Queenie

Nicknames (if applicable): skunk and toad, before Piper is able to properly communicate with her.

Family / clan affiliations: The Pestilence Clan

Date of Birth:

Queenie, of any of the horses, has perhaps the most unfortunate creation. While she is likewise a reincarnated version of all the previous horsemen horses (and when all have pretty much risen, they can access this knowledge), Queenie comes into being for Piper as she begins to rise as Pestilence. Unfortunately, this happens to begin as Piper crosses the magical boundary into Beckwell…and Queenie, as a toad, is smacked unceremoniously into the front windshield of Piper’s rental car. Not a great start.

Forms:

All of the four horses take different forms dependent on the current power / ascension level of their respective horsewoman. Queenie begins as a toad, then a skunk, then eventually becomes a snot green porta-potty truck, about the last kind of vehicle fashionable Piper would ever want to be seen in.

Why these forms?

Plague is often associated with swarming insects, toads, and skunks, and was seen to have the ability to direct infestations of these creatures if so desired. While I considered using an insect for Queenie’s first form, I chose a toad, another of the plagues that rains down. This was also an animal whose color is similar to the sickly green color associated with the original Pestilence horseman.
The Skunk. Before modern medicine and science taught us more about infection and disease, particularly in classical times, it was believed that disease could be caused by “miasma” or essentially, bad air and bad smells (which is often why the rich had estates outside of the city, where the air was considered better.) A skunk definitely seemed suitable to bad smells. As the Pestilence horsewoman, Piper’s associated dominion is also air, again connected to smell and the idea of miasma.
The porta-potty-truck. Again, this is associated with the miasma idea, and the general disgust that we view sickness and bodily fluids with. While yes, Piper definitely has the companion ability of healing, pestilence and disease are often associated with dirt, filth, and germs – and what could be more stinky, dirty, and germy than a port-a-potty truck?

Quirks:

As with the other horses, Queenie is essential immortal, her lifeline tied to her horsewoman. Therefore, when as a toad she’s run over by a car, or when she strikes Piper’s front windshield, this doesn’t kill her (although it probably still hurts!)
Queenie communicates with Piper using empathy, a combination of emotions and images. This initially makes it extremely difficult for them to share even simple messages between each other. Piper understands most emotions in terms of color, which makes it especially ironic that Queenie is black and white.
Queenie definitely shares some personality traits with Piper, including a general fastidiousness and desire to see and be seen.