Perhaps losing consciousness was not the right term, but it was certainly what I thought was happening until after I had awoken and the truth was made clear to me. As I started coming around, I could hear a voice, although it sounded like it was a far way away. The voice sounded… panicked? Annoyed? It turned out to be a bit of both. As my other senses returned to me, I could feel that my clothes had been removed and I was suffering from pins and needles in my hooves, but when I tried to move my legs, I felt restraints tightening. I began shaking my head from side to side as if trying to throw off a great weight, my eyes aching I as forced them open.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a piercing light which forced me to clench them shut again. Once my eyes stopped stinging I risked opening them again, this time only squinting out as my eyes adjusted to the light. The light itself was purple, it wasn’t that it was necessarily bright, it was just so close to my face that it appeared so, and its source was the tip of a unicorn’s horn.
“T…Twilight…” I mumbled weakly, my voice slurred.
Twilight sat directly opposite me, still wearing her old brown cloak, her own eyes shut, her head inclined slightly so her horn was pointing directly at me.
“She can’t respond,” the voice that had seemed far away said. “She should be finished in a moment.”
I craned my neck until I saw Maverick standing a few feet to my right; the look he gave me was as cold as ice. As my sight recovered, I realised I was below the deck of the Rebel barge, and glancing down I saw that I was tied to a chair, my legs restrained by straps emblazoned with glowing runes. I had a feeling I knew what those runes meant, but just to confirm I tried to draw a little magic into my own horn and wasn’t surprised when nothing happened.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice a little clearer now but still sounding tired.
“You tried to kill Typhoon,” Maverick explained.
“Wha…” I began but he quickly cut me off.
“Did a pretty good job of it too, by the sounds of it,” Maverick continued, still glaring. “I never knew you were capable of such spells.”
“Spells?” I repeated, my voice now slightly distressed. “I didn’t attack anypony!”
“It’s a bit late claiming innocence,” Maverick replied with disinterest. “Stranglethorn saw the whole thing, if he hadn’t stepped in, one of you would be dead right now.”
At that moment Stranglethorn appeared, walking down the room to us. I cast him a pleading look and he made his way across to me, shooting a glare at Maverick as he went. He stopped next to me and crouched down, reaching up and placing a wet cloth over my head. I hadn’t even realised how much my head was killing me until the cold hit it, I smiled at Stranglethorn appreciatively. My gaze was pulled back to Twilight as the light of her horn began to dwindle and fade, once it was completely extinguished she held her head up straight and opened her eyes.
“Oh, Rarity, you’re awake,” Twilight declared, a little surprised to see me looking back at her. “How are you feeling?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Maverick interrupted.
“We don’t have time for pleasantries Lady Sparkle,” he chastised. “What did you find out?”
“She wasn’t acting of her own fruition,” Twilight replied, narrowing her eyes at Maverick as she spoke to him. “And you really should show more concern for your agent, rather than jumping to conclusions of guilt.”
“I don’t understand,” I cut in, looking between them. “What happened?”
“You were being controlled,” Twilight informed me. “Tell me Rarity, what is the last thing you remember?”
“I remember…” I began as I pondered the question. “I was talking to Typhoon… we had been arguing but… we finally got around to discussing terms, then… I think I passed out.”
“I suppose, in a way you did,” Twilight responded. “Your mind was being shut down by magic, while an outside force took control of your body, it made you attack Typhoon.”
“I attacked Typhoon?!” I exclaimed, I didn’t really believe it until Twilight confirmed what Maverick had already told me. “What happened? How am I still alive?”
“You can thank your friend for that,” Twilight said, indicating Stranglethorn who gave a little nod when I looked up at him.
“You were there?” I asked in confusion.
“I had him follow you,” Maverick explained, his voice not quite as harsh now. “When you told Typhoon that I guaranteed your safety, he realised that Stranglethorn was hiding just out of sight, and if he attempted to harm you in any way he would be killed.”
I thought back to how Typhoon’s head had instantly snapped up, as if expecting to see somepony. He also said he hated some guy, at the time I figured he meant Maverick, but in actual fact he was talking about Stranglethorn.
“So I attacked Typhoon, and you saved me?” I summarised, looking over at Stranglethorn. “Thank you.”
Stranglethorn nodded and I looked back to Twilight who had just produced my canteen and offered to help me drink from it. Once I had finished the last mouthful she put the stopped back on and set it onto a table next to all my other items, including my compass and spyglass.
“I’m sorry about the restraints,” Twilight began. “But until we knew why you attacked Typhoon, we couldn’t take any risks, and now that we know why, it might be for the best that they remain on until I can do something about it.”
“You said somepony was controlling me,” I recalled. “Who?”
“That’s exactly what I want to know,” Maverick concurred. “Because they just ruined our chances of putting the Liberator threat behind us once and for all.”
“We don’t know who did it,” Twilight told me, more sympathetically. “But this kind of spell, it’s one I recognise. Basically it allows the caster to take control of another sentient being remotely, like a puppet on strings, however it has very particular requirements when it comes to casting. Firstly, it can’t be cast from a distance, the caster and the subject must be in close proximity, it also takes a minute to cast.”
“So what you’re saying is, it wasn’t cast on her in secret?” Maverick questioned. “What about in her sleep then?”
“That’s the second requirement,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “The subject’s mind needs to be fully aware for the spell to infect it. This spell is almost impossible to cast on a pony without their knowledge, the best chance of using it successfully on a non-consenting target is to cast it while they are restrained. Rarity, has anything like that ever happened on your missions?”
“No, I can say that much with certainty,” I replied with confidence. “I have never had a spell cast on me that I didn’t know the effects of.”
“I would suspect a member of the Arcane Order,” Maverick proposed. “Rarity certainly made enemies of them, and they are comprised solely of unicorns, one of them is bound to know this spell.”
“And it couldn’t have been the Children of the Earth,” I added. “All earth ponies there, and it wouldn’t make sense for anypony in the Rebellion or the Liberators to cast it on me and then make me attack Typhoon.”
“Hang on a second,” Twilight jumped in. “There’s one thing I haven’t mentioned, and that’s the magical signature.”
“Magical signature?” I repeated, glancing around at the others.
Stranglethorn looked just as lost as I did, but Maverick and Twilight looked at me in surprise that I didn’t know what it was.
“You don’t know about magical signatures?” Maverick asked in disbelief. “I thought it was common knowledge for all unicorns.”
“I’m not… amazing when it comes to magic,” I replied, shifting awkwardly in my seat. “I only studied magic at a primary level, and I wasn’t even very good at that.”
“That’s alright Rarity,” Twilight assured me. “You might be surprised just how many unicorns don’t know about magic that doesn’t relate to their special talent, you don’t have to feel bad.”
“A magical signature can be found in all spells cast,” Maverick explained. “Every unicorn has their own unique trace that can be found and identified in their spells. Say you transform a rubber duck into a block of cheese, if another unicorn examines that cheese they will find your magical signature left on it from when you cast the spell.”
“It’s very subtle,” Twilight added. “You probably pick up on them all the time but don’t even realise, but even when you do recognise a magical signature you still have to figure out which of the unicorns you’ve encountered in your life it belongs to, and the average pony can encounter hundreds of different unicorns in their life. So unless you saw them cast the spell, the chances of being able to identify the caster by the signature alone is very slim… possible, but slim.”
“Well it doesn’t sound very helpful then,” I replied a little disappointed.
“That’s the thing though, in this case it might just help us,” Twilight argued. “Because I actually recognise the magical signature on this spell.”
“You do?!” Maverick exclaimed. “Do you know whose it is?”
“Not a clue,” Twilight replied, giving an apologetic grin. “But I know it’s a signature that I’ve come into contact with before, most likely on a regular basis. That might not sound helpful, but when you think about it, that rules out most ponies native to Panchea. It being far more likely that for me to recognise it so strongly, it belongs to a pony from Equestria. So what group do we know is made up exclusively of Equestrians and would have a vested interest in seeing Typhoon, the leader of a notoriously anti-Equestrian group, removed?”
“The Solar Empire,” I answered in a low voice.
“Precisely,” Twilight replied. “And Rarity was even living in Equestria for two years. Look, I know it’s not a flawless theory, but it’s possible and it would give us a good starting point.”
“I think it’s a great theory,” I stated. “It just has one major flaw… I don’t remember having this spell cast on me even when I was in Equestria.”
“Well I very much doubt the pony responsible was going to tell you what the spell would do,” Maverick pointed out. “They could have claimed it was anything and you might not have been any the wiser.”
“If that was the case then what hope do we have of identifying them?” I asked in an exhausted voice. “I probably had loads of spells cast on me that I thought were genuine, anything from Changeling checks to aphrodisiacs!”
“Changeling checks?” Twilight repeated.
“Aphrodisiacs?” Maverick added.
“Quiet a second,” Twilight ordered Maverick before looking back at me. “What in Equestria were you getting a Changeling check for?”
“It was that day we met,” I recalled, not sure what Twilight’s fuss was about yet. “At the start of my meeting with the Duke, you know, the one about coming back here on the Siren.”
“And he performed… a Changeling check on you?” Twilight questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah…” I said slowly, not seeing the obvious problem just yet. “He said it was a standard procedure when discussing matters like that… you know, for safety.”
“Rarity, I have lived and worked in Canterlot Castle most of my life,” Twilight stated in a worried tone. “And I can promise you we have never made Changeling checks standard procedure.”
I opened my mouth but no words came out, instead I just sat with my jaw hanging open while the full meaning of Twilight’s words sank in. There was a long silence in the barge; Twilight looked like she couldn’t believe what she just heard, while Maverick looked like he couldn’t believe his luck. Stranglethorn just sat back, watching us all with a fairly neutral expression.
“So…” I began in an uncomfortable tone.
“This Duke?” Maverick queried.
“It can’t be…” Twilight said, almost whispering. “I’ve known Blueblood since I was just a filly; he would never be involved with the Solar Empire. I know he opposed the surrender, but he’s more loyal to the Princess than most ponies I know, the idea that he would go behind her back like this is unthinkable.”
“But remember what Sufferthorn said when she thought you were leading the Solar Empire?” I reminded her. “She asked if you thought you were doing it for Princess Celestia, isn’t it possible that Bluebl… the Duke is doing this out of some misguided sense of loyalty.”
“Perhaps, but still…” Twilight tried to say, unable to form a counter argument.
“I don’t see what the issue is Lady Sparkle,” Maverick stated. “You said so yourself that you believed somepony high ranking was in charge of the Solar Empire, you said it was the only explanation for how well resourced they were and how they managed to work under the Princess’s radar for so long.”
I figured this must have been stuff they talked about while I lay down here with Stranglethorn, it certainly sounded clear cut when Maverick presented those points. Twilight bit her lip and stared at her own lap, clearly unable to come up with a reason why Blueblood wasn’t part of the Solar Empire, let alone in charge of it.
“You said he opposed the surrender,” I stated. “If he was really loyal to the Princess, why would he oppose her decision to do so?”
“He wouldn’t,” Twilight muttered. “By Celestia, it really is him, how could I have been so blind?”
“It’s alright Twilight,” I assured her. “It can’t be easy to think of your friends as enemies. So what will you do now? Go back to Equestria and confront him?”
“Oh lord no!” Twilight exclaimed. “If I made an accusation like that with no solid evidence there would be hell to pay. No, I need to stay and help root out the agents here in Panchea, that way once I return to Equestria with them, they can be questioned on whether Blueblood really is involved or not.”
“What I don’t understand is,” Maverick began. “Why would he cast that spell on Rarity? Sure, she was travelling back here, but he just assumed she would one day be in contact with the leader of his enemies?”
“Well he knew for a fact I would be returning to Panchea,” I said. “After all, that’s why I was meeting with him in the first…”
I shut up as soon as the truth hit me like a slap to the face, Twilight and Maverick both looked at me with concern, perhaps worried I was being controlled again.
“It’s not just me,” I whispered, more talking to myself than the others. “It wasn’t random…”
“What are you talking about?” Maverick asked, a little impatiently.
“He cast the spell on me when I was meeting him about travelling back here on the Siren,” I recapped. “But I wasn’t the only one on that ship… every passenger had to attend the same meeting as I did.”
Twilight gasped as she picked up on what I was getting at.
“He put the spell on all the passengers?!” Twilight declared. “All the passengers on one ship… one ship every three months for two years…”
“What’s fifty times eight?” I asked, too panicked to count.
“Four hundred,” Twilight answered. “That’s their plan, to fill the country with sleeper agents who can be activated and ordered to kill at a moment’s notice!”
“Two years…” Maverick repeated in a quiet voice. “It’s no wonder we haven’t seen much activity from them, they’re in it for the long con. This Blueblood has patience, I’ll give him that.”
“What do we do?” I asked, mainly directed at Twilight. “You can remove this spell from me, right? We can find the others and remove it from them too.”
“No!” Twilight shouted suddenly. “We can’t interfere with the spells on the other passengers.”
“And why not?” Maverick demanded. “These are Panchean citizens Lady Sparkle; you do not get to decide what’s best for them.”
“They knew Rarity was in Typhoon’s office,” Twilight pointed out. “They knew where she was and that it was the most optimal time to activate her. That means they must be able to track the whereabouts of the sleeper agents, but if we remove the spell they’ll lose track.”
“I fail to see the problem with that,” I retorted. “We don’t want them to know where these ponies are.”
“If we remove the spell from you, they probably won’t care too much,” Twilight argued. “They were clearly taking a risk by activating you early; they saw a window to remove Typhoon as a threat, so they took it. If they lose track of you, they’ll assume you failed and were killed, but if all the ponies they put the spell on begin disappearing from their sights, they’ll know we’re onto them.”
“They’ll scrap their current plans,” Maverick continued. “Their agents will go further into hiding and they’ll devise something else that we have no knowledge about.”
“Exactly,” Twilight said, nodding. “I don’t like it any more than you do Rarity, but if we want to stop them, we have to let them think that nothing is wrong.”
“Okay,” I agreed, I was a little reluctant, but I trusted Twilight knew what she was doing. “One thing I don’t understand is, why did they make me attack Typhoon now? I’ve been in his office before, and I meet up with Maverick and have never been made to attack him, surely the Solar Empire would consider him an enemy too.”
“It’s probably because they’re completely unaware of who you’re meeting here,” Twilight proposed. “They see you go into a random barge every now and then and think nothing of it. As for Typhoon’s office, this is just a guess, but I believe the Solar Empire agents here are mapping out the city, the first time you were in his office they probably hadn’t classified the area as being anything to do with him.”
“This all sounds like guess work,” I pointed out. “Lots of ‘ifs’.”
“Every investigation starts this way,” Twilight responded. “You can’t start walking until you pick a direction.”
“And while it might sound like ‘guess work’,” Maverick added as he made his way over to the ladder. “It’s the best theory we’ve got. Lady Sparkle, once you’ve cleaned her up, meet me upstairs, we need to discuss our next move.”
“Of course,” Twilight replied in a falsely sweet tone before letting her façade drop once he was out of earshot. “I can’t stand that guy.”
“Neither can I,” I agreed, to which we shared a small giggle. “What did he mean by ‘clean’?”
“I need to purge the spell from your mind,” Twilight explained as she looked over at Stranglethorn. “Stranglethorn… was it? Could you help me move Rarity to the bed? This could take a couple of hours and she’s probably uncomfortable already sitting on that seat for so long.”
Stranglethorn obliged and assisted in untying me and carrying my body over to one of the beds, however the straps remained affixed to my hooves. Once he lay me down, he removed the cloth which had dried considerably and went to re-soak it while Twilight pulled a seat up beside the bed and positioned herself for the ‘purging’.
“Is this going to hurt?” I asked, suddenly a little worried to have Twilight Sparkle rattling around inside my head.
“It… might be a little uncomfortable,” Twilight admitted, flinching slightly. “But I promise I’ll make it as easy for you as I can.”
When Stranglethorn returned, Twilight took the cloth from him, giving a quick thanks before placing it over my head. She then used her magic to fluff my pillow before placing her right foreleg against her chest while breathing in; as she exhaled she stretched her leg out again.
“Are you ready?” Twilight asked.
I nodded and she smiled reassuringly back at me, then she leaned in, her horn glowing as she touched the tip to my own.