//------------------------------//
// The Least Worst Path 
// Story: Rebirth of Magic: Izzytastic! 
// by JimmyHook19 
//------------------------------//

We arrived at the rally point and stopped. "I think we lost them!" I said.

"No you didn't," said a voice, and Hitch then appeared.

"Hitch?" Sunny asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking you back to Maretime Bay," Hitch said. "You'd best come quietly too, Izzy."

He knew my name! This was a good start! "What happens if I come loudly?"

Hitch rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. We're stuck in the middle of a city which seems to be at war and actively hates us. We're in a right mess."

Sunny looked at him. "Please, you have to let us go. What we have is vitally important to the future of the world!"

Suddenly, Misty appeared, looking utterly out of breath. "I've... got... the... crown!" she said, showing it to us.

"Where's Zipp?" I asked.

"She stayed back to stop the guards from capturing me," Misty puffed. "The army's hunting the princesses."

Suddenly, there was a crash from a can, and I looked over. Pipp emerged into view, and she looked like she'd had a bad day. "Which one of you is going to explain to me why that damn piece of metal is so important you had to ruin my whole show over it!?" She showed her phone to us. "The army's arrested her! I saw them beating her before I ran!"

Sunny looked over. "Wait, Zipp didn't tell Pipp the plan?"

"Was she meant to?" Misty asked.

"Yes," I said. "And that means we're one princess down. But at least we have one! Her mom's the queen. The one they arrested."

Hitch looked at me. "If Pipp's mom is the queen, that makes her a princess.

"No shit Sherlock!"

Suddenly, an alert flashed over Pipp's phone, a harsh buzzing tone. Back in the human world, we had this thing called EAS that alerted us to any danger. I could only assume this was something similar for the pegasi.

A voice spoke- one I recognized as that of Dazzle, one of the newscasters who served as the public face of ZBS. "And now, at the request of the New Government, General Gulfstream addresses the nation."

The camera shifted to show a soldier standing at a podium, flanked by other soldiers. He raised his head and began to speak.

"My fellow pegasi, you have all overseen the complete farce that befell our country tonight. The very foundations of our society, on which our glorious nation was founded, were shown to be nothing but lies, convenient props for a false leadership. The former Queen was exposed as a consulate threat to our future, a weak and pathetic leader. During her twenty five years on that throne, she transformed our nation from a feared global power to the laughing stock of inferior races." He leaned closer to the camera. "This cannot do."

He indicated to turn the camera. "Your former monarch, to whom you dedicated so much of your affection and time, is a traitor. She has agreed to confess to her crimes."

The camera swung over to the (formerly) Queen Haven. Pipp audibly gasped when she saw the state she was in. "Mom!"

I could see why. The Queen was battered and bruised, and had clearly been beaten. She was covered in dirt and her mane was disheveled, huge bags under her eyes. She coughed as she started speaking. "I, Queen Haven, of the House of Cornuequus, do hereby confess to crimes against the State. I conspired to defraud the Bank of Zephyr Heights, spied for foreign powers, committed High Treason, and the worst charge of all- I was a phoney pony full of baloney. I humbly apologise for wronging you all, and sincerely hope you can forgive me." She suddenly raised her head. "Pipp! Run! Save yourself!"

A soldier immediately bashed her over the head with an iron bar, before the camera turned back to Gulfstream.

"I wonder if somepony was holding a gun to her head during that confession," Sunny commented.

Gulfstream then began speaking again. "As of now, a Military Government is in charge. Using the powers outlined in the Emergency Powers Act, I hereby abolish both the Royal Family and Parliament through Defense Prerogative. As of 5AM tomorrow, all citizens must swear an oath of loyalty to the Government. Refusal to do so will result in your immediate termination.

"All citizens from the ages of 18 to 50 are required to report to their closest recruiting office to be signed up for compulsory military service. Refuse to do so, and you will be shot.

"Any and all civil liberties have now been suspended during this time of crisis. These include the right to elections, the right of habitus corpus, the right to a trial by jury, and the right to compensation for unlawful activity. Justice shall be upheld by the police and military, who have been given all powers neccesary to maintain order.

"Protests are now illegal. Anypony involved in a protest will be arrested and tried under a military court. A curfew is also in effect between 9PM and 7AM. Anypony caught disobeying this law will be classed an enemy of the state and shot on sight.

"As previously mentioned, the Parliament has been abolished. Democracy made this Empire weak and unable to defend itself against the provocations of inferior races. As such, all of their powers have been returned to the Military Government.

"These are difficult times, but we shall see them through and emerge victorious over the slovenly idiocy of the Earth Ponies and the arcane science of the Unicorns. All praise be to Faust and to the New Pegasus Empire, a nation reborn!"

His face vanished, and a different emblem appeared on screen- the seal of the Pegasus Empire. Text appeared below. GLORIA PEGASI

I blinked in shock. "He's turned himself into a dictator!"

Pipp was hyperventilating. "We have to go back!" she said. "We can't just leave mom and Zipp with those pigs! Who knows what they'll do to them!"

"We can't!" Sunny said.

"And why is that?" Pipp snapped.

"Because if we do, then we might get killed and all of this will have been for nothing! We have to move on and get to Bridlewood!"

"She is right, you know," I said. "We can bring back magic, but we need the crystal. We get magic back, we save your folks. Deal?"

"Uh, guys?" Misty said. "Soldiers over there! We can't go back!"

Pipp looked over, then back. "Fine! I know a way out. Follow me."





I tried to talk to Pipp as we walked, but she wouldn't respond to anything I was saying. She was clearly hurting, and some soothing words seemingly wouldn't help.

I looked over as we left the city behind and headed into the unknown. We had stopped overnight a ways outside the city, with each of us keeping watch when we stopped to ensure the army didn't catch us.

Sunny was acting weird for most of the day. I know, coming from me. She seemed really tense for some reason, and was jumping at every conceivable noise that was made. What was going on? I tried to talk to her, but each time I tried she just insisted she was fine. Only she clearly wasn't.

That next night was when it all went wrong. I was resting peacefully in the snoozy ocean when suddenly I was jolted awake by a loud scream.

"Huh?" I asked, and stuck my head out of my tent. (I'd also brought yellow and pink tents for Hitch and Pipp, but the Zipp tent was out of use for obvious reasons.) I realised where the sound had come from. It was from Sunny's tent!

I charged over and opened it, before looking inside to a horrible sight. Sunny's eyes were shut, but she seemed to be having a fully blown panic attack or fit of some sort. She was tossing and turning constantly, and if I didn't wake her up she was risking seriously injuring herself.

I moved in, trying my best to keep moving despite my friend crying in distress, and put a hoof on her face. "Sunny?"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Before I knew what had happened my muzzle exploded in pain, and I fell back, clutching it. There was an unpleasant coppery smell in my nostrils, and I held it as best I could.

This seemed to wake Sunny up, who jolted upright and looked at me. She blinked, breathing heavily. "Wha- Izzy, I'm so sorry!" She trotted over to me as best she could.

"I'll be fine," I said. "Just a little nosebleed. But what's going on?"

Sunny looked at me, wild eyed and with some sort of thousand yard stare. "It's the nightmares again. They're getting worse! And-"

I tried my best to hug her as she began to sob, doing my best to stop a trail of blood dribbling down her fur. "Sunny, this is serious. I won't take no for an answer, because-"

"Please don't leave me."