Alphabittle slowly woke up to the morning sun coming through the window, and was roused further by the bathroom door opening, and Haven came out with her mane in curlers and wearing a white bathrobe.
"Ah, about time, dearest. But with how late you got here last night, I figured you were needing a bit more sleep than I did," Haven told him as he sat up, pulling the covers off of himself.
"Am I presentable enough for breakfast?" Alphabittle asked, taking a quick look at himself in the mirror.
"You're presentable enough for me," Haven replied. "And that's all that matters."
The unicorn stallion ran a quick brush through his mane before following Haven out into the corridors and towards the dining hall.
Captain Zephyrwing was standing at parade rest at the double doors to the dining hall, and snapped to attention when Haven turned the corner along with Alphabittle.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," Zoom greeted.
"Good morning, Captain," Haven replied as the guard opened the doors for the pair of ponies. Haven took her spot at the head of the table, and Alphabittle sat down at the first available adjacent chair to her left. Like clockwork, the kitchen staff came out with a cart containing pancakes, waffles, decanters of syrup, and fresh fruit.
"Alright, Alphie. You've kept me in suspense long enough. How did it go?" Haven said, asking the question before even starting into her short stack of pancakes.
"Well, when I got to Maretime Bay, Misty and her friends were out, something to do with that baby dragon of theirs, so I stopped in for a quick bite to eat on the edge of town. Izzy got back to me soon after that, and I went inside to meet her. She was stunned at the revelation, of course, they all were. But what bothered me the most was where she has been all these years; with an ancient alicorn named Opaline."
"I recall Zipp mentioning somepony like that, an alicorn who's been after all the magic in Equestria," Haven said.
Alphabittle nodded.
"They told me she's the reason that magic was hidden away all those generations ago. She's also the one who likely took my daughter from me. Worse still, she's... She's considering returning to her, to act as a double agent for her new friends. That can't be safe, and if anything ever happened to her..." Alphabittle trailed off, forcing himself to start into his breakfast on the plate in front of him.
Haven took a quiet breath as she mulled over what the stallion had just told her.
"I certainly don't want to fill your ears with sweet nothings and reassurances, Alphie; not when you have every single right to be worried. I will say that Misty is in good hooves; her new friends were the catalyst that have reunited all of Equestria."
"I think I just have to accept being worried for the time being, Haven. They told me Opaline is the kind of threat that Equestria hasn't seen in generations, and I believe them. I just wish there was more I could do," Alphabittle told her.
"There is more you can do. Just because there's some ancient cold war brewing doesn't mean that you have to put your relationship with your long-lost daughter on hold. Keep in touch with her, and get to know her again."
"There's not exactly a lot to catch up on, I doubt she wants me to sit there while she recounts all her years with Opaline. Now she's back, out of the blue, and she has her cutie mark now."
Haven paused mid drink, and Alphabittle could see the light bulb come on over her head.
"What is it?"
"That, right there! That would be a perfect starting point! Zephyr Heights' Cutie Blossom Bash is coming up, and for the first time, we're involving all the tribes. If she's not off playing spy for Sunny and the others, see if she wants to come to that with you," Haven suggested.
"Cutie Blossom Bash? I think Bridlewood does something similar," Alphabittle replied.
"I'm sure Maretime Bay does too. In fact, I think friends and families threw individual parties every time a pony got their mark in ancient times. Well, it turns out, doing it once a year as a group is a lot more practical and cost efficient," Haven chuckled.
"But, these things are for fillies and colts half her age, even less. Not fully grown mares. Do you really think she'd want to go to something like that?" Alphabittle asked.
Haven raised her glass of orange juice.
"You'll never know unless you ask."
Yeah especially since she's been isolated for so long
Well it looks like Alphabittle try to figure out to reconnect with Misty after being gone for so long but it looks like Queen Haven has some idea to invite her to the cutie Blossom bash even though he has some questionable but it will be the start I wonder how this will go I guess we'll find out next time
Glad to see this story's back. Though Chapter 5 still managed to cross your story because Alphabittle only revealed there to Haven that he has a lost daughter. Hope you'll be able to work your way around that.
Good luck with the rest of the story!
Hey there. Thanks very much for getting this next chapter up. Definitely appreciate the work going into the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up. REALLY loved Haven and Alphabittle's dialogue concerning the circumstances of Alphabittle's reunion with Misty.
As for other ideas:
Misty might agree to a more private version of the Cutie Blossom Bash (comprised of only herself, Alphabittle, Haven Izzy and the rest of the Mane Five), making sure to use a sleeping dummy to trick Opaline while she's gone.
Alphabittle could actually ask Misty beforehand how much of the things she used to love does she still remember - if any. Misty admits that, of all of that, she only remembers art (at least enough to make the fake Cutie Mark and a homemade doll to talk to)
Alphabittle could be with Misty and her friends when they encounter the Breezies and the Night Market.
Alphabittle, Izzy and Misty could all be seen purposely learning and trying to master snow-and-ice magic in order to combine family bonding time with learning a means of combating a fire alicorn.
Alphabittle could spend some time with Misty and her friends during Nightmare Night (perhaps dressed as the Equestrian version of the Adam West Batman, Haven dressed as the Equestrian version of the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman).
Another one for Nightmare Night: Alphabittle and Izzy actually catch Opaline pulling her Cutie Mark theft with Posey and hit her with a double dose of snow and ice magic to drive her off. Hitch and Sunny reassure Posey that the group will do their best to help her get her Cutie Mark back AND stop Opaline.
And that's all I can think of right now.
How do you want the story to end? Chapter 5 barely shows Misty spying for the M5 during it, and there weren't so many things going on. I really liked this story before chapter 5 since I do see the issue of where to go from here. You could have both of them spend time together or have Alphabittle find a way to help the M5.
You could wait for Chapter 6 that is in Nov/Dec? Since this story has a Bell in the title... Maybe think about having a mystery for the woods with a bell?
11702341
The title had to do with the Elder Bell in the beginning of the story.
While your educated guess turned out to be correct, it's no surprise that some of the details you came up with turned out to be not quite accurate to the official events (such as how Izzy got her cutie mark or how long the young Misty had been around before she disappeared).
Personally, I would suggest you go ahead and continue this story in your own way under the addition of the "Alternate Universe" tag, and after we see Chapter 6 of Make Your Mark two months from now (currently rumored to be the last MYM content for the foreseeable future), then you could start writing a new version of this story that more accurately follow the events of the official series. Even with all the newly confirmed details, there's still plenty of room for creative liberties (such as who raised Izzy or who her parents are), so I think this idea might be worth considering.
11702837
I generally don't do new versions of stories, just write in the here and now with what canon we've got at the moment.
Well, assuming that all eventually goes okay with Alphabittle and Haven, then that means that not only Izzy and Misty will be sisters, but essentially Zipp and Pipp will their sisters as well. Maybe you could go somewhere with that? Explore their feelings on the subject? Having all four essentially-sisters living in the Brighthouse? How Zipp, who's already fiercely protective of her sister Pipp, will feel with having her new sister still in danger from Opaline? Then affirming that Sunny and Hitch are essentially their psuedo-sister and brother along for the ride anyhow, and they're all family?
Sounds cheesy, and essentially what the first half of Chapter 5 was about anyway, but it didn't really explore it as in-depth as it could've, and it didn't really even touch on how Alphabittle and Haven getting together would mean Misty would be essentially be Zipp and Pipp's step-sister, sooo...
Plus, we haven't really heard how Haven would feel about having four daughters instead of just two, and with them being unicorns at that (thrilled, I'm sure, but still could be expanded upon).
I dunno... it might be a while before she feels comfortable enough around him, but I can't see her NOT doing just that, albeit perhaps in small doses. Sounds therapeutic...