above them, but they couldn’t see them even with their excellent eyes. Shouts came from a distance off. Haven focused on Izzy, who pointed to a door that opened up into the alley. Izzy smiled. “We’ll go in here so they won’t see us out front.” Haven nodded, following her through the door, whose rickety hinges squeaked. No creature seemed to stir from the noise, however, so Haven simply closed the door. She took in the sight before her. The bar had certainly seen better times, with the cobwebs hanging from the wall shelves behind the bar. Dark, dusty bottles stood in random places along the shelves, if they were standing at all. Just as many seemed to be collected in small piles on the floor or tipped over on the bar itself. Haven watched her step, careful not to step anywhere with shattered glass. “What’d I tell you?” Izzy said. “Empty as a bowl of cereal.” “Yes,” Haven said, sighing when she looked at a cockroach on the floor skittering back to its hiding place. “Though I will confess, I would have preferred a more luxurious hiding spot.” Izzy grinned. “That’s the Queen Haven I know!” Puzzlement filled Haven’s face. “What do you mean?” “Well, it’s just that ever since you saw that whatchamacallit attacking Blitzwing-“ “Hippogriff. Half-pony, half-eagle.” “Right, that. Anyway, ever since then, you’ve been, well…weird.” Haven scoffed. “You’re one to talk, Miss Moonbow.” “No, I mean weird for you. You became all silent and serious and not focused on glam and your appearance at all. I mean, you haven’t even fixed your hair yet.” Haven glanced into the dusty mirrors behind the bar and groaned. Her mane was disheveled in every place, and her tail looked like it consisted of nothing but split ends. “Oh, this will be such a chore when I get to the hotel.” “Okay, but why did you become, you know, super serious and stuff?” Haven stared out at the outside light, already dimming from the oncoming sunset. “Miss Moonbow, under ordinary circumstances, I would let the mystery twirl around in your mind for the rest of your days.” She sighed. “But today is a strange day for both of us. Besides, I suppose I owe it to you for saving my life from Blitzwing.” Izzy beamed, before hopping up onto an empty barstool. The seat gave a loud squeak once her rump landed upon it. “Story time!” She cringed a moment, recognizing her loud exclamations were antithetical to their hiding. “So,” she now whispered. “What’s the deal? Did you used to be a Royal Guard? Eat a special fruit that made you the best fighter in the land? Read too many Miss Mare-vel comics as a filly?” Haven cocked an eyebrow at the eager unicorn for a moment, then took her own seat at the bar. She stared ahead at the dusty mirrors in front of her. “Miss Moonbow, I need to tell you something about Pegasi royalty.” She leaned against the bar, her stool creaking with her weight. “As far back as our recorded history goes, our culture has prided itself on having the fastest and strongest warriors in the world. And for the longest time, it was believed that the Kings and Queens of Zephyr Heights should be strongest of the bunch. Lead by example and all that.” Haven turned to Izzy, eyes hazy like she’d woken up from a long dream. “So, all the way back when I was a filly, my parents trained me in the same arts that their parents had trained them in. How to be the fastest flier, how to be the strongest lifter, and…” Her hooves clenched. “…how to be the smartest fighter.” Izzy gasped. “You mean…you were trained to be the Bestest, Fastest, Strongest Pegasi Ever?” Haven wanted to laugh at the unicorn’s earnestness, but she held her face firm. “If you want to call it that. For us, it was just the normal thing to do if you wanted to rule. We needed to fight as well as our soldiers did and be as smart as our most intelligent scientists. That meant hours of physical, mental, and social training. Doing work-outs that would make the most intense bodybuilders give up after ten minutes. Reading scientific and military journals so fast that you could absorb an entire novel in twenty minutes. Understanding psychology to the extent you could influence others’ decisions by a mere smile.” “Woah,” Izzy said. “You must have become super-duper smart and strong.” A vainglorious smirk came across Haven’s face. “I did. I remember how proud my father was when I managed to pin him to the ground, even though he was twice my size. My mother gave me an entire closet of silken dresses when I managed to finish a mathematical equation none of the royal scientists could crack. They both cheered when I became the belle of Zephyr Heights’ society parties, beloved by everypony who exchanged words with me.” Her smile softened, more wistful than vain. “I still remember the faces of all the stallions who were begging me for a dance that night.” “Aaw,” Izzy cooed. “It must have been so wonderful being the best Pegasi ever.” “It was…sometimes.” Haven’s hooves clenched. “But most of the time, it was just hard. If a new flight record appeared, I had to beat it. If a new scientific field popped up, I needed to become an expert in it in five hours instead of five years. I needed to be the best.” She stared back into the mirrors, eyes hardened with determination. “And I was. I was. I was the strongest, the smartest, and the most beautiful queen to ever live. I earned my crown, and nopony could argue I didn’t deserve it the day my father passed.” Her eyes fell down to the ground, head shaking. “But there’s always aftereffects from that kind of life. I was always on edge, perceiving every single problem as a direct challenge toward me. Any flier who went a little bit faster than me had to be surpassed. Some scientist who discovered a stronger conductor had to be superseded by my new conductor.” She was quiet for a moment before saying: “I even married Zipp and Pipp’s father because I’d been feuding with another girl for his hoof. For the first few years of our marriage, I brought him with me every time I went to parties I knew that mare would be at. Not because I wanted his company, but because I wanted her to know I had won. I loved him, make no mistake, but our love was secondary to me. I needed him as a trophy to know I was the best.” She looked down at the bar at her fractured reflection. “It wasn’t until I was pregnant with Zipp that I realized how much I needed to change. If I kept things the way they were, I would’ve been trying to sabotage my own daughter with her own training, just to make sure I was still the best. So, I just quietly ended all of the training, for both myself and Zipp.” Izzy nodded. “It must have been hard to change so much of yourself.” “In some ways. I’d always loved the parties and the attention, so emphasizing that part of myself wasn’t hard at all.” She looked outside, where the shadows had lengthened all the way across the street. “It was that hot-blooded part of myself that needed to be shunted away. That desire to be the best and to beat whoever challenged you, whether mentally or…physically.” Izzy shuddered, thinking back to their scuffle with the hippogriffs. “I couldn’t hide that part of myself out there,” Haven said. “It was like a switch went off in my head and I just wanted to hurt those hippogriffs.” She turned away from both Izzy and mirror. “It’s not the part of myself I hoped to see coming here.” Izzy extended a hoof to Haven’s shoulder. Her soft breathing echoed throughout the empty bar. “It’s okay. You’re not just some arrogant meanie who wants to beat everypony you meet into a pulp. You were trying to protect me and Blitzwing.” Her hoof dug a little deeper into her fur. “Even back when you were pretending to still be able to fly, you did it because you thought it would keep your subjects calm.” Haven nodded, less in agreement and more acknowledgement she had heard Izzy’s words. Looking back up at Izzy, her face grew determined. “What I am is not important right now. What’s important is who these hippogriffs are working for.” Izzy leaned back in a thoughtful pose, pulling a pair of thick glasses out of her mane and placing them over her eyes. “Indeed. And since you’re the super smart one, what would be your theory, Queen Doctor Haven?” Haven rolled her eyes, before pulling out the vial. “I’d say whoever’s in charge of this invasion is the one feeding the hippogriffs this.” Izzy leaned forward and pontificated the vial, scratching her chin. “A fair assumption. Do you think that’s what was making that griff all weird?” “I know it.” “Mind altering substances of ill intent.” Izzy’s eyes started rolling to the back of her head. “The tool of all meanie heads and ne’er-do-wells.” Haven shook her head. “The problem is determining what it’s made from. Without any scientific equipment, we couldn’t know if it was made from pollywood or petunias.” “Perhaps, Queen Doctor Haven,” Izzy said, hooves touching together, “we can do the old sniff test, as fashioned by Dr. Manedel in his experiments with peas?” Haven stared at the faint traces of green shining through the glass. “This could be dangerous to even sniff.” Haven extended the vial to Izzy. “Here, you smell it.” “Okay!” Izzy took a long, deep whiff. “Mmm-mmm! Smells like cinnamon.” Haven stared at Izzy for a few moments like a scientist to a lab rat. Then, seeing no change come over the unicorn, Haven took a sniff of her own. Izzy’s cinnamon claim had been true, though Haven detected something else. Faint, but still strong enough to bully its way through the rest of the ingredients… Her eyes went wide. “Witchweed,” Haven said, holding the vial now like it was a dead snake she’d prefer to throw away. “Ooooh!” Izzy said. “My mom used to tell me about that. She said that it could increase a unicorn’s magical powers.” “Yes, but with a very nasty caveat: addiction.” Izzy nodded. “Yeah, even before we lost our magic in Bridlewood, the town elders banned Witchweed. There were a bunch of young unicorns who took it to ace their magic quiz at school, but they took too much and they went a little, y’know…” She spun her hoof in a clockwise motion beside her head. “…Coo-coo.” “I’ve heard of batches driving ponies insane, but enslaving an entire race to your will is unheard of. Witchweed is supposed to be very short-lasting, no more than five minutes at most, but those hippogriffs were going several minutes without needing another dosage. And there were thousands of them!” She shook her head. “I’m afraid we might be dealing with a bigger menace than we’d initially hoped.” Izzy gasped. “Do you think whoever’s behind this made a batch for ponies too?” “Absolutely. They were trying it on Blitzwing.” She sat up. “But only on Blitzwing. Izzy, did you see anypony else being force-fed the potion during our escape?” Izzy scratched her head, glasses coming slightly eschew. “Now that you mention it, no. We saw ponies being abducted or beaten up, but not drinking anything.” “Exactly. What if whoever’s behind this doesn’t have the formula for ponies yet?” “What do you mean?” “Well, when Blitzwing attacked us, he was trying to kill me rather than just incapacitate or capture like the hippogriffs were doing. The hippogriffs’ master wanted all of us alive, but Blitzwing was going to kill me under their control. Whoever distilled this probably knew the potion they used to control the hippogriffs wouldn’t work entirely on the ponies. Witchweed is a very tricky plant to distill, so different species would probably need different variations of the same potion. Just to be sure, though, they decided to test the potion on the first pony they got their hooves on, and Blitzwing happened to be the first one they came across.” Izzy gasped. “But that means whoever kidnapped all those ponies probably wants to test new and improved potions on them!” Haven nodded. “And when they happen upon the right formula, they’ll turn pegasi, unicorn, and Earth Pony alike into mindless slaves for their army.” “Then we’ve got to go warn everypony outside the city.” Izzy started for the door. “First Zephyr Heights, then-“ “No,” Queen Haven said, standing up. “We’ve got to stop whoever’s doing this now, by ourselves.” “What?!” “Think about it, Miss Moonbow. Right now, the hippogriffs’ master has only the hippogriffs themselves to protect them. They can’t control any of us ponies yet, at least not effectively. They’re probably holed up somewhere nearby, trying to perfect the potion that’ll control us.” “Makes sense.” “Right now, they’ve got the hippogriffs out searching for any stragglers. If we try to leave, we’re more likely to be spotted fleeing than if we head right for where the mastermind is hiding.” She sighed. “Besides, even if we do escape the hippogriffs, by the time we reach Zephyr Heights, the leader may have perfected the potion and switch everypony to thier side. Instead of fighting one army, we might bring our reinforcements into a situation where they’d have to fight four.” Izzy gave a glum look. “You’re right. But how are we going to find this mastermind? Maretime Bay is not a small place, and we’d have to search-“ Just then, the dusk having fallen deeper, a bright glow appeared outside the window. Both Izzy and Haven’s first instinct was to jump over the bar and hide, but they withheld the urge to instead stand extremely still. For several seconds they waited for the glow to move or wane, but it just sat still in the bar window. Carefully, Haven eased her way toward the window. Peeking from the side of the window frame, her eyes widened. The glow came from a distant hill that sat above the town. Atop the mound was a large circular building, whose lights now beamed out into the town below like Hearth’s Warming lights. Dark splotches interrupted the flow of light every few seconds. Shadows of hippogriff wings cast dark shadows upon the city below, and harsh cries could be heard from the building. Izzy, having worked up the courage to follow Haven to the window, gasped as she stared up at the sight. “They’ve taken over Canterlogic!” she squeaked, her glasses falling to the floor. “More than that,” Haven intoned. “They’ve made it their base camp.” “Do you think that’s where their leader is?” “I’d bet my entire kingdom on it.” Izzy fiddled with her hooves. “So, assuming you’re right, if the mastermind’s there, how do we stop them?” Haven, still staring out at the display, gave a terse response: “We kill them.” Izzy’s face filled with horror. “W-What?!” Haven sighed and turned toward Izzy. “Miss Moonbow, whoever is controlling the hippogriffs is doing so through a blood potion. Mixing their own blood in with the Witchweed, the potion gives them control of all those who drink it. It’s the only way a mind control potion of this scale could work. Thus, there’s only two ways to break this mastermind’s hold: either wait for the potion to wear off, which we have no guarantee would happen, or sever the blood link that anchors the mastermind’s control to the hippogriffs. And there’s only one way to do the latter.” “Maybe there’s a misunderstanding,” Izzy said in the softest voice she'd ever used. “Maybe whoever’s doing this can be convinced to change and turn everypony back and we don’t have to hurt anypony…” Izzy’s sentence faded while she looked back at her companion. The darkness had fully encompassed the city, as well as Haven’s face. Yet still visible from Canterlogic’s glow was the burning eyes of the Queen and a look that made Izzy shiver. It was the face of that mare from so long ago, who would take pride in standing on a challenger’s neck and hold a lover as proof of war booty rather than from affection. “Maybe,” Haven said. “But I’m prepared if we do need to hurt somepony.”
The ReclamationThe journey to Canterlogic HQ took more time than Haven would have liked. Hippogriffs seemed to be flying by every second, and only the darkest of shadows kept them from spying the two ponies on the street. Flight had quickly been ruled out, as word of the super-fast pegasus would’ve gotten round and focused the hippogriffs’ gaze toward the sky. Walking took longer, but Haven knew it was more likely to keep the ponies hidden. Of course, the greatest hindrance was Izzy herself, who seemed to want to freeze up the second any sort of disturbance happened. Even when their way remained open, Izzy seemed like she could barely inch forward without a commanding hiss from the queen. Haven didn’t need to be a mind reader to know why she was so hesitant. She’s one of the Restorers of Friendship, Haven thought, ducking behind a crate. She sees the good in everypony, even somepony who does something like this. Haven shook her head. I wish I could afford to have such an outlook. Izzy came up behind Haven and settled in the same cover the crate provided. The duo sat on the end of Main Street, just where the road began to curve up toward the brightly lit headquarters. The road was deserted save the patrolling hippogriffs whose shadows danced over the cobblestones. From their hiding spot up to the top of the hill was about two hundred yards of open space. Haven didn’t need night vision to know that dozens of hippogriff eyes were wandering the stretch of land, ready to initiate attack the second they saw something amiss. A soft grunt escaped Haven. “No way are we getting in without attracting attention.” “Maybe we should go back,” Izzy whispered. “Try to find others around who could help us.” Haven shook her head. “Even assuming there are others like us who escaped, we don’t know how long it would take to find them. Besides, with only two of us, we’ve got more freedom to maneuver.” Izzy rubbed the back of her leg. “More freedom to hurt somepony.” Haven wheeled around and pushed Izzy against the wall. The impact gave a sharp thunk, though either the hippogriffs above them didn’t hear it or didn’t consider it worth investigating. “Listen, Moonbow,” Haven said in a calm tone. “I know this is hard. I don’t like it either. I’d hoped there would never be another day where I’d have to dip back into that part of myself again. But life doesn’t always give you a buffet, filled with hundreds of dishes to pick and choose. Sometimes you get moldy bread and gruel, and you have to decide whether to starve or shove that disgusting meal down your throat. Well, the death of this mastermind is the gruel, and if we don’t eat it, the new Equestria you and your friends fought so hard for may die before it’s even born.” She eased off Izzy, letting the frightened unicorn land back on the ground. “I won’t ask you to help me when the killing time comes,” Haven said, taking slow breaths. “I won’t ask you to throw me a parade when this is all over. I just need to know if you are going to help me stop whoever is behind this.” Only the fluttering of the hippogriff wings and trash blowing down the street made any noise. “Okay,” Izzy whispered. “I’ll help you.” Haven gave her an appreciative back pat. “Thank you.” She turned back toward the hill, peering out at the Canterlogic HQ building. The front of the building was the circular showroom ponies entered for demonstrations of new technology. Haven saw the front doors remained open, but there stood a group of hippogriffs milling about just outside them. These griffs proved to be the exception, for most of the hippogriffs seemed to be entering and exiting the windows lining the sides of the showroom. They were rectangular and laying on their long side, propped open by tiny bars protruding from their bases. “Front door’s out of the question,” Haven whispered. “Our best bet is going through the windows and hoping there’s a hiding spot we can quickly zip into.” “Won’t the hippogriffs see us going in?” Izzy said softly. “Not if they’re watching something else.” Izzy’s mouth formed an “O” shape. “You mean a distraction?” Haven nodded. “I’m welcome to any suggestions.” Izzy sat down and began to scratch her chin. “Well, there’s always the Marching Band Distraction. That’s where I wear a bunch of instruments, play them as loud as I can, and run down the middle of the street.” Haven shook her head. “Too sacrificial. Better to have something that lets you stay hidden rather than painting a target on your back.” “Hmm…Oh! What if we did the Half-Off Sale Distraction? We could put up a really big sign that says a store is offering all their stock at fifty percent off and-” “Moonbow, do they look like they care about a sale?” “Yeah, they seem more the ‘pillage everything and smash all glass cases’ type. Oh, I know! The Horrendous Super-Kaplooie Distraction!” A thin smile came across Haven’s face. “Keep talking.” For the first time since the invasion had started, things seemed to be calming down around Maretime Bay. Two hippogriffs stood guard near the front doors, though they seemed to be spending more time staring into the dark city below. “Night nice,” the first hippogriff said. “Night nice,” the other said. “Ponies out back stopped screaming finally. Sleeping potion calm them down.” “Hope the Mistress fixes them. Ponies no good when-“ KER-BOOOOOOM! A brilliant light filled the night sky. A faintly-hued blue mass exploded above the town. The noise nearly matched that of a sonic boom, the sound shaking the foundations of every building and shattering those windows unfortunate enough to be in the middle of town. Yet this display not only kept its color, but repeated its boom every five seconds. “All of you, fly!” a shrill female voice called from inside the showroom. “Find out who is causing that explosion!” The two hippogriffs, recognizing the voice of their mistress, instantly took off. The rest of their brethren likewise took to the skies, pouring out of both the front doors and the higher windows. As the flow of hippogriffs began to slow to a trickle, two masses began to dash across the open lawn. Even with the brilliant light above the town, no hippogriff caught sight of their forms. Their eyes sat only upon the booming menace that had overtaken their newly conquered territory. The forms soon came to a stop under one of the windows, before one grabbed the other under the forelegs and lifted them into the opening. Fortune going their way, the duo spotted an unfurled curtain sitting beside their entry point and zipped into the waiting abode. “Good work,” Haven whispered, settling into the curtain. “Maybe they should’ve had you as the Officially Official Fireworks Manager.” Izzy smiled, then cast her eyes downward. The showroom appeared the same as it had always been. A long, elevated runway stretched into the center of the showroom from the main stage. Studio lights hung around from the walls and ceilings, ready to illuminate any part of the room that needed to be lit. The main stage sat with an unopened red curtain draped across its entire length. Yet it was the creature sitting right where the runway met the stage that caused Haven and Izzy to stare. She sat atop a black throne covered with symbols depicting whiskered beings with pointed ears. The creature herself matched these symbols, thin whiskers protruding from her face and sharp ears sticking out of her head. A swath of orange hair fell from the top of her head to her chest. Her body was tall and covered with a dark brown fur. The garment she wore reminded the duo of a tacky bathrobe; purple fluff covered the exit points for the robe’s neck and arm sections, while the rest of the cloth remained a faint red. She gripped the arms of the throne with two palms, the right more tightly than the left. The bandage upon her left palm disclosed the reason. “What an obnoxious racket,” the creature whined, staring ahead at the bombastic blue menace still perplexing her soldiers outside. She brought her right paw up and flicked the air. The front doors instantly shut, as did the windows. Haven jumped slightly when their entry point slammed closed as well. As soon as the locks clicked, the explosions outside faded into a distant thudding. Sound-proof windows, Haven thought. “Oh, I’ll have to put whoever started that mess in Sanitation,” the creature said, shaking her head. “Let them know that Catrina does not tolerate such irritation in her domain.” She looked at the runway in front of her and smiled. “Though you already learned that, didn’t you, Sergeant Blitzwing?” Haven and Izzy could barely withhold their cries. Just in front of Catrina laid Blitzwing, his body shuddering and jerking with frantic irregularity. His armor had been long disposed of; the splotches of color upon his skin now being bruises and half-healed scratches. “A pity you ponies don’t have the same digestive enzymes as hippogriffs,” Catrina said, a soft tsk-tsk-tsk coming from her long teeth. “That would’ve made things so much easier. Alas, the new potions are being made, and in a few hours, Equestria will begin anew just as planned.” A soft smirk. “Just with a different ruler than you anticipated.” Now’s the time, Haven thought. Her hooves pushed against the wall, ready to launch herself toward the feline before she’d even hear a thing. “Alright, Izzy,” Haven whispered. “I’m going to go for it. Turn your eyes away if you don’t want to-“ Just then, Haven realized Izzy was gone. The lump she’d left in the curtain remained in the fabric and her vanilla scent still lingered in the air, but the unicorn was nowhere to be seen. Where did she-? “Miss Catrina?” Izzy’s voice chimed. Both Haven and Catrina instantly zeroed in on the unicorn, who stood at the end of the runway. Haven repressed a scream of frustration and horror, while Catrina looked down at the tiny equine with bemusement. “Well, well,” Catrina said, standing upright. She was at least twelve feet tall, unencumbered due to the high walls of the showroom. “It seems one of my little ponies has come back to the stable.” “Miss Catrina, would you please free my friends and the hippogriffs?” Izzy said in the most genuine voice Haven had ever heard. Catrina gave a thin smile. “And why, silly filly, would I ever do that? Most kitties need to throw a mountain of catnip to get any kind of following. Why would I give up four whole armies?” “Because my friends’ mother is hiding nearby and she’s super-duper tough and she will kill you if you don’t,” Izzy said apologetically. Perplexion filled Catrina’s face, her eyes darting around the room. They did not catch Haven’s hiding spot, so they returned to the po-faced unicorn before them. “Ba-ha!” Catrina cackled. “You ponies have a delightful sense of humor. Perhaps I’ll let you be my court jester when I become Empress of Equestria.” “I’m not kidding,” Izzy whined. “Queen Haven is actually pretty sweet, but she’s, like, got a dark side that you don’t want to coax out.” “Queen Haven, you say?” She ran one of her bare paws along the twitching Blitzwing’s back. “Ah, yes. I’ve heard about her from my new friend here. Pity he won’t last much longer; we had such an insightful discussion about the last Pegasi monarch. Forced to step down because her subjects still resent one little fib she told them.” She glanced knowingly around the room. “A shame she isn’t around here. I would offer to help her keep her crown. We could be partners in conquering Equestria. The neighboring countries of New Abyssinia and the Pegasi Kingdom. What lovely gifts we could exchange every winter’s solstice!” Silence maintained itself in the showroom for a few moments. “Um…” Izzy said. “Not to be rude, but why are you announcing that aloud like Haven’s actually here?” “Because, my purrrrr-fectly puny pony, if Queen Haven was nearby like you said, I venture she would want to hear my offer. I’m sure she’s a mare of certain…convictions. No creature becomes Queen in this world without putting all of themselves into the occupation. To have it just ripped away after all that work…” She gave a sympathetic shake of the head. “I just don’t know what that would do to a mare.” She gave a knowing smirk, before whipping out a small green vial. A deep emerald liquid sloshed around the container. “But I do know what a mare like that would do to keep her kingdom.” Haven clutched the curtains around her like they were life preservers in the middle of the ocean. Her thoughts were frantic, bouncing, flying. She knew she couldn’t trust the cat down there, she couldn’t, but…but… “I don’t want anypony to be hurt,” Izzy said. “I want this fighting to end and for everything to go back to the way it was.” Catrina lifted her chin and stared down at the pony. She was deep in thought, her nose twitching. Her paw went down to the throne and placed the green vial upon the armrest. Then, raising her right paw again, she gave a sharp flick. “Aiiiiieeee!” Izzy screamed. She was flung all the way across the showroom by an invisible force, landing in a heap among a stack of boxes. “Pathetic!” Catrina howled. “Sentimental child! Do you think I would trade the thousands of servants I have? That vial is but a drop of the Witchweed potion I have at my disposal! I am a sorceress without a peer, ready to take whatever I wa-“ CRACK! Catrina tumbled to her knees. She grasped the back of her head, a sharp yowl hurling out of her throat. When she brought her paw back, she could see a faint smear of blood upon her paw. Her eyes shot back to the boxes, where Haven was helping Izzy up from her tumble. “I wondered when you were going to show yourself,” Catrina said through a grimace. “Though I must say, if your plan was to accept my offer of friendship, you chose a very purrrr-culiar way of taking it.” “I don’t want a thing from you,” Haven said, planting her hooves upon the floor. “Nothing but a body.” “Hah! So your little friend wasn’t lying when she said you wanted to kill me. How fascinating to see such violent tendencies from such cuddly little creatures!” “You dug this grave for yourself. Blood potions always carry the risk of killing those whose blood are mixed in.” Catrina lifted her bandaged left paw and wiggled her digits. “Rrrrrr-ight you are. In fact, when I first started experimenting with the Witchweed, I was worried my distillations would prove absolutely useless if they required an entire pint of blood for each batch. But I’m not some marketplace witch doctor who knows a good diarrheic or two. I refined my potions until a single drop of blood was all that was needed.” Haven glared at her. “You’re going to lose more than just a drop by the time I’m done with you.” A wagging finger emerged from Catrina’s robe. “Oh, my dear Queen, your temper overwhelms your common sense. You see, my refinements didn’t just extend to blood conservation. I also enhanced the connective energy the potion gave its host and its imbibers.” Haven’s face wavered. “You mean-?” Catrina gave a gleeful nod. “That’s right. Whatever I feel, they feel. The flow is one way, of course; it wouldn’t do to suffer every time one of those buffoons bumped their knee. But every ache I suffer in my beautiful body is one my whole army shares.” She grinned maliciously. “And should I, say, suffer an unfortunate demise, be it a horrific accident or a planned assassination, every single one of those tied to me by the potion would drop dead themselves.” Haven’s head shook furiously. “You’re bluffing. Nopony would risk all of their soldiers’ lives to-“ “Nopony would, I agree. But cats are a different breed, my dear Queen. I could throw a sister from my litter into a herd of Rockadiles and not even lose a minute of sleep.” She stepped off the runway, her claws scraping against the floor. Her pupils narrowed and locked in on the two little ponies. “And I won’t lose even a second when I’m finished with you.” With shocking speed, she thrust herself at the two ponies. Only Izzy and Haven’s dash opposite ways managed to save them. The save proved to be momentary, however, for Catrina hit the ground and bounced off like the hard floor was rubber. She aimed her body up toward Haven’s uprising body, claws slashing wildly for a piece of the Queen. Haven zipped lower, the miniature knives just swishing above her, and shot under the conqueror. The move proved unwise, for Catrina’s claws on her lower legs extended. Before Haven could zip to the side, the legs kicked toward the Queen and dug into her back. Haven’s forward momentum brought a trio of deep, red lines along the length of her back. “Aaaah!” Haven screamed, wings freezing from the pain and sending her tumbling head over heels upon the ground. Tears started to fill her eyes, though she could still make out the long form of Catrina now swishing toward her. She prowled forward on all fours, tail twitching behind her with each step. “I always loved playing with my food,” Catrina giggled. “Makes the meal so much more interesting.” Haven pushed her hooves into the ground, desperate to stand. The wounds in her back started to scream before she could even get a quarter of the way up, though, and she immediately collapsed. “Yes, get up,” Catrina whispered, not even ten feet away and poised to strike. “Get up and throw yourself into battle. Give a warrior’s scream and throttle me until the life is gone from my eyes. Kill those thousands of hippogriffs with a single stroke. Prove to yourself you are still a queen, a goddess made flesh whose words are life and death. Enshrine yourself in Equestri- ZAP! An ear-piercing howl filled the room. Haven saw Catrina leap thirty feet in the air and dig her claws into the ceiling. All four of her paws embedded in the plaster, Catrina’s eyes searched for the new menace that had pierced her in the side. “There’s more where that came from!” Izzy hollered. She stood beside Blitzwing, her horn smoking a light blue color. Catrina cackled. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy throwing you into my next potion. Bones, blood, muscle!” She leaped down from her perch, teeth bared. “A private horn for my collection!” As fast as before, she landed upon the ground and launched toward Izzy. A fantastic flash filled the room. Catrina found her paws clutching thin air, then a thick red curtain that the claws embedded themselves into. Another rage-filled howl filled the showroom while Catrina viciously tried to pull herself free of the dense curtain. Izzy stood five feet away from her original position, the tell-tale sparkle of a teleportation spell dancing around her. Haven braced her front legs upon the floor. Moonbow’s not going to last long like this, she thought. Her magic will run out and Catrina will- A flash of green came across Haven’s face. She squinted, trying to find the source of the light amidst Catrina’s howls and Izzy’s new barrage of magic upon the cat’s exposed backside. Her eyes followed up to just above Blitzwing, where the throne stood. Atop the armrest sat the same green vial Catrina had showcased earlier. Haven’s face grew determined. Flapping her wings, she shot up into the air and started toward the throne. Grabbing the potion, she zipped toward the still-struggling Catrina. Seeing her friend’s approach, Izzy halted her assault. “When I get out of this,” Catrina hissed, “I’ll eat your alive and screa-!” CRACK! Haven’s legs connected into Catrina’s back, vertebrae snapping upon the connection. Not wasting a second, Haven grasped Catrina’s hair and pulled her head back. “You worked so hard on this potion,” Haven said, grimacing. “Why let it go to waste?” She then ripped off the cork and dumped the potion into Catrina’s waiting mouth. The cat’s eyes grew wide and she begun thrashing about, finally pulling herself free from the curtain. Haven just managed to pull away before Catrina slashed her, though the cat’s actions seemed more like thrashing desperation than a direct target of Haven herself. Catrina gasped her throat with one hand and shoved another into her gullet, pressing to activate the gag reflex. This effort soon subsided as a horrible scream came from her throat, and her paws shot toward her stomach. A gurgle began to fill the air as if a hundred ponies had empty stomachs voice their complaints at the same time. A final scream came from Catrina just as a brilliant burst of light shot out of her eyes and throat. Haven and Izzy turned away, the white fluorescence being a thousand times more brilliant than the sky-bound scene they’d created outside. Then, as quickly as it started, the light ceased and Catrina fell to the ground. Carefully, Haven made her way to the crumpled form of the cat. Catrina’s face was gaunt and her cloak torn all over. Haven stretched out her hoof toward Catrina’s still face. A faint whisp of air flowed from Catrina’s nose, and the queen gave a soft sigh. “Queenie!” Izzy hollered from the throne. “Sergeant Blitzwing is coming to!” Haven zipped over to the throne and leaned over Blitzwing. The sergeant’s eyes blinked rapidly, before a relieved sigh escaped his lips. “You’re safe,” Blitzwing choked out. “So are you,” Haven sighed. “It’s alright. We stopped Catrina.” “Did you-?” “No. No, she’s still alive. I wasn’t going to risk the hippogriffs’ lives if she was telling the truth.” Blitzwing nodded. “She was. I didn’t get the best of that potion, but even I felt those kicks you gave her.” Haven gave a soft smile. “I’ll apologize to the hippogriffs when they’re lucid. Speaking of which…” Haven shot toward the closed windows and stared out. The Horrendous Super-Kaplooie Distraction had started to die down, now only consisting of a few quick blasts of turquoise in the sky. No hippogriffs seemed to be flying in the light, but Haven’s eyes quickly found them sprawled upon the grounds outside the showroom. Most seemed to be rubbing their heads, confused at their surroundings, or keeled over and losing their lunches. Haven zipped back toward Izzy and Blitzwing. “The hippogriffs are coming to,” Haven said. “Not looking so hot, but better looking than if they were dead.” Izzy gave a soft sigh. “How did you know to do that? Giving Catrina her own potion?” Haven shook her head. “During the fight, I remembered something from my childhood. Some ancient book I read said that with blood potions, the brewer needed to be careful to never imbibe their own potion. Otherwise this would create a phenomenon called a feedback loop. The magic in the potion would cease to work because it couldn’t differentiate the influencing force of the blood with the imbiber who shared the same blood. Most times, the potion would just stop working with little incident. In this case, however…” She stared at Catrina’s still unmoving form. “Catrina spread herself too thin. Even with just a little blood, she’d put her will into a thousand different beings. I wagered that the strain would be too much for her if she drank the same potion, and the hippogriffs would be free without too much impact.” Haven gave a relieved sigh. “Fortunately, I was right on both counts.” Blitzwing gave an approving nod. “You make us Pegasi proud, Your Majesty.” Haven stroked Blitzwing’s cheek. “Not as proud as I am to be your Queen.” The sergeant smiled, then drifted into unconsciousness. “He’s just asleep,” Izzy said. “I know,” Haven said. She started walking toward the door, now opened and letting the first traces of the sunrise into the room. “Let’s go find some help for him and the hippogriffs. The ponies should be coming out of the sleeping potion soon.” Izzy bounded off the stage and landed beside Haven. “He’s right, you know,” Izzy said with a smile. “You are a good queen.” Haven stared up at her head. The crown still sat there, despite all of the events of the past hours. A soft chuckle filled Haven’s throat. Images of the oncoming Unification Day treaties filled her mind. “Was a good Queen,” Haven said in a half-sigh.
