Reign of Fire

Zephyr Heights is one of the most beautiful cities in all of Equestria. Stately houses, spacious streets, picturesque parks and advanced technologies - all this is contained in the City Above the Clouds. And what’s most amazing is that the pegasi were able to erect such magnificence without the use of magic. Truly magnificent creatures.

Until recently, there were only pegasi in the city, and all strangers were despised and not allowed into its majestic boundaries. However, after the rise of the Empire, the city became more vibrant and diverse in population - all thanks to the new policy of “Unity and Equality”. But as we know, somepony will always be more equal than others.

Looking at the streets, you can see that this diversity is achieved mainly due to the Imperial Guard - pegasus vigilantes patrol here and there (they can be easily identified by the white bandage with the state symbol), and on the streets corners stand earthpony guards in black uniforms, which contrasts greatly with the golden glow of the city, and in especially busy squares there are certainly so-called “observers” - unicorns, specially trained to look for “undesirable” faces in the crowd.

This region was of special importance to the Empress due to its remoteness from the “center” and the difficult situation. Among the residents of the Zephyr Heights there were too many dissatisfied with the new state of affairs. First of all, due to the lack of magic - after all, the pegasi were just able to fly, and now they have been “grounded” again. The residents have lost faith in their Queen, who is now just a puppet governor and a pathetic shadow of her former self. Pickets and protests appear on the streets every now and then, but they are quickly dispersed and violators are arrested.

But the other part of the residents was quite happy with their life - they didn’t fly before and don’t need to now; "It’s others who are being arrested, not me". And they can be understood - their lives have not changed much during all this time. They still live and work. Why should they think about those on the streets? It is their own fault that they are being arrested.
Sometimes this difference of opinion resulted in street riots between residents, heating up an already difficult situation. Compared to this, Maretime looked like a paradise city.

But not everything was calm in the “Royal” castle itself. Discord was brewing in the family for the same reason. Zipp Storm still couldn’t (and didn’t want) to come to terms with her mother’s actions.

"Look at you!" Zipp shouted. "What happened to you? What have you turned our kingdom into!"

"Zephyrina!" Haven shouted sternly. "We’ve been through this conversation so many times. I no longer have the strength to repeat everything all over again.

"But I have a lot of strength," Zipp continued. "Unlike you, I’m not going to give up. And you just chose the easiest path! You decided to just lie down and spread your legs in front of this alicorn!"

"How dare you talk to me like that???" Haven was indignant. "I did all this for the sake of our peace and the peace of my subjects!"

"For the sake of those who are now being beaten and arrested on the streets?" Zipp grinned.

"For the sake of everypony," Haven repeated once again. "I have already explained to the residents many times about the new life and new rules. Just follow them and everything will be fine."

"And why should we live by the rules that are dictated to us from the outside?" Zipp continued her indignation. "Just because she said so? And look what these rules are! Magic is not allowed, local government is not allowed, nothing is allowed! You can only be under the constant surveillance of these corrupt ponies who report to her about your every move!"

"Or maybe we don’t need this magic?" Haven answered. "Remember what happened when we got her back? Everything went wrong and became even worse than it was before the magic. And besides, we are still in control. So it's not all bad."

"Mom..." Zipp said upset and took Haven’s hooves. "Why do you continue to deceive yourself? Open your eyes already, please. In such conditions, we are not us, but only a shell with wings. We have lost our majestic spirit and become slaves to this ancient alicorn. And why? Because she said she was our true ruler, basing her argument on an ancient tale? Even if she's right, why should we care about it NOW? Times change, foundations change. We should not live by the ancient rules of the unknown Skyros."

"Daughter, dear-" Haven wanted to answer something, but Zipp interrupted her.

"You call yourself a ruler," the pegasus continued her monologue. "But what kind of ruler are you? Now you don't do anything yourself. All your decisions are HER decisions, and you have no right to disobey, otherwise you will lose this place. Do you think she speaks to you as an equal? No, you're just a puppet that she pulls the strings. And tell me, do you know what is happening on the outskirts of Equestria? Why do they recruit teams there, but no one returns?"

"Some ordinary factories, I don’t know anything else-" Haven answered uncertainly.

"That's it!" Zipp was indignant. "She doesn’t even consider it necessary to explain what they do there and why so many ponies are needed. And isn’t it terrible for you to say that? Maybe you’re sending your own residents to their deaths, but you don’t care!"

"I’m absolutely sure that there is nothing illegal there," Haven said firmly. "This is all for the common good of all residents of Equestria."

"Illegal on what side?" Zipp asked sarcastically. "If she passes a law on mass executions tomorrow, then there will be nothing illegal in this either, because these are the laws of the Empire, right?"

"Enough of this nonsense," Heaven snapped dryly. "Over these months, I haven’t seen anything critical or terrible. We live as we lived before, only now our kingdom is under outer control. Among other things, she gave us strength and protection. We essentially had no protection before. Look around - a huge army, ready to defend the country from any threats. Who now dares to attack Equestria? And why can’t everything be as simple with you as with your sister? Look at Pipp. Nothing has changed in her life, she still lives calmly and doesn’t fill her head with nonsense like you."

"Maybe she’s just not smart enough to understand what’s happening?" Zipp grinned.

"Enough," Haven answered menacingly. "You’ve tired me, I don’t want to talk about this anymore."

"You tired me," Zipp objected. "You’re too stubborn and don’t want to understand anything. Or are you so afraid of losing your throne? If you had not obeyed her, but convinced everyone to rebel against her, we would have succeeded. Even without the magic of flight, we would have come up with something. But as it turns out, the taste of her hooves is sweeter to you than freedom. I'm tired of being here, I'll go for a walk."

"I beg you, don’t get into trouble..." Haven said softly. "And take off this badge. I'm tired of receiving reports on you for anti-state symbols."

Zipp walked dissatisfied through the castle towards the exit. Maybe somewhere in the city there will be a calm and quiet place that doesn’t remind her of all this nonsense. But suddenly Zipp had one thought “Maybe I should go to the Royal Library while I’m here? Maybe we can find out something about this alicorn.”

In the library Zipp began looking for any books that would help in her investigation: books on history, biography, geography, political notes and even children's fairy tales. Having collected a dozen books, she sat down at the table.
The times of Ancient Equestria were truly amazing. But there is one small problem - practically no documents have survived to this day. All these books were, for the most part, useless - Zipp already knew this story about the disappearance of magic. True, it was very strange that it was described so briefly and crumpled. “Opaline sowed discord, Twilight had no choice and she divided the magic into crystals, Opaline was expelled.” Almost the same in different books and notes.

This situation upset Zipp even more. Could it be that these books are also lies? The events described in them partially coincide with the new “official” history. Decided that she had enough of this castle, Zipp took one book and went into the city.

The streets were surprisingly calm today and not as crowded as usual. Zipp calmly walked down the street looking at “collaborators” with contempt, but today the guards had no interest in Zipp and her anti-government badges on her vest. Apparently, they have already realized that all these fines and detentions are useless and have resigned themselves. But the pegasus herself did not even think of stopping her “hidden” propaganda. On her way, with a light and imperceptible movement of her wing, she pasted anti-government badges and slogans on everything. Perhaps the guards still saw this, but there is no point in worrying about it - they will be erased in the very near future anyway.

No matter what Zipp says about her sister, Pipp is doing just fine. During this time, her salon expanded into a franchise. Mane Melody in every city, who would have thought?

But for Zipp there are advantages to this, too. The main one is Rocky Riff, who moved back home with the opening of Mane Melody in the Zephyr Heights. Rocky was a great friend and always willing to listen.

Walking into a local salon, Zipp caught several sidelong glances from visitors. After examining them and rolling her eyes, she turned to the receptionist “Is Rocky there?”

"Yes, he’s at his workplace, but he has a client, so-" the pony began to answer, but was interrupted.

"Great," Zipp answered dryly and walked into the hall.

The salon in the Zephyr Heights simply screamed that it was “elite” and “royal” - a huge hall, decorated in the best traditions of expensive establishments of this city, the workers were the highest masters of their craft, and during the procedures you could be offered elite booze.

Having reached Rocky's workplace, Zipp unceremoniously collapsed onto the nearest chair.

"Zipp?" Rocky was surprised by such a sudden appearance and stopped working on his client's haircut for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to visit a friend," Zipp answered, looking at the magazine on the table, on the cover of which Pipp was featured. "Where is she? I would like to talk to her."

"To tell the truth, I don’t know," Rocky answered dissatisfied, continuing to work with the client. "She hasn’t shown up at the salon this morning. Maybe she's in another city, I don't know. As they say, She is the Boss."

"Success is dizzying, isn't it?" said Zipp, without looking up from the magazine.

But there was no answer, because Rocky was too busy creating his masterpiece.

"Listen, Rocky," Zipp continued. "I need to talk to you in private."

"I don’t mind," the stallion answered enthusiastically. "We can talk after work, or during a break, if you wait for me."

"Perhaps I’ll wait for your break," Zipp said thoughtfully. "At the same time, I’ll read something."

Zipp moved from the client's chair to the staff sofa and took out a book taken from the Royal Library. It was yet another book about the history of Equestria. Strange in appearance and very shabby, with different drawings and notes on the pages, but decent in volume. But Zipp was not interested in the whole book, she only needed the period of the Fall of Equestria.

“Yes, yes, everything is like everywhere else, Opaline wanted to rule, sowed discord...Wait, what? Opaline was defeated by the dragons. The dragons defeated her and trapped her magic in stone. Wait, wait! If she was defeated and lost her magic, why did Twilight deprive all the inhabitants of their magic and disperse them to different parts of Equestria? What the hay???”

"Hey," Rocky interrupted Zipp’s thoughts. "I have a few free minutes. What did you want to talk about?"

"About everything, Rocky," Zipp lowered her head. "Don’t you think we took a wrong turn somewhere?"

"You can say that about anything, Zipp," Rocky grinned. "You can never know where and what road will lead us. Maybe all paths are already predetermined."

"Or maybe we are still able to change our path?" Zipp asked enthusiastically. "Maybe all is not lost yet? We lost the battle, but not the war."

"And what do you suggest?" Rocky asked dryly. "Look around, Zipp. Not all pegasi are against the new life. Many are happy with this state of affairs. And how are you going to attract supporters? What will you promise them? You will never convince them that we will all be safe even if we take back the freedom of the Zephyr Heights. There are two more kingdoms, Zipp! One of which consists entirely of ardent fanatics. Oh, and believe me, they will die for the Empress without hesitation. And earth ponies basically have nothing to lose."

"My friend," Zipp answered calmly. "Problems must be solved as they arise, and not all at once. I'm not calling for civil war. I don't want to go against my own kind. But first we need to find loyal supporters. Trusted ponies who have no love for Opaline and who definitely won’t hand us over to the guards."

"And how are you going to look for them?" Rocky asked sarcastically. "Yes, the city is full of pegasi who don’t like the Empress. But I'm not sure if they are ready to take more serious steps."

"Are you ready?" Zipp snapped. "I know that you are on the same page with me. And tell me, do you like these endless checks in search of dissidents? How long do you expect to endure these raids?"

Rocky just sighed and lowered his head, not knowing what to answer.

"Hey, it’s okay, - Zipp said softly and lifted Rocky’s head by the cheeks, - I believe in us and our future. I believe we can do it. Just like I believe in you."

"Me?" Rocky was surprised. "W-what should I do?"

"Find us a backbone," Zipp said, looking into her friend’s eyes. "The closest ponies, in whom you are most confident. Let there be two, three, it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that you can trust them. And it is highly desirable that this happen by this evening."

"What if I don’t find the ponies today?"

"It doesn’t matter," Zipp replied. "In any case, regardless of the result, we need to meet tonight."

"Somewhere here in the Heights?" Rocky asked, running his hoof through the air.

"No!" exclaimed Zipp. "What are you thinking about? We need to choose a place somewhere away from such dominance of the guard."

"Hmm...let me think," Rocky thought. "Oh! I was once in Bridlewood and saw several abandoned houses there away from the main city."

"Great," Zipp enthused. "Opaline is not interested in this area at all. I heard that she has some kind of traumatic memory associated with this forest. Can you imagine? It turns out that this monster has some feelings. So, will you go there and check?"

"Um, noooo," - said Rocky.

"Why?" Zipp was surprised.

"What do you think?" he answered dryly. "I’m not your sister and I can’t leave work whenever I want."

"Right," Zipp was ashamed of herself. "I’m sorry. Then give me the coordinates and I'll check. I'd still rather be anywhere but here."

"Here, I sent it. Now excuse me, it’s time for me to run," - said Rocky, hugging Zipp.

Zipp left the salon and sighed with relief. “Finally, fresh air. It’s simply impossible to breathe normally in these salons.” Pegasus took out her phone to look at the message with the required location. “At the very end of the city? So you’ll have to walk in front of everyone... Well, okay...” Zipp thought to herself. Putting away the phone, she saw the book and again thought about what she had read “It’s still an interesting story, but right now that’s not the main thing.” Zipp cast aside unnecessary thoughts and went to the airship station.

Bridlewood is perhaps the most unusual place in the new Empire. The kingdom-city of natural origin is located right in the thicket of a dense forest. But the further into the forest, the more beautiful it becomes. The houses of local residents are like strangely shaped trees, but with a full-fledged home interior. The picture is complemented by crystals of various colors and shapes. They are, of course, not magical, but they are pleasing to the eye. Anyway, how did the majestic unicorns of Canterlot end up in the wild forest?

For Zipp being here was both pleasant and unpleasant. It was pleasant for her to remember how she came here for the first time along with her new friends. But this same fact upset her very much. After all, many of her friends found themselves “on the other side of the barricades.” However, life here was in full swing, and Zipp felt as if the unicorns had become even more...alive? Perhaps they were encouraged by the Empress's sweet words that unicorns were “special” and that she supported their return to their former greatness.

Any pegasus or earth pony can safely stay in Bridlewood without causing concern to the local residents. But Zipp is a special case. Her personality has already become overgrown with unpleasant information, and her face has become a familiar background in news releases about troublemakers. Therefore, they looked at her with some suspicion. Zipp felt somewhat uncomfortable about this, but she tried to look at everyone with a smile.

Looking to the side, Zipp accidentally pushed a unicorn passing by. But the unicorn didn’t seem to notice this and continued to wander with her head down.

"Sorry!" Zipp apologized after her and continued moving.

Hearing the voice, the unicorn stopped and began to turn towards the departing pegasus.

"Zipp?" the unicorn said quietly. "Zipp!!!"

Zipp just had time to turn around and see a unicorn crash into her and hug her tightly.

"I’m glad to see you too, Izzy," Zipp said softly.

"How did you get here?" Izzy began with tears in her eyes. "Why do you almost never answer calls and messages? I was really worried for you! All this news from the Zephyr Heights makes me very upset...Especially to see you as a defendant in cases of violation of order."

"Eh..." Zipp sighed, stroking Izzy’s mane. "That’s why I don’t contact you. I don't want to drag you into all this. And here I have...some things to do..."

"Is this related to your protest activities?" Izzy asked sadly.

"Unfortunately, yes..." answered Zipp, looking to the side.

"Okay, I don’t blame you," the unicorn squeezed out. "Um, if you have time, we can go to my place and drink tea. If you want, of course..."

Zipp thought for a moment, wondering how much free time she had, but answered quickly.

"Yes, of course," Zipp answered joyfully.

Izzy smiled for the first time when she heard that answer.

Everything in Izzy’s house was as bright and cozy as on the day when Zipp first came here. All the same crafts, all the same pillows, all the same table with cups, which remained standing unused...

"You know, I’m even glad, albeit temporarily, to change the environment," Zipp said, taking a sip of tea. "Look at real nature, and not just at the marble and concrete of the castle."

"And for me, this house is the most peaceful place in all of Equestria," Izzy said with calm pleasure. "Besides, this is the only thing I have left."

"What do you mean?" Zipp was surprised.

"When we all separated, everypony went about their own business, and we don’t communicate at all, we don’t meet," the unicorn began her explanation. "Besides, some of us ended up on different sides...So I only have this house left with memories of our pleasant moments."

Izzy became sad again and silently pointed her hoof to the side. Zipp looked in the direction Izzy was pointing. On the second floor there was a large corkboard with many different photographs and newspaper clippings. Zipp put the cup on the table and decided to take a closer look at the photo on the board. Pegasus saw the photos, and a smile appeared on her face. “Hitch, Me, Pipp and...” the smile was replaced by an angry grimace.

"What is she doing here?" Zipp asked pointing her hoof at the photo.

"S-Sunny?" Izzy asked uncertainly.

"Don't say her name!" Zipp exclaimed rudely, hitting the board.

"But what’s wrong?" Izzy said in a trembling voice. "She’s still my... and our friend..."

"No!" Zipp shouted, tearing Sunny’s photo off the board. "This vile traitor is definitely not my friend! I don't even want to hear anything about her!"

"But I met her recently," Izzy tried to convince her friend. "She’s still just as kind and sensitive to her friends! Yes, she rarely visits me, but, but..."

"But what?" Zipp grinned.

"You, for example, have never agreed to meet with me in all this time," Izzy said quietly and uncertainly, looking at the floor.

Zip became angrier for a moment, but soon realized that Izzy was right. Partially, but right.

"Izzy," - the pegasus said with a sigh. "I explained to you - this is all for your own good. I don't want to drag you into my troubles. I don’t want you to be assigned to any case either."

"Sunny also does everything for our good," Izzy objected.

"For good? Did she tell you this?" Zipp asked arrogantly.

"I feel her sincerity," Izzy continued. "Yes, something has changed in her, but she still wants only the best for everyone. She invited me to join her new business."

A hurricane of thoughts began to swirl in Zipp’s head.

"What new business?" Zipp asked cautiously.

"She is gathering scientists for an in-depth study of dark magic," answered the unicorn. "They want to find application for it in everyday life."

"If this is all for the good, then why didn’t you join her?" Zipp continued her questions.

"I don’t want to be on anyone’s side," - Izzy answered confidently. "I don’t want to divide you into good and bad. You are all my friends. I love you all..."

"At some point, we all have to make a choice," Zipp answered sadly. "And we need to be guided by the voice of reason, regardless of our feelings."

Izzy didn’t answer, but silently picked up Sunny’s photo from the floor and looked at it with a sad smile.

"I’ll go take a nap," Izzy said dryly and, without letting go of the photo, walked away towards her bed.

It seems that this meeting brought both friends only frustration and pain, because each remained unconvinced. Not wanting to escalate the situation any longer, Zipp decided that it was time to go on her “assignment.” In order not to wake up Izzy, the pegasus decided to write a note and attach it to the board.

“I'm sorry, Izzy. I value you and your friendship very much, but on this particular issue we cannot compromise. I understand you and don't blame you. Perhaps one day everything will change for the better and be as before. And now it’s better for us not to meet. This is for your sake and your safety. I care about you and I just want to protect you from possible consequences, which might be easier for me. After all, I am the daughter of the ~~queen~~ governor, and you are a simple unicorn from the forest. I will always remember you, your Zipp.”

But there was also one dark and sad detail in Bridlewood. At one end of the settlement there were several abandoned houses. These houses looked dried out and dead. No one has lived here for a long time, but the rest of the unicorns didn’t seem to care. Real ghost district.

Zipp checked the coordinates again. “Yes, it's definitely here. Was he talking about a specific house? Or should I choose?”
Zipp walked slowly among the dead houses and, with sadness in her eyes, assessed the potential place for shelter. After all, someone lived here before and he left, apparently, not of his own free will. Among all these abandoned buildings, Zipp noticed one medium-sized house. It was half hidden behind the overgrown trees and bushes that had become part of it. “Not only is he located in this dead wilderness, but he is also hardly noticeable among these thickets. Perfect."

Deep down, Zipp really didn’t want to go there - she was afraid to see something there... not very pleasant. Sighing, the pegasus carefully opened the half-rotten door.

A sharp smell of dampness and something terribly decayed hit Zipp's nose. Zipp stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Dim rays of light made their way through the cracks in the ceiling and walls, lifting the curtain of darkness and allowing to see the situation a little. The entire inside of the house was overgrown with moss and, it seemed, mold, all kinds of swarming insects were visible everywhere, and clusters of mushrooms grew in the corners. But the creepiest detail was the presence of personal belongings. Here they are, all lying the same as on the day the owners left this house. Clothes, dishes, household appliances...The kitchen was overgrown with some incomprehensible mass. At best, it was once food. At worst it was something alive.

The living room turned out to be a natural swamp. Because of a hole in the rotten roof, water flowed straight into the room, where a puddle first formed and then grew into a real swamp. “Perfect room for a post-apocalyptic scene, huh?” Zipp turned her attention from the floor to the entire room: a large double bed, dilapidated cabinets with various things and the remains of books, photographs in frames. The pegasus decided to look at the former owners of this house and approached the closet, stepping through the swampy areas. Zipp took the photo standing in the center, but, unfortunately, it was impossible to see the faces - the photo had become wet and blackened. It was only clear that a family of three unicorns lived here.

“I really hope that I won’t see them here... and, especially, their foal...” Zipp noticeably darkened realizing this.

Pegasus winced and put the photo back in its place.

The children's room was the most unpleasant. An unmade children's bed, scattered things and rotten toys. This picture gave Zipp goosebumps. She stopped and thought. She imagined the same picture, but with Pipp's room. “What would I do in this case? Could I handle losing her? Yes, now we are not on the best terms, but she is my beloved sister, she is simply mistaken... I will not survive if something happens to her. It’s better to let her mind her own business...”

"So, what should I do with all this?" Zipp said out loud.

She took out her phone and started typing a message for Rocky.

“I chose one of the abandoned houses. The good news is that it is located in an absolutely deserted place and is almost perfectly hidden from prying eyes. The bad news is that it is completely rotten and has turned into a local swamp. First you will have to clean it all out. It’s impossible to meet up here now.”

While waiting for an answer, Zipp walked back and forth around the room and at some point caught the closet door, which fell off with a rotten crunch, which frightened the pegasus. Zipp could not overcome her curiosity and looked into the closet. "Nothing unusual. School uniform. For a filly,” Zipp thought to herself. Looking closer, she saw a name tag. “Well, yes, of course, he’s too damaged,” another disappointment for Zipp.

But Zipp quickly forgot about the closet after receiving an answer from Rocky.

"It's nothing. I have a solution. We'll meet there."

"Great, and what should I do here?" Zipp said sarcastically.

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard from the living room. Zipp shuddered in fear, and her heart began to beat wildly. But this was not the first time she had encountered danger, so without hesitation, she took a piece of the door and slowly moved towards the source of the noise. Looking into the living room, she saw that the hole in the ceiling had become much larger, as if something had fallen through the roof into the room. Carefully moving around the room, trying not to step into the “swamps,” Zipp constantly looked around, afraid of missing the “threat.”

Zipp walked to the center of the room and peered at the pile of boards that had fallen from the ceiling. Suddenly, something jumped out of this pile and knocked Zipp off her feet. Making indistinct sounds and getting to her hooves, Zipp realized that it was not exactly a pile of boards. Timber Wolf stood in front of Zipp. Well, more like a Timber Pupp, judging by the size.

"Hey, buddy," Zipp said nervously. "I’m not the one you need. And I don't need you at all."

As soon as Zipp averted her eyes a little to the side to see the front door, the wolf rushed towards the pegasus with a terrible roar. Zip jumped up with a scream and returned her gaze to the wolf.

"Is this your house?" Zipp continued, backing away. "Wonderful house! A little musty, but I don't blame you."

The wolf continued to growl and move closer to Zipp.

"Do you know what?" Zipp exclaimed. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I have to go!"

The pegasus took off from her place and rushed towards the front door, the wolf followed her almost at lightning speed. And so, when Zipp was already at the exit, the wolf jumped onto the cabinet in the hallway, causing it to lean over and fall, blocking the door. Realizing that her only escape route was blocked, she pressed herself into the nearest corner and covered herself with her wings, closing her eyes in fear.

After a couple of moments, she realized that it had become too quiet. Opening one eye and looking through her wings, Zipp did not see this wolf anywhere. Not understanding anything, she rose to her feet and without hesitation began to move the closet away from the door.

"Zipp! Are you here?" Rocky's voice came from outside.

Having finished moving the closet just in time, Zipp literally flew out from the house and rushed to hug Rocky

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

"Um, me too?" Rocky said uncertainly and in surprise.

Having come to her senses and realizing the moment, Zipp saw that Rocky had not come alone, and quickly pulled away from him. Next to him stood two earth ponies - Jazz and an unknown stallion with a whole cart of some mechanisms and cans. He looked noticeably older, had a prosthetic ear, and his entire fur and mane was terribly oily.

"Hi, Jazz," Zipp waved at her.

"Hi," Jazz answered dryly.

"As I promised," Rocky began. "I found somepony to help us."

"Earthpony? - Zipp took Rocky aside. "After what you said about them?"

"Calm down, Zipp," Rocky answered, removing his friend’s hoof from him. "You can definitely trust them. They have their own reasons for opposing Opaline. Besides, you’re already familiar with Jazz. Her best friend was sent to the factories. We haven't heard anything from her for over a month now. Poor Jazz really wants to know the answers."

"Okay, if you say so," Zipp still said uncertainly. "And who is this?"

"Let him tell you about himself," said Rocky and called the pony with his hoof. "Introduce yourself, my friend."

"Sketchy Rainfall at your service, Miss," he said in a bow and wanted to kiss Zipp’s hoof, but she pulled it away in disgust.

Sketchy felt awkward and quickly straightened up.

"So, my passion is technology and mechanisms," said Sketchy. "Things that are not very accepted in this country. I spent my entire adult life working at Canterlogic as an engineer and became obsessed with mechanisms. Recently I made a proposal about the possible use of my technologies for the benefit of our new country. But they laughed at me! How dare they?? This old hag, you know, doesn't like machines. She, you know, only accepts magic! And they don't need a pony with such bad habits. Yes, I have problems with alcohol, but my hooves are golden! Ugh!"

Sketchy spat in anger on the ground in front of him.

"Well..." Zipp, who did not expect such pressure, froze for a moment. "This will be very useful to us. In the absence of magic, technology and mechanisms can become our main assistants. This is...really wonderful!"

"And I also hate nature," Sketchy said sharply.

"What?" Zipp was surprised. "What’s wrong with nature?"

"Nature does not fit with my mechanisms," the pony began to explain. "You leave the mechanism in some place for a while, and it is absorbed by this vile vegetation! Plants wrap around it, gets inside, the gears stop working, everything goes to waste! And, of course, earth ponies had to get this magic of growing plants! I'm not against magic, don't get me wrong. But this is just a mockery!!!"

"Whoa-whoa, calm down," Zipp patted Sketchy on the shoulder. "Tell me, do you happen to have anything that could clear this house of moss and mushrooms?"

"How can I not have this?" Sketchy exclaimed enthusiastically. "After all, that’s exactly why I brought all this!"

The earthpony pulled his cart closer to the house and began to pull out everything he needed.

"What is this anyway?" asked Zipp.

"My best invention," he said proudly. "Flora Annihilator. A whole chain of devices that are safe for ponies, but deadly for plants. My whole house is filled with this. All we need to do is place them inside the house and wait. But we have to get rid of local furniture, because this device needs space, and it’s all rotten anyway. Damn mold!"

"Just let me sort something out first," Zipp asked. "I want to preserve the memory of those who lived here. Maybe one day we will be able to find out their story."

"No problem," Sketchy replied. "Hey, Rocky, help me move these things into the house."

"Jazz?" Zipp turned to the pony. "Will you help me with my business? We need to sort some things in the house."

"Yes, of course," Jazz answered. "I even don’t mind digging into mushrooms for that."

A few hours later the house was unrecognizable. Personal belongings are collected in boxes and stacked in the corner of the room. The annihilators did an excellent job - there were practically no traces of mushrooms or other abominations. All that was left was to shovel the water and dirt out of the living room.

"Well, my dears," Zipp began. "Congratulations on getting your own shelter!"

"Are we sure we shouldn’t be afraid of sudden inspections?" Jazz asked warily. "What about Eisenhorn? He is from here. And he doesn't care about this place?"

"For the most part, no," Rocky answered. "The unicorns have proven their loyalty to the Empress, plus there hasn’t been a single illegal incident."

"Then we’ll fix this," Sketchy exclaimed. "And we ourselves will become the first incident!"

"Chill out, big boy," Zipp said mockingly. "We’re here because we don’t want to be noticed."

"So, what do we have and where should we start?" asked Rocky.

"Let’s think," Zipp began. "At this stage we have nothing. We may have followers, but we don't have a clear and unified network to interact with. So our first step should be exactly this - creating a structure for the interaction of our organization. And I believe that we have an ideal opportunity for this. Thanks to the fact that my sister’s salon has expanded to a whole franchise, we will be able to learn a lot of useful information. Because both loyalists and dissatisfied with the authorities go to these salons, we will be able to learn rumors from some and recruit others. Jazz and Rocky can also recruit additional, loyal masters to us, so that during the procedures they extract the necessary and interesting information from clients.

"What about Pipp?" asked Jazz. "If she suspects something?"

"Don’t worry, there’s absolutely nothing suspicious in this," Zipp replied. "After all, these are ordinary conversations with clients. The main thing is not to go beyond the bounds of decency."

"Beyond the bounds of decency in conversations or actions?" Jazz asked sincerely.

There was a silent pause, during which everypony looked at Jazz in surprise.

"Both," Zipp answered seriously.

"And what should I do?" asked Sketchy.

"Your technology may find a place here," said the pegasus. "We need you to make something like a jammer. Yes, this place is completely empty, but still, for our own good, we need a local jammer so that even by accident no activity is detected in this area. And one more detail. As far as I have learned, Starscout is assembling a team of scientists for magical research. This doesn't bode well for us. Because we don't have magic, we have to rely on technology. It is necessary to create the same secret circle for technological developments. This job also falls on you, Sketchy. Can you handle it?"

"I’ve never done something like this," the pony said a little upset. "But I think I can handle it. Yes, I can definitely handle it!"

"And the last part for now - we need a name," Zipp said, looking at everyone.

"Fighting ponies?"

"Children of Equestria!"

"Freedom Ponies," Jazz said confidently. "Let everypony know that we are fighting for freedom from the false queen. That we were born with freedom and will defend it until victory!"

"And I suggest we drink to our new beginning," Sketchy happily suggested and took out a bottle of wine from his cart.

"We don’t have glasses, so take a sip straight from the bottle," Rocky said, smiling.

"Well, for us!"

"For the Freedom Ponies!"

"For our future success!"

"For our family and friends!"

Haven walked slowly through the corridors of the Dark Castle, accompanied by the Empress's personal guard. The path from the Zephyr Heights here is not close, and throughout the entire road, Haven’s head was haunted by disturbing thoughts. She was not given any information, public orders or assignments. She was ordered to appear in person to the Empress immediately. It was absolutely obvious that she was not called here for a simple heart-to-heart conversation.
Well, here it is - the Empress's throne room. One of the guards opened the door and walked inside, after which the second pushed Haven forward, and she followed into the hall.

Today, surprisingly, this room was even darker than usual. Even the usual magical torches did not burn near the throne. At the same time, the throne remained the only illuminated place in the room. Walking into the hall, Haven noticed a unicorn rummaging through the bookshelf. Haven was about to greet the Empress's daughter, but then her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar, but so unwanted voice.

"Haven, dear," Opaline exclaimed, stepping into the light from behind her throne. "Finally you have come! Why are you making me wait?"

"Your Imperial Majesty!" Haven said nervously and knelt down. "I arrived as soon as I could! I would never allow myself to violate your order!"

"We’ll talk about this," Opaline said and turned her gaze to the guards. "Leave us. Misty, honey, you too."

Misty and the guards silently left the hall. As soon as the doors closed, Opaline removed the fake smile from her face.

"Tell me, Haven," Opaline began the dialogue seriously. "Do you remember on what conditions I allowed you to remain at the "head" of “your” kingdom?"

"I must unquestioningly follow your instructions," Haven answered without raising her head.

"That's all?" Opaline shouted menacingly.

"I must ensure the maintenance of order and complete loyalty to the Empire and You," Haven continued with fear, squeezing out the words and raised her head. "I’m doing everything possible! Most of the residents in the Zephyr Heights support you!"

"And it seems to me that you are not doing enough," said Opaline, sitting on her throne. "My agents report to me about constant protests and incessant clashes with the guards. I should take this as what?"

Haven wanted to answer something, but was interrupted.

"As your incompetence!" Opaline shouted, spreading her wings, from which a wave of magical fire erupted. "All you had to do was carry out some propaganda to convince everyone of an improvement in life! Look at Maretime - there are no problems at all. And Bridlewood? They are happy to serve. The main thing is to choose the right words or the right methods of influence!"

"It’s difficult to convince pegasi that we shouldn’t fly again," Haven suddenly became indignant. "And these factories? I don’t even know what they are doing there and why they don’t come back from there. What should I say about that?"

"That they mining resources there, you stupid pegasus!" Opaline shouted furiously. "Do you think that we live off magic? We live off resources! We and everypony else need them! And that’s why I created an army for you that never existed in this hole! It's surprising that no one has captured you in so many years. Do you even understand anything and know how to do anything? Although, it shouldn't surprise me, you can't control your own daughter!"

"Zipp is not doing anything illegal!" Haven tried to justify herself.

"But my agents constantly report to me about her," Opaline continued. "So, who is lying to me? You or my intelligence?"

Unable to find words, Haven only pursed her lips angrily, looking at Opaline.

"You know what, Haven?" Opaline asked with a grin. "I’m tired of messing around with you."

Suddenly, Opaline bound Haven's hooves with magic and pinned her to the ground.

"What-what are you doing?" Haven asked in fright, trying to break free and looking around.

"I give you the greatest honor," Opaline answered, grinning. "You will be the first of the pegasi to meet my new friend."

Haven searched the room in horror for anything that Opaline was talking about. And then in the far part of the hall, under the stairs to the second floor, she noticed movement. Something larger rose from the floor and began to move. Haven was horrified as the creature approached the throne and was caught in the light. Opaline's new "friend" was a huge dragon, whose scales perfectly matched the color scheme of the throne room, allowing him to remain invisible throughout the conversation.

"Dragon?" Haven asked in a panic. "You have brought dragons to our lands!"

"Oh, Darling, this is not just a dragon," Opaline laughed and continued with admiration. "This is ancient, beautiful creature and it's full of magic that you have never even dreamed of. And you know my love for everything magical."

"Please, I can still be useful, I will prove it!" Haven begged with tears.

"Oh, I have no doubt," Opaline said barely audibly and hoarsely and clicked her tongue.

Immediately after the click, the dragon took off with a roar and rushed towards Haven.

The pegasus screamed and reflexively closed her eyes and pressed her head to the ground, awaiting death. But death did not come. Haven, after collecting her thoughts a little, realized that she was still alive. The pegasus heard heavy breathing next to her and felt drool dripping onto her. She slowly opened her eyes and raised her head - the dragon was standing almost right next to her with his mouth open, ready to swallow the poor pegasus whole. Trying to comprehend what was happening, Haven noticed an interesting detail - the brightly glowing purple eyes of the dragon. She slowly turned her gaze to Opaline and saw the same picture - Opaline stood at her throne with glowing eyes and smiled maliciously.

"Well, Haven, do you think dragons would be a good addition to your city?" Opaline interrupted the silence.

"Please, give me another chance!" Haven asked in tears. "I will fix everything, we will discipline all violators! Just don't send these creatures into the city!"

"This is your last chance, Haven," Opaline said. "Next time I won’t stop him."

Opaline's eyes went dark, followed by the dragon's eyes.

"Place," she said roughly.

The dragon quickly returned to its owner, lay down on the side of the throne and wrapped its neck around it, placing its head on Opaline’s legs, after which the alicorn removed the restraining magic from the pegasus.

"Good boy, Hal," Opaline said gently, stroking the dragon’s head.

Haven slowly stood up from the floor, crying and straightening her clothes.

"This is your last chance, Haven," Opaline said angrily. "Don’t let me down this time, otherwise I will have to deal with your city and your eldest daughter by myself."

"It will be done, Your Excellency," Haven answered and got ready to leave.

"Look what you’ve done," Opaline exclaimed with disgust, pointing to the puddle under the pegasus. "You ruined my beautiful hall. And now the servants will have to clean up after you."

"Forgive me," Heaven squeezed out, crying even more.

"And yes, the last thing," Opaline said even more seriously. "Send your younger daughter to me."

"Just don’t do anything bad to her, she’s not guilty of anything," Haven said pleadingly.

"Oh, no, what are you talking about," Opaline replied. "I have a special deal for her. She will really like it. Guards! Escort Governor Haven to the exit. And call the maid to clean up here!"

A diary lay on the table. It was opened to a freshly written page.

“So, recent events have proven the possibility of mind control - Opaline, using dragon artifact and her fire magic, was able to completely subjugate the dragons to her will. She can remove and reapply full control at will. At the same time, the target remembers and understands everything.

My questions about such power did not lead to anything good. The only thing I learned is that it is impossible to control ponies with this magic. Now Opaline may suspect me of doing things that I don't actually plan to do. But I can’t tell her the truth either. All my affairs must remain secret."