The life and times of a pony caught between conscience and duty.
It is said that in times of danger, heroes will come together to face the rising tide of evil, and fight back to preserve the light. These heroes can come from the strangest of places.
This is the story of one such hero. Although she appears to be Misty Brightdawn, you may be surprised to learn her true origins...
Part of the Rebirth of Magic continuity. Tags will be updated as the story continues.
It is said that in times of danger, heroes will come together to face the rising tide of evil, and fight back to preserve the light. These heroes can come from the strangest of places.
This is the story of one such hero. Although she appears to be Misty Brightdawn, you may be surprised to learn her true origins...
AAAAH! When did you get here?
Sorry, I just get nervous really easily. It's not easy being nervous, you know. Am I right? Heh.
You probably have no idea who I am. Very few ponies do. I'm used to it. I've been ignored most of my existance, but the truth of the matter I haven't been here all that long, you know.
Sorry? You've heard other stories like this, about us not being from here? Really? Cause that sounds a bit odd.
Oh. I see. All of those uploaded on this page, where a person becomes a pony and travels to Equestria and has an adventure or something like that. Well, I must say this is a bit different to all of that. My story doesn't involve the same sort of peaceful start that so many of them do, and people talking at length at how much they love My Little Pony.
Seriously, there was that one guy who stuffed loads of How to Train your Dragon stuff into the chapter which could have been condensed into one paragraph! I am aware we're going the same direction, huh. I'd probably get started before I keep rambling on.
My story begins not with a quiet morning, or a sunrise, and a relaxing day. Rather, it begins with a bang.
Let me rewind a bit from that. The story starts with a man called James. James lived somewhere in a faraway country- I forgot the name a while ago, so can't tell you what it was called- and he was travelling along in a metal machine called a car. They're rather like the streetcars you see in Maretime Bay, only a lot smaller and less hard to drive. They can also go wherever the driver wants rather than being stuck on rails.
It was a dark and stormy night. The moon hung high in the sky as this particular man drove along the road on the coastline. The wind howled, and the rain poured. Thunder and lightning was booming all around. It was very, very frightening. But I'll have to stop that chain of thought because I don't want the copyright police on my tail. That would be rather annoying, and would prevent you from learning more about me.
He noted the weather was bad, and was wishing he hadn't needed to go out in this weather, but the circumstances of his life had left him no choice on that front. A family member of his had been left seriously ill in a recent incident, and he had needed to go into hospital. Urgently.
This had been why he had been driving at this hour, in order to convey them to the hospital. But somebody needed to keep an eye on the house, and as such he needed to drive back the same night in order to keep an eye on it. It would help nobody (and yes, that was the word that was used back then) if somebody broke into it. So he needed to keep a close eye on it.
The windscreen wipers continued to flicker back and forth as he drove along, barely able to cope with the volume of rain on the windshield. The car rumbled forward, the engine rattling like a diesel locomotive owing to its age and lack of maintenance.
Soon something else would cause him problems. Suddenly, the bang I alluded to earlier happened. But this bang wasn't the sort of bang from an engine, or from electrics, or from anything else (most certainly not from a haunted Porsche). Instead, the bang came from one of the tires, which left James rather concerned, as with a flat tire it was not safe to drive.
So he took the only course of action he had available, and had to pull off the road before his car sustained any more damage along the way. He switched on his emergency lights and pulled off the highway, before rolling into a parking lot and stopping inside the covered space within a lot, looking around to see if anybody was there.
He took a look at his phone and sent out a call. "Hello, is this breakdown recovery? My car's got a flat and needs a new tire. I might need some support to get a new one."
There was a moment of silence, then acknowledgement. "Understood sir, sending a breakdown truck to your position now. Hang tight, and seek cover from the storm."
Jimmy got out of his car and sprinted through the rain to the building. It was then he saw it in full. The building was a giant castle which seemed to defy gravity with how it rose into the air before him. It seemed like something out of a horror film.
"Well, he did say take cover from the storm," he said. "It would probably make sense to take cover in there. It's probably some roadside attraction haunt."
He pushed open the doors and walked inside, noticing the corridors were lit and full of things, as if somebody lived here still. He walked through and up a staircase, noticing the steps creaking below him. "Whoever lives here likes blue décor and low mood lighting," he said to himself, trying to offset the sense of dread he was feeling as he made his way up the building.
Finally, he seemed to arrive in what resembled a normal room. It was very large, with a vaulting roof, and offset blue lights. A large throne sat against the back wall, and the center of the room was dominated by a large pool of liquid filled with some glowing water. Some ethereal substance was floating on the top.
"Well, beggars can't be choosers," said a voice. "We need somebody to be Number Four."
"Excuse me?" Jimmy asked. "Is somebody there?"
The pool began to shimmer, and energy began to bubble out of it. "Arise, brave hero! Take her place!"
Jimmy had no opportunity to react before something pulled him into the pool. As he landed in it his clothing was torn away, and he seemed to be falling into a pit that had no top or bottom. It simply seemed to go on forever, but the liquid in the chamber was sucking him downwards.
Or should I say that he wasn't he for too much longer, as something got pulled inwards to replace. "ARGH! THAT HURT!" was her response as her voice rocketed in pitch.
Her hair turned to strands of blue and turquoise green, before being pulled over to one side as her legs snapped apart and were bent backwards to form equine rear legs at around the same time as her hips widened. Much of her feet shrank back to create hooves in the process, which based on her face was pretty painful.
Speaking of his face, it was soon lacking a lot of the features that we would look for in a human face. His mouth and nose seemed to be moving forward, soon merging into a muzzle that was quite short. Even so, breathing and talking might be a challenge thanks to the wider tongue.
After that, her body seemed to shrink down before her chest and barrel began to shift in size, with her neck craning back, giving the look of a giraffe. Her ears slid up her head and became pointy, before they were turned to being upward. Luckily, the magical substance wasn't flooding into them.
Her eyes turned greenish as a horn erupted out of her forehead, the bottom of which was blue and the top pinkish. Finally, a tail the same colour as her mane appeared as well as something grew all over her skin.
The thing seemingly done, she emerged out of the well of liquid and dragged herself along, coughing and spluttering. "That was awful," she said to herself.
Or rather, I said to myself. I stopped. My voice was all wrong, and I tried to find some glass to look into in order to try and figure out what was going on. I looked into a mirror to see a turquoise pony looking. I opened my mouth. The pony did the same.
The pony was me!
I, quite understandably, screamed. "NO! THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS HAPPENING!"
I ran round the room in a panic, not looking where I was going. I was running randomly and not thinking straight at all. I weaved back and forth between objects before at last finding my way around the back of the throne. It was there I bashed into something, and all went black.
It would soon turn out that being an anthropomorphic equine would be the least of my worries.
It took me a while to regain consciousness, as I must have hit my head pretty hard on that object. As I glanced about, the world slowly came back into focus around me, and I glanced about to try and determine where I was.
It seemed as though I was still in that building from earlier. The throne and pit were still there, as were the other useful objects inside that helped to give the room its quite distinctive character of evilness. Was I within the evil lair of an infamous villain? Any moment now, Dracula would walk in and start proclaiming his evil plan or some dumb thing like that.
I had finally regained enough composure to keep going with my internal monologue, and tried to get up off the floor to get moving. I adjusted my legs, to try and get enough movement off the floor and find my way out of here. My perspective was a bit weird, mind. It was as if I was stuck down at a lower level for no readily obvious reason.
I couldn't get up. My legs just didn't seem able to support my weight. I glanced down to see pony legs. And a pony body still. I gave up and simply flopped onto the floor below me, my belly catching the cold marble of the land below me.
I tried to process this situation with a range of emotions. It seemed I was still in this room, miles from home, with no way of contacting anybody, and not only that I was stuck in this stupid body. I was a pony- well, a unicorn if you want to split hairs- who had no way of getting out of this room and had a lack of contact with anybody.
I quietly sobbed on the floor. I truly was trapped here until I either died or something killed me that was stuck in this place. That was really the only way out in this case. I then had an idea. "That pool turned me into that thing. Maybe it can change me back!"
I got up and wobbled over to the pool, and tried to step in. But it seemed as though a shield had been placed around the tank itself, which meant I could not get in at all. It was almost as if somebody was aware that I would try that and thought ahead to ensure I wouldn't get in.
This was hopeless. As I said there, contemplating my fate, a message popped up from the pool.
Don't give up, it said. I know this situation may not seem ideal right now, but there are great things planned for you. The destiny of greatness is upon you, and you have a great quest to undertake.
"Change me back!" I demanded. "I don't want to be like this!"
You have been selected for a great purpose within this land, said the next message. Unfortunately, magic doesn't work like that. You have an important duty. It has been prophesized that an ancient evil will return soon to this land, and he shall bring chaos and horror to the land. He will try to rule over all. But you must lead the charge against him. The one with the stripes cannot stand a combined power like friendship. Your mission will take you a long way. But even little ponies can do big things.
"What?" I asked. "You are aware this sounds like a bad fantasy movie, right?"
The circumstances are less than ideal, said the next message, which displayed and shifted a few seconds later. There are others like you in this land, figures destined to stand against him and bring back magic to the land of Equestria.
So I was some point before the end of the movie, then. That at least gave me a bearing on when I was. Before I could speak the messages continued.
This castle is the starting point of your quest, and you will soon meet others from this destiny team. Up ahead is a door, and beyond it is a series of other doors. And beyond that door is a room. And in that room is where you shall receive your very first quest. Go, My Little Pony.
"Possibly the least subtle title drop ever," I said. "I am a brony, you know!"
Strictly speaking you would be a pegasister right now, the last message said. But still, the sentiment stands, Misty. Proceed to this room, and your journey shall begin. Best of luck to you and the others. The message then vanished as I headed onward.
As I opened the door, I suddenly heard a noise coming from a nearby room. This must be the room I was meant to head to. I turned my head and listened closely. Is that music? I thought, and trotted along the corridor. Sure enough it was music. But not just any music, but organ music. A creepy dark castle with an organ and resident organist.
"Can this day get any more cliched?" I asked myself, as I reached the next door and pushed it open. The organ sat at the opposite end of the room, with the stand lit by a series of candles. Whoever was playing it was incredibly good, as the sound was flowing and logical. Beyond the edge of my vision I caught a brief glimpse of the figure playing.
I didn't recognise the piece, but it was very loud and ominous. I think it was a fugue of some description. But after a few minutes the piece came to an end after some more playing, and the piece came to an end.
"I think that's quite enough organ music for one day," the operator said, as she hopped down from the seat and dropped to the floor. I caught a brief glimpse of a wing, Pegasus, maybe?
She trotted towards me, with her figure finally emerging into the light. And the result was rather intimidating, shall we say.
She was a purple alicorn with blue eyes. Enormous purple wings flared out from her sides, and she had a long white mane attached to her head. This flowed most of the way down her neck, and seemed to be curled in places. Turquoise streaks ran through the mane, and she seemed to have eyeliner on. Parts of the mane were wrapped as braids around her ears, and below her curved horn were huge black eyebrows the width of an oil tanker. She seemed quite full of herself, and this was only reinforced when she spoke.
"It took you long enough to get here, Misty. I thought you'd gotten lost."
I hesitated, not quite sure what to say. "Well, these corridors can be bit confusing, can't they?"
"They can," the alicorn replied. "To somepony with no sense of direction." She flared a cauldron into being. "Report."
"I can confirm there are sightings of the one with the stripes, Opaline," said a figure on the other end. "His current location is unknown, but we can track him much more easily now."
"Very good," 'Opaline' said. "Keep monitoring him for any future developments. He may well interfere with my plans, and I cannot have that happen."
"Understood, your majesty," the pony on the other end of the message replied. "Out."
Opaline looked to me. "As you can see, this figure is one of great concern to me. If he is allowed to run amuk, all could be lost. Which is why I am entrusting you with an important mission to a faraway place."
She flicked the display over to another place. "This is Zephyr Heights, which is the capital of pegasus territory. It's also where the false queen holds her court and maintains her power. It is her crown that is especially important to me."
The display changed once more to show a crown. "That crown holds a powerful artefact which may give us the strength to drive off the one with the stripes. The only problem is it is there and not here. I need you to steal it."
The messages back in the throne room had told me that I needed to accept this quest, so I took it. "Yes, Opaline!" I said. "I won't let you down!"
"Good," Opaline said. "The consequences for our world are dire if you don't. So get moving, and gather your supplies. You set out in the morning."
I nodded, and left as the tone changed. It seemed that, even though I was stuck here in a world that was not my own, I had some important destiny in this world, one that could change the fate of all that I knew.
As I checked the equipment lockers for supplies and all the bits I would need within this operation, I figured this would be easy pickings. After all, based on the film the guards were incompetent. And surely the queen wouldn't be a threat!
After all, she's just an old mare. This would be a cakewalk.
The next day I finally set off on my long journey across the wastes of Equestria. I checked the map I had been given and knew where I had to go. The Pegasus city lay a few hundred miles away, but handily some old ruins had remained which I could follow along the way. Some old leftovers of the ancient Equestrian days that had either been abandoned or never truly cleared out. I knew that if I followed those, I would find my way to the city and be able to continue with my mission.
I set off across the bridge and out onto the path. It wasn't too hard to locate after all that. The path was the old railroad lines that had once connected Equestria together. This castle was apparently all that remained of a former town, and the pathway was an obvious one to use as Imperial Equestria had a massive railroad network.
I set off into the landscape, leaving the storms and thunder behind as I went on my way. I followed along the lines for what felt like hours. Clearly there wasn't enough value in these rails or somepony would have pulled them up long ago.
As I proceeded on my way, past degraded ruins of train stations and other local buildings, my mind turned to wondering and wandering. What in the world happened between the end of Generation 4 and the beginning of the Equestria I was in now? How had it come to this?
The ruined buildings had once belonged to families. Communities, ponies, many other creatures. All of them communities with their own stories to tell and their own places in the world. Places where ponies had talked, sung, fallen in love, lived, married, cried, and died. Though not necessarily in that order. And now these ghostly ruins were the only evidence that these places had ever existed. That these ponies had ever existed.
It was quite depressing, to see a world I had come to know and love so closely turn into such a place of chaos and despair, but it did suggest to me that the old saying that nothing lasts forever was certainly true. I had to push onwards, no matter how strange and dystopian this area was. As I past by more towns, I noticed some changes to the terrain. The landscape was slowly changing from old field and hill to desert and cacti. That made sense, I guessed. The settlement of Dodge Junction was coming up soon, and I would soon find it.
The walking continued for several more hours, until at last I had found my way through the city and onwards past Dodge Junction. Only the old town sign was left, the only trace this community had ever existed. The stages? Gone. Cherry Jubilee's orchard? Gone with the wind, blown away on the eternal casts and currents of time.
As I say, nothing lasts forever, and even a place as wonderful as Equestria comes to an end. But it didn't make the pain of seeing how far the place had fallen any easier to take.
After some more travel down rail lines the landscape shifted again to forest and plain, and I had to push onwards. The flat ground really allowed me to get up speed though, and I galloped along... without falling over this time!
The next place I came to was a bit more challenging. There were rails going in several different directions, and I had to figure out which way to go. I stepped across the rails and came across the ruins of another town.
I recognized it almost immediately. This was Ponyville, but severely decayed. The buildings clearly hadn't been occupied in a very long time, as glass had fallen out. Several roofs had collapsed due to lack of maintenance, and those buildings which still stood firm had clearly been looted over the centuries. As before, it was spooky stepping into a once vibrant town now lifeless, with only the ghosts of the Mane 6 and those whose lives they had touched hanging around.
"If the world valued friendship more than wealth or power, Equestria would be a much happier place," I said to myself, before making my way to the train station. I took a look at the departure board for clues.
The signs gave some clues. All passengers for Maretime Bay and Bridlewood use Platform 1. Passengers for Zephyr Heights use Platform 2.
Luckily, the platform signage was intact, and I soon found Platform 2 on the side of the station. I then followed the tracks in the direction the sign indicated as I continued on my way towards the edge of the city. Leaving it behind made the thoughts of another writer flow into my head. If the fall of Equestria proved anything, it was that the price of liberty was eternal vigilance.
I began my climb towards the edge of Zephyr Heights, which imposingly stood on top of a mountain. I could see why it stood so free from everything else. You'd be crazy to try and launch an attack on a place so well defended, both naturally and with tactics.
I began to scramble up a cliff series to try and reach the top. I noticed a few odd movements hear and there, but largely chalked it up to me hearing things. It was dark, after all.
I made my way up the mountain still, and was soon on the very top of the mountain. The city lay before me. I had to figure out how to sneak in without noticing. If Queen Haven's reaction in the film was anything to go by, nopony had seen a unicorn in a very long time.
But critically I was now in the city, and this meant that the operation could properly begin. I just had to sneak through the streets to the elevator and get up to the palace, steal the crown, and get out without being spotted.
I looked to the supplies Opaline had given me, and got to work. She had given me lockpicking gear, a stealth suit, and night vision goggles to enable me to navigate in the dark. I snuck into an alleyway as a truck passed by. Wait, Zephyr Heights has powered road vehicles? They never showed us that bit in the show.
Certain nopony had seen me, I slipped the suit on as best I could, popped the goggles into place, and mounted the lockpick to my left front hoof. This would prove to be quite handy. I'm naturally left hoofed, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem to negotiate.
I moved off from the corridor, sticking to the shadows and doing my best to hide. This stealth thing was a bit easier in the dark, but the lack of light was making it harder to see. I dropped the goggles into position and moved off towards the elevator, my vision having been greatly improved by the goggles illuminating the way.
I stopped in another alleyway to let security pass by. Something wasn't right. If this was the main access route to the palace, I would have expected far heavier security than this. I slipped forward after the guards had trotted past, and I slipped into the elevator.
I shut the door and clicked the button to take me to the top. A message flashed up on the screen. Keycard or code required in order to proceed.
"Horseapples," I said under my breath. How was I supposed to get the code? Unless...
I exited the elevator as a guard walked past, talking to her fellow as they went along. As I looked outwards, I spotted something hanging out of the armour. It was a keycard! That might do the trick!
I snuck out of the elevator and towards them. When one stopped to take a look around, I slipped in behind them, removed the keycard, and then vanished before they could respond.
"Huh?" she said. "Where'd my keycard go?"
"You left it here," said the other, handing her one. "You really need to be more careful. That thing would allow anypony to access the palace."
I waited for them to go, then ran the keycard through the reader.
Keycard accepted. Private Dawn. Floor access unlocked. Enter destination to proceed.
I punched the top floor, assuming that was where the castle was. The elevator began to rise into the air, showing me the city. It looked very different at night. Although many of the big screens were still running, running big programs or advertising products, they were still pretty quiet. Most businesses appeared to be shut, and the streets were pretty quiet. Apart from the light from the big screens and from the odd street lamp, there was virtually no light at all. I shivered. Being this high up meant the nights were bitterly cold. Maybe pegasi naturally have more fur than other pony species? I could put that theory to the test later.
The elevator stopped at the top floor, and I removed the keycard from the reader and left the elevator. I sprinted across the courtyard towards the castle, which was still partially lit up. Lights still burned in some of the corridors, suggesting somepony was still up. Probably the night patrol, though why the lights would be left on I have no idea.
I stopped partway across as a helicopter flew overhead, blades whirring. The helicopter was fitted with a searchlight which was looking for something. I assumed this was part of the normal patrol patterns. I hid behind a pillar and waited for it to go, and then continued on my way. Security was still a lot lighter than I expected, which was odd. Based on what I knew of royal families back in the human world palaces were normally crawling with security. Why was there only a skeleton crew on duty today?
I made my way across the rest of the courtyard and entered into the next room, which was through the front door. I saw the next door was locked, and activated the lockpick. I then noticed the door was not a conventional door at all. It used some sort of biometric system to allow entry.
I then glanced to my kit of supplies. Amongst the items was a hoof cover of some sort. Perhaps it was meant for this? I slipped it on and placed it against the reader.
The device whirred for a second, and then glowed green. Hoofprint identified. Corporal Breeze. Access granted.
The doors then slid open and remained in the open position, perfect for me to slide through and find my way through the the next stage of the building. This was easier than I thought. Too easy, you could almost say.
The doors closed behind me as I made my way in. This attracted the attention of two guards, who sprinted over.
"Who's there?" asked one, who began scanning the corridor with an armour mounted flashlight. It scanned up and down and all around, checking each and every part of the corridor for life.
But he found nothing. "Probably just the wind," said his compatriot. "Back to our patrol pattern."
As the pair set off, I slipped out of the suit of armour I'd been hiding in and moved onwards through the structure. So far my luck was holding. I just needed to figure out where the Queen's bedroom was and I would have this in the bag.
The only problem is the TV show never gave us any real idea of the building's layout. The structure was a confusing jumble of corridors and paths, and the lack of light wasn't helping anything. The only illumination was from the moon, and the white pale of light wasn't helping me to see anything. The corridors, so warm and cheerful in the day with their white plaster and metal embellishments, were now cold and uninviting.
It was then I had an idea. The movie showed that the cable room was positioned right above the throne room. If that was where the Royal Family got ready for state events, they probably lived up there!
I eventually found my way into the throne room and across to the thrones, finding the winch operations room nearby. There was an array of colored buttons, none of which were immediately obvious as to their function. I then spotted a lever marked RAISE at one end and LOWER at the other. This presumably raised and lowered the wires. I moved the cable into the LOWER position, and attached myself to the cable before moving the lever into UP.
This lifted me up to the next level of the building. The winding gear stopped automatically when it was in the up position, and I took the opportunity to disconnect myself when I swung myself over to flat ground. I made my way through the corridors at the top before finding another set of rooms which had several guards outside. This must be the Royal Suite. Bingo!
I needed to create a distraction. I grabbed a noisemaker from my bag of goodies and lobbed it down the corridor. It activated when it stopped, and it caused the two guards at the front to investigate. I snuck in through the doors and stopped with three sets of doors in front of me.
I knew Queen Haven had a bit of an ego, so I figured the most opulent door would be the entrance to her chambers. I slipped through them and stopped, spotting the bed on the side. Next to it was a bedside table. And on the bedside table was the crown.
This is almost too easy, I thought to myself. I went to pick it up- only for the Queen to seemingly stir. I ducked into a closet and watched for my moment.
"The sun went swimming in the sky," my target murmured to herself. It seemed she was talking in her sleep.
I moved out again and picked up the crown, sweeping it into a bag and preparing to leave. I had to duck back into the closet when it seemed she was waking up.
"Is that you, Charles?" she asked. Half of what she was saying made no sense, so she must have been having a really odd dream. I made my way to leave again when suddenly her words made me stop.
"Come on, everypony, smile, smile, smile!"
I stopped. Queen Haven presumably has no idea who Pinkie Pie is, or was. And yet she had just quoted the Smile Song from Friendship is Magic. How in Equestria would she know that?
I slipped away and went towards the next set of doors to continue my way out of the complex, finding the next set of doors very easily. If the security was anything like it had been earlier, this would be another cakewalk.
Unfortunately, it was here I made a critical mistake. But one that would go on to have massive consequences in the future.
As I moved over to make my escape, I must have tripped something on the wall, as alarms suddenly began blaring throughout the palace.
"INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. ALL ASSETS MOVE TO CAPTURE AND DETAIN INTRUDER. INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. ALL ASSETS MOVE TO CAPTURE AND DETAIN INTRUDER."
Oh horseapples, I thought to myself. I had to escape, and fast, or else I would be caught, and throne in prison. Or worse, forced to listen to Pipp's singing! I did not want that at all!
As I made my way towards the door, the two guards from earlier cornered me. "Stop right there, criminal scum!" one of them shouted. "You violated the law!"
I dodged around them as best as I could as the doors to Queen Haven's suite suddenly burst open. "Guards! Intercept them immediately! She stole the crown!"
I continued as fast I could through the building, doing my best to maintain as much speed as I could towards the exit of the region. It was proving to be a little easier said than done, though. The lights had all come on, and the corridors were filling with troops and other figures. Many of them were household staff, who had gotten out of bed to try and figure out what was going on. I pushed past a butler with a trolley covered in cake, and sped down the corridor to where I thought the next section was. I had to think quickly to escape. Jumping out of a window probably wasn't the best of options as it could end very messily. I checked to the left, and then remembered the way I had gotten up. I sped through another door and found myself back in the place I had been previously, where all the wires and cables were.
I turned around to see my attackers closing in on me. The first of them was an older pegasus, it seemed. Possibly the guard commander? "Come with us quietly and there won't be any trouble," he said, his accent a rather curious mix of British and what I can only describe as vaguely Dutch.
I saw the control panel on the left, and punched it into down with my grappling hook, before leaping backwards onto the rapidly descending wires. "You'll never take me alive, pegasus!"
I was move of the way down when the wires stopped, and I was flipped the other way up. Now my head was down at the bottom, and I couldn't reach to disconnect myself from the wires around my waist. I was hauled back upwards to where I had been previously, and sure enough all of the guards were still there, looking intently at me. Queen Haven and the two princesses were there as well.
The old one spoke. "You, miss, are in a lot of trouble tonight." He indicated to the others. "Haul her in."
As the cables reeled me into position, Queen Haven pulled the crown out of my back. "Mine," she replied. "We shall deal with you in the morning. In the meantime, place her in the cells. Colonel Opwinden, see to it that this is done."
"Yes, your majesty," the old one replied. So he was called Opwinden, eh? Interesting name.
After a night in detention cells whilst being watched by two guards, I was hauled out before the Court, still in my gear and goggles. The world looked piercingly bright with the goggles on, as sunlight flooded into the Palace. Eventually, the guards stopped, and held me in place.
"Her Majesty, Queen Haven, and the Assembled Court!" called a voice. Before long trumpets were blaring everywhere and drums were playing as most of the court filed in. There were soldiers and courtiers, what looked to be dukes and duchesses, servants of every shape and size, and finally the piece de resistance- the Royal Family flew in from on high, supported by the same cables that I had tried to escape on the previous day.
All three of them were wearing sunglasses for some reason. Probably all the light flooding in through the windows.
"Guards, we have the prisoner to attend to," the Queen said. "Remover her goggles so we can get a better look at her."
"Yes, Your Majesty," said one, and pulled the goggles off. This also removed part of the bodysuit which revealed my mane, and something else.
There were collective gasps of shocks from the assembled crowd.
"What is wrong with her face?" asked one of the courtiers, seemingly having never seen a unicorn before.
Queen Haven seemed to be the most surprised. "A unicorn? Here? In the Palace?" She glanced to the Colonel, who was standing to the side. "How did she get in? How did she bypass security?"
"My team are still trying to establish how she bypassed security, Your Majesty," the Colonel replied. "Please accept my apology for this most severe of slip-ups."
The Queen looked back to me. "What are you doing here? Who sent you? Clearly it is somebody who wants to attack us!"
I registered her use of 'somebody' rather than 'somepony' almost immediately. That was odd. I decided to speak. "Your majesties, I am me-"
"No speaking unless spoken to!" the guard on my left bellowed.
"But the Queen just spoke to me," I said, confused.
"Let her reply," the Queen said. "Zephyrina, ensure that the equipment in the cells is in order. Pipp, I want you to monitor communications. No news of this must get out, understand?"
Zipp left whilst Pipp looked to her phone. I took the opportunity to speak. "I come with news of a dire warning. Opaline, the one who lives far from here, comes with a warning of a grave threat. The One with the Stripes is here, and I don't know much about him but apparently he is a problem."
"What are you talking about?" a very fat pegasus asked. "Who is this one with the stripes?"
The Queen looked more confused than anything else. "So you came in to steal the crown so you could give a warning? I suspect there's more to this situation than meets the eye. Move her to the holding cell until we can interrogate her properly. In the meantime, I want the city on maximum alert. Nothing can be permitted to go wrong, not least with the second stage of the Jubilee beginning next week."
The guards saluted. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Colonel looked over. "You heard Her Majesty. Move the unicorn to the holding cells."
As I was dragged away, a last order was given. "Take her equipment so we can study it!"
So, there I was, in a holding cell, which just so happened to look out over the city which I was now a prisoner in. Admittedly, I've known worse views in my life. I looked down over the world, seeing machines flying back and forth carrying passengers and cargo. A loud horn sounded the passing of a train somewhere down below the towering maze of skyscrapers and pathways, which were elevated well above the road surface.
Pipp was doing a stream on one screen whilst an advert for perfume played on another. The narrator only told us that 'this mare smells'. I can only assume he wasn't a fan of the Royal Family. I had no clue how much time had passed since then.
It wasn't the worst prison cell I've ever been in. It was oddly comfortable. There was a chair, an HDTV with a wired up disk player (whatever the pony equivalent of Blu-Ray was), and a multitude of other things. Even some fruit in there to help us stay healthy.
The treadmill was a nice touch, and I fancied something to do, so I popped open the side cabinet and found some boxes inside.
They have Mission Impossible here? I thought. They had the entire series! I took a glance, and noticed a few subtle differences to our own world. First off, the main actor was Tom Hooves, not Tom Cruise, and some other little details were different too. The one I took a glance at was about a mission to stop an evil unicorn from flooding the world in mayonnaise.
Well, that's just playing into offensive stereotypes, I thought to myself as I put them back. If nothing else it showed how deeply engrained in pegasus culture the propaganda against the other races were, as the antagonists were either members of the other tribes or pegasi who wanted to be allies with those groups.
I hid down below a chair as voices approached. "It's going to be slightly crowded in there," a voice explained. "We've already got a prisoner in there. You'll just have to learn to share."
Moments later the door popped open, and two more ponies were pushed inside. "Play nice, you three," said the guard, who then walked off.
I popped out from behind the chair to see Sunny and Izzy there. "Err, hi guys! I'm Misty!"
Sunny looked very confused. "Misty? What are you doing here?"
I looked in amazement, my mouth agape. Sunny and Izzy were here? And not only that, Sunny knew both who I was and my name?
This is perfect! Truly there is good in the universe!
No, seriously, this was fantastic news. Not only did I know where and when I was, I also knew that I had friends! Well, I'd known from the start that I was at some point well before Make your Mark, but if I recalled correctly Sunny and Izzy arrived the night of the Royal Celebration! Or maybe not, as Queen Haven had said something about it being in a week or words to that effect. Still, it was a close enough benchmark for what I needed to know.
It was in that moment I noticed that Izzy had resumed speaking. "You took the words out of my mouth," she said. "It's great to have another unicorn here! You have no idea how lonely it can be to be the solo unicorn in the group."
That left me feeling a bit down. I knew Izzy was probably pretty lonely, so we should probably clean things up a bit and start on a clean slate. "So, uh, what's it like without magic?"
"It could be worse," Izzy admitted, hopping on a nearby chair. "It's a good thing I learned how to use my hooves to do things, or else I'd be as lethargic as the other unicorns back in Bridlewood. You know what I mean, right?"
"Well, no actually," I answered. I might as well come clean about where I was from. It would save us so much trouble in the long run. "I'm not from Bridlewood. I've never even been there!" I chuckled nervously, hoping it would ease the tension a bit.
Izzy frowned. "Oh." Then her face brightened. "Then you must be from one of the other unicorn settlements! I've always wanted to see the towers of Vanhoover, or the fields of Whinnyeapolis! Can you tell me about them?"
"I'm not from either of those places," I answered again. I couldn't say to them just yet that I was a former human. If I claimed I was from another world that had two legged things wandering about and that some of them watched this world as a TV show, they would think I was completely crazy.
Then again, I wasn't the most subtle of ponies in the room, either. My social awkwardness was probably setting off a lot of alarm bells. "But I can tell you about something else."
This raised Sunny's eyes. "Namely?"
I stepped closer. "Magic."
"Bing bong!" Izzy said suddenly, whilst still in her chair. "Just checking. After all, you never know who's listening."
I assumed Izzy was just being... well, Izzy, and continued with my message. "There seems to be this thing relating to the crystals and doing another thing related to them. I didn't really understand what any of it meant when it was explained to me, but I think it's important to the world or something like that."
"Let me guess; Opaline told you this?" Sunny asked suddenly.
I blinked in surprise. "You know Opaline?" Truth be told, I had begun to have my suspicions about Sunny. Her knowing my name without having any prior experience of me at this point was a bit of a giveaway, but guessing Opaline was giving me information? There was no logical way she could have known that unless she was, like me, a human! Or former human, I guess.
And if she was a former human, perhaps Izzy was one too? Was everypony in Equestria a former human?
This is all getting too ridiculous for words!
To try and ease the tension a bit, Sunny spoke up. "Fancy watching a movie? I suspect we'll be in this cell a while, and I noticed there's a selection of Blu-Ray disks over there."
"I took a look through them before you came here," I replied. "If there's anything that takes your fancy, go ahead. I didn't find anything that particularly grabbed me.
Izzy turned on the chair whilst myself and Sunny looked back through the disks. Watching Sunny's reactions to the films was interesting. Watching her face switch from initial interest to excitement to disgust to annoyance in rapid succession was quite something to behold.
"Earth ponies blowing things up... Earth ponies building machines and blowing things up... unicorns frying brains... unicorns reading minds to figure out how to fry brains... earth ponies and unicorns allying to blow things up and fry brains... wow. Talk about offensive."
I shrugged. "They're playing into stereotypes."
"Yikes," Sunny said. "They sure don't like the other species here."
"It seems that the propaganda is baked into every aspect of their society," I replied. "Like this one about a unicorn flooding the world in mayonnaise!"
"Bing bong!" Izzy said quickly.
We both wheeled around at that in surprise. "I thought you weren't affected by those," Sunny said.
"Just checking," Izzy said. "What surprises me more is that Misty didn't react. Are you from another part of unicorn territory?"
"You could say that," I answered. I was pretty certain we'd already had this bit of the conversation, but then again maybe I was wrong.
Just then, my ears pricked up as a figure came trotting down the corridor. "Guys, get down," I said. "I think a security guard is coming. Pretend we're doing nothing particularly interesting and they'll probably go away."
But it wasn't a security guard who stopped at the gates. It was Zipp! That was a surprise. I had no reason to think she'd come down here.
Zipp looked at us, holding a book and looking very concerned. "You three, we need to talk," she said. We then talked for a bit about magic related stuff, and the confirmation that the other three were transformed humans meant I finally felt confident enough to come out about being one too. Well, that was a weight off my chest, even if the situation continued to get even more ridiculous. What are the odds four former humans happen to end up in the same space at the same time? I thought that sort of thing only happened in fanfiction.
Unfortunately, Pipp chose that moment to enter. I dropped out of the conversation and hid for a bit whilst Pipp, Zipp, Sunny, and Izzy all discussed the facts of flying (or rather the lack thereof). Thankfully, she eventually went away. I had no clue if Pipp was a former human, but based on our limited interactions I suspected she wasn't. I mean, surely if she knew the outcome of the story she wouldn't be this hostile towards us, right?
Zipp speaking again convinced me to move forward to the bars again. "Right," she said. "I've got some stuff I want to check with you guys, but we can't really do it in here with you behind bars."
"Got any other ideas?" Sunny asked. "I'd rather not be stuck behind some walls and bars."
"Nopony would," Izzy added.
"Of course," Zipp replied. "That's why I'm going to apply some leverage."
After she had left, something rather surprising happened. There was a loud rumbling sound, and I felt a blast of pain in my stomach- probably heartburn. I dropped back and tried to avoid being awkward, but that was rather difficult. Sometimes it sucks being a bit of a klutz. "Sorry. I haven't eaten in a really long time. I'm actually really hungry!" This was true. The last meal I'd eaten was when I'd been on my way here, and that was probably more than 24 hours ago.
Izzy's face shifted to one of concern, as if to say 'you poor thing', although she didn't actually say those words. Suddenly, a microwave appeared in front of her and she looked at me. "Well?" she asked. "What would you like to eat?"
Suddenly, different food items began appearing on the floor. I had no idea where she had gotten all of them from. In fact, both them and the microwave seemed to have appeared from thin air. My eyes went wide at the level of choice on offer. "I don't know where to start!"
Izzy grinned. "Fancy something, Sunny? I'll gladly put on something for the three of us."
Sunny looked at the options. "Izzy, how did you get three frozen hayburgers here? And why do you have three?"
"On the off chance that I needed to cook quickly for three ponies," Izzy answered. "And as there are three of us here, that's perfect! Would you like burger sauce or mustard on those?"
After a few minutes of preparation, the three of us shared our first ever meal together. Firstly, the food tasted far better than I imagined it would- I'd always thought hay would taste pretty boring, but this seemed to be spiced. The sauces were brilliant, though I suspect a lot of it ended up going in my mane.
Not that it mattered. It wasn't as if this was a formal dinner, right?
That was the best meal I had ever eaten IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!
I'm not talking about Izzy's microwave food, by the way, though that was pretty good. What Zipp got organized for us was beyond amazing! Put simply, it seems she had persuaded the Queen to move us somewhere else, and not only that we got a free dinner out of it!
But not just any dinner. We sat at this enormous table which was about the length of an ocean liner, in this big room full of chandeliers and paintings on the walls. The ceiling was made of glass and what seemed to be iron, and this let a fair bit of light in from above, which meant the room progressively got darker as the meal went on. They even had candles on, which was great! I can only imagine this was what dining at a stately home in Britain was like. Or if the King invited you for dinner. Which would never have happened to old me, of course, being a very unimportant person and not in any way interesting. Come to think of it I'm not hugely interesting now. I kinda just blend into the brickwork when it's blue.
But I had been invited to dinner, and dinner with a monarch no less! The Queen and the two Princesses looked great in all their regalia and fancy attire. Seriously, you have no idea what I'd give to own something so nice. Zipp didn't particularly seem to be enjoying herself, but that kinda makes sense. I never thought she was the type for wearing dresses.
There was also an army of wait staff conveying things back and forth. Plates, silverware, cups, saucers, more plates, plates loaded with other plates, and even goblets! Luckily, the goblets didn't have any fire in them, which was a bonus. I'd never had people bring me food except in a diner. So to see such military precision was pretty mind blowing.
And what food was being served! They started us off with soup from the Souper Ladle, which apparently is a high class restaurant or food truck in the city- the Queen admitted she's an awful chef, which is why she has ponies to do it for her. I forget exactly what the soup was, but it was then followed up the soup with some starters, which I'm told was crab cake. They're considered a delicacy in Zephyr Heights as they need to be transported from the northern coasts of the Pegasus Empire. Apparently that's a very long journey- I haven't looked at a map of Equestria in a while, so can't judge that one.
The main course was a revelation. The serving of beef (or chicken) with potato and other vegetables was also great. Did I forget to mention that mash is the best way to do potato? But it also revealed something else. Seeing how easily the others digged into it revealed that G5 ponies are omnivores! But you probably already knew that, right?
The meal was as much a status symbol as it was an opportunity to deal with hunger, and I think the Queen knew that. Why else were we being served so much exotic stuff?
Desert wasn't much to write home about. Something with fruit and some ice cream I think.
I immediately gave myself away with my approach. I only realised when the others looked at me, slightly baffled. "Somepony's hungry," the Queen commented.
"Am I doing something wrong?" I asked.
"Slow down a bit!" Pipp said. "It's not going to run away from you!"
"Besides, you'll give yourself horrible indigestion," the Queen added. "Eat fine food like you would drink a wine- slowly, and savor it."
"I'm not really an expert on alcohol," I admitted.
I noticed Zipp glance over to Sunny. "Good thing we watered the wine down," she commented.
"Well, duh!" Pipp said. "It would be pretty pointless all of us getting drunk!"
So that's why it tasted the way it did. I had assumed all wine tasted like water. But wine wasn't the only thing flowing. It seemed we'd all relaxed a bit, and as a result we all began talking fairly casually with one another. It was less a state banquet and more some friends meeting up. Except of course most of us had only known each other for a few hours at best.
It seemed the meal reflected well on us, too. The Queen seemingly decided we weren't a security risk, and as such stated we could roam the palace a bit- just not go into the city. That would be a bad idea, apparently. Something about panic and a stream. Still, better than chaos and smoothies, huh?
Sorry, I just noticed Sunny giving me a weird look after that one. Seems she's keen to protect her branch.
So, a bit more freedom. Sounds good to me. Whilst the table was cleared up and we went to one of the drawing rooms for cheese, I found myself speaking to the Queen again. "Thanks for the food, Your Majesty," I said quietly. "I know I didn't make the best first impression around here, but that was excellent."
"I'll be sure to pass the complements onto the chef," she replied, before noticing where I was looking. "Nice medals, aren't they?"
"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but it was the dress, actually. I've never seen such nice clothes."
The Queen laughed. "Oh, this! This one only comes out for the most special of events. We do have quite a few spares, though, should something go wrong. Pipp?"
"Yes mom?" Pipp replied.
"I think our friend here would like to borrow a formal gown. Could you help her with outfitting?"
"She can have this one if she wants!" Zipp said.
The Queen rolled her eyes. "Honestly. My advice: don't try one with a hoop. They're horribly bulky and make bumping into things far too easy. And how anypony fitted through doorways I don't know!"
So, getting to roam the palace with a greater degree of freedom was pretty great, to be honest. We also got to stay in the guest quarters, which compared to the prison cell was like staying at a posh hotel. Clearly they get lots of visitors in this neck of the woods or something like that. But being able to roam around was pretty useful. I knew Opaline would probably want to find out what I had found out at some point, so this was a prime chance to collect information on this place and figure out how to get that crown- succesfully this time.
Less fun was dealing with Sunny. I knew she was just curious, but she had a bit of a habit of regarding me as a thing rather than a person. Her questions entirely revolved around what unicorns can do, not who I am and what my thoughts and feelings are. I know why- she had no other frame of reference- but it still felt a bit impersonal nonetheless.
I trotted around the palace some more, stopping when I saw something odd near the vending machines. I'd had to borrow money from Zipp as I had none, but I noticed Izzy was running between the buttons and hitting them.
"Err, what are you doing?" I asked.
Izzy looked over. "Oh! Hi Misty!" she said. "Each of these buttons is tuned to a different note! See, this is F sharp!" she hit one button. "And this one is D!" she pushed another.
She then began pushing buttons in different orders to produce a melody. It was a bit slow, for sure, but recognizable.
"That melody sounds familiar," I said.
"It should do!" Izzy replied. "It's the theme song to the fourth Generation of My Little Pony! Still a great piece of music all those years later."
And then Sunny arrived. "Making music again?" she asked.
"Yep!" Izzy smiled.
Sunny then looked over. "You wouldn't mind helping, Misty?"
"Helping with what?"
"Whilst Izzy has been figuring out how to play the theme to Friendship is Magic on vending machines, I've been figuring out which buttons make the correct harmonies. I've got most of it figured out, but I can't hit all the buttons and stay balanced properly- ponies weren't exactly designed to stand upright for long periods." Sunny smiled. "This is where you come in, if you feel up to it."
"So you want me to hit some of the buttons, right?"
"Only if you want to," Sunny answered. "I'm not the type to force ponies to do things."
I nodded. "Just show me which ones, Sunny!"
Sunny handed me a piece of paper which had some buttons on it. It marked which buttons to push, when, and for how long. I nodded. "Seems simple enough."
We each took our positions on the machines, and Izzy counted us in. "And a One, and a Two, and a One Two Three Four!"
Before long, the theme music beloved to so many flowed through the halls. The music which symbolized a big part of my identity.
'But Misty', I hear you say. 'You had Izzy and Sunny and Zipp to talk to! What do you mean you were lonely?'
I know, you didn't day that. But you were thinking it, right?
You weren't? Oh, OK then. Let me just get my mane out of my eyes- the orange and purple haven't quite washed out properly. I'll have to ask Pipp about that. Yeah, I'll explain that later, because it isn't hugely relevant to what was going on in Zephyr Heights. And I do need to be able to see where I'm going, right?
Anyway, I felt lonely during those days, even if I did have those three to talk to. The problem was the dynamic.
Have you ever walked into a club or a restaurant and entered into a group who clearly already know each other? That's not to say they are unpleasant to you, because they often aren't, but the dynamic just feels different. They try to engage you, but nonetheless you feel like you don't really fit in. That's because they already know each other so well and you've only just turned up. Even trying to fit you in is a bit of a struggle for some of them.
And this was exactly how it felt. Seeing those three getting along so well and so casually, just enjoying doing things, was a bit of a downer. I felt like I was playing second fiddle to their solos, if that makes any sense. I tried to join in as much as I could, but it wasn't easy all the time. The others had great fun, whilst I was kinda just... there.
Who I was didn't help either. Being the klutz who knocked over their O&O board whilst celebrating not falling into a pit sure sucked. O&O is Ogres and Oubliettes, by the way. It's a pegasus game and it's surprisingly fun, so I suggest you give it a try. A regular group meets at the Lighthouse on Wednesday evenings. We currently have a Wildwood Forest campaign going on if you're interested.
And there I am, going off on a tangent again. Sorry.
Interacting with Izzy also proved to be hard. I didn't have the first clue about unicorn society and culture, whereas Izzy- or rather the person Izzy had originally been- seemed to know it all. I was pretty isolated from it all, which made connecting on a social level pretty hard. Even meals were a bit tough- Pipp tried to teach me table manners, but I found it all so confusing. Why does a pony need three knifes and forks if they're only eating one course? It's an unnecessary level of washing up to do!
I had to try and keep it up, though. Who knew when Opaline would get back into contact with me? I was pretty certain it would be soon, if Make your Mark was anything to go by. If I had nothing to report, she'd bite my head off, so to speak.
The Palace gardens were nice. They were a large green space in the middle of the castle, joined at either end by a set of walkways. Lots of different paths weaved through it, and I had explored a few of them. The ponies who had built it also did some pretty need landscaping inside. Rocky pathways, grottos, artificial streams, and other features such as trees, treehouses, and even a few mountains could be found in there. Plants that flourished in all sorts of climate zones. Cacti the size of houses. OK, maybe not quite that big, I might have been exaggerating a bit, but they were still pretty big.
I often came here if I was feeling a bit glum, so I walked into one of the grottos and sat down near a pool of water. I looked down into the water before me, focusing on my reflection.
I came to a shocking realisation then and there.
I had always been something of a nobody, no matter what world I was in. Back there nobody would have spotted me- I sort of blended into the brickwork. I thoroughly doubt anybody noticed I was gone from that place, or whether I'd even been around.
And now fate had really decided to mess with me. I was a nopony here too, with no magic, no idea what I was doing, no idea who to trust, and somehow managing to be the oldest blank flank in existance. If the CMC are hearing this by any chance, getting your cutie marks after about five seasons is pretty quick compared to me.
The answer was obvious. Nopony knew who or where I was or had been, and nopony cared. I was a loser.
I closed my eyes, but even so felt something wet behind my eyelids. Teardrops started to leak out. No! I'm an adult, not a crybaby! I'm not crying here!
But try as I might I couldn't. I sat there in the grotto, sobbing quietly to myself over my plight and wondering what in the world I had done to deserve this. Yes, I know I said I cried in Opaline's castle right at the start of this mess, but at least nopony could have seen me there. The gardens were visited by multiple ponies, including a gardener. If they saw me I'd probably be mocked to no end. 'Oh look, there's the blank flank who can't control her own emotions!'
As I sat there, I suddenly heard what sounded like singing.
"First things first, you gotta look for the spark! That bit of magic way deep down in your heart! It's the rhythm that connects us/ When you find it, yeah, now that's a great start! (start, start) Hey!"
I recognized that song. That's from Make your Mark! I considered what the fact somepony was singing it might mean for a moment, but then set it aside. Pipp could plausibly have written it during the events of the film.
"You gotta follow your beat! (beat, beat) And then soon you will see! (see, see) You won't have that far to go/ Until your song starts to grow! All you need is your beat! (your beat, your beat)
"All you need is your groove! (groove, groove) (Hey, come on!) To get them stompin' their hooves! And then the next thing you'll know/ Imagination will flow/ All you need is your beat! All you need is your beat!
"Whoo! Bah-dah-dah, bah-dah-dah! All you need is your beat/ Bah-dah-dah, bah-dah-dah!"
Pipp touched down in the grotto and smiled. "That's another hit written!" she said. "I must try singing in here more often- the acoustics are really, really good. Even better, I may try and persuade Zipp to do a duet!"
I honestly wondered what movie Zipp singing would sound like. As far as I know Liza Koshy isn't a qualified singer.
It was then Pipp noticed me. "Hey, Misty! How are you?"
"I could be better," I admitted. "I'm lonely, and even worse nopony will ever care!" I collapsed into a fresh round of tears.
Pipp put her wing around me. "Come on. There's something I want to show you."
We trotted out of the grotto and stopped at a point where we could see the sky. "See all that, Misty?"
"Yeah?"
"That's the world out there. And I can tell you for a fact that nopony will ever care about you is a lie. There's an old saying that every bread has its cheese."
"What's cheese got to do with this?" I asked.
"It means that no matter who we are, there's a pony out there for us, whether a friend or something more."
I internally scoffed at that. There was a far higher probability of me being hit by an asteroid than ever finding love. "Really?"
"Yes! Sometimes it just takes time."
I sighed. "Having a friend would be a great start."
There was a pause. "I could be your friend."
"Really?" Pipp would seriously consider me a friend?
"Of course!" Pipp smiled. "You're really sweet, and not only that you've really touched the lives of Zipp and the others. They often talk about how they like spending time with you."
I smiled uneasily and wiped my eyes. They were still a bit wet. "Thanks, Pipp."
To my surprise, Pipp then began to sing again.
"You hear that sound? Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!"
A piano plinked in the distance, presumably to fill in Sparky's vocal line (seeing as he hasn't been born yet).
"The melody that's ringing out? Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!"
There was something incredibly soothing about it that meant I was soon feeling a lot better.
"A special tune that keeps you true/ Your voice that speaks when no one sees! So listen close, keep holding true/ And sing the song that makes you/ Ooh-ooh-ooh... You!"
I smiled. "Thanks, Pipp," I said. "I guess I needed that."
"Well, whenever you wanna hang out just let me know!" Pipp replied. "Terribly sorry, but I've got a meet and greet to do now. See you later!"
Huh. Pipp said some pretty profound stuff. Seems she's not the vapid popstar most bronies initially dismissed her as.
I know. Considering all the stuff that's happened so far, for me to call something 'weird' probably means it's pretty serious, right? Still, sitting in and reflecting upon this lot is the only way I'll be able to make sense of any of this madness.
It began at some point in the night, I think, when I was resting. This is normally the time that you rest, I believe, unless you have the misfortune of working the night shift or are Izzy Moonbow, who I've heard suffers from insomnia or goes sleepwalking. Or moving sheets about with her magic whilst asleep. That was a wild night, according to Pipp.
Anyway, I found myself sitting in this strange glowing place. Dark blue lights floated in the skies as lights pulsated far away. The ground below me was light blue, and felt almost like clouds. But I thought only pegasi could walk on clouds! If I was standing on a cloud, this either meant a long drop awaited me or maybe...
I wasn't on a cloud at all!
Where was I? What was this place? Was I on the verge of an existential crisis that could only be fixed through copious amounts of breaking the fourth wall?
Or maybe this was pony heaven?
"Hello?" I called out. "Is anypony there?"
Suddenly, to my surprise the flying text from Opaline's castle appeared in front of me. Hello there, Misty.
"Is this where I am meant to be?"
That is one of life's great questions, the text said in response. I know your journey may not seem to be in the right place, but do not despair, My Little Pony.
"Despair?" I said. "I couldn't be better, basically prisoner in a large castle in a dimension far from home and serving a complete lunatic!" That was sarcasm, by the way.
The text appeared again. You have a great destiny ahead of you, Misty. I know that all seems like hope is lost, but you are on the right track with this course.
"Again, prisoner, working for a madmare," I pointed out.
It is not all bad, the text responded, before showing me scenes from the days gone by. Fun at O&O meetings. Sharing meals with the others. Bonding with Pipp. All the positive things that had happened the last few days. I must admit it warmed my heart to see those moment unfolding right in front of my eyes. OK, dying my mane hadn't quite worked- purple does not work well with blue, it turns out- but apart from that it had been fun.
"I guess it isn't so bad when you think about it," I said. "They are my friends, after all, and even if we got off to a rocky start they do seem to like me."
Your friends, the text wrote. They are the ones who have seen you through. And now you can help them along in their mission as well. Your destiny lies ahead, one that will end in your ultimate fulfillment, and a great achievement.
"A Cutie Mark?" I ventured.
I'm afraid you'll have to wait until Chapter Four of Make your Mark for that. The text changed again. But never despair. Some Blank Flanks did amazing things. Just look at the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Another pause, and then some more text. I will always be with you, Misty, and as I am with the others. Hang on in there, and do the world proud.
All around me, the world seemed to get brighter and brighter, as if the stars were being gradually turned up in intensity. The light grew so bright that I had to cover my eyes to avoid being blinded.
And then I woke up. My alarm was buzzing, and the sun was beginning to creep in through the windows.
"Misty?" called a voice, which I recognized to be Sunny. "Are you OK in there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!" I replied, and then looked at the clock. Eight in the morning.
I'd overslept!
I jumped out of bed and ran for the shower, determined to make up as much lost time as quickly and efficiently as I possibly could. Given what the strange text had said to me in the dream, I could hardly afford to be tardy. What if something important happened whilst I was behind schedule?
Work to get up to speed progressed rapidly, and by about nine I was caught up. Having said all that, there wasn't a huge amount I needed to do, so I spent most of it wandering around the palace and looking down over Zephyr Heights. Nice to be able to see the city without a tiny barred window in the way, even if I was finding heading around quite hard. According to Pipp the air up here is pretty thin, which I guess makes sense. That, and pegasi seem to live the bulk of their lives in climate controlled buildings.
When lunch came around, another issue of mine came up. You see, I can be a bit forgetful, even of the sorts of things you normally wouldn't forget. When I'm in a rush, I often forget to do normal things. And given I was in a rush I had forgotten to do something pretty important that most ponies remember to do.
When midday rolled around, I was near the cafeteria when I was hit with pretty severe hunger. As I looked inside I suddenly realised I had forgotten to do something very important.
Eat breakfast.
Without hesitating I dived into the cafeteria and ordered something. To my absolute delight, they had my favourite food from there in stock- the place does a delicious cheese pizza that just melts in your mouth the way cheese should do. And they somehow don't burn the crust in doing so! Pair it with some soda pop and the results are a great lunch.
Comes a close second to Bridlewood Popcorn, by the way. I'd suggest buying some; Izzy sells it sometimes when she makes a batch. But anyway.
I was really hungry, so I forgot the advice that the others had given me at the formal dinner and started wolfing some of it down, stopping when I got a couple of odd looks.
"She's hungry," said another pony having his lunch.
I looked sheepish. "Uhh, sorry." I then slowed down, trying to savor every bite. If I had space left I might go back for cake.
A while after lunch, I spotted Sunny and Izzy walking down a corridor, talking about something- it sounded like something to do with their own lives, though I heard something about a circular narrative being mentioned. I hid behind a pillar to avoid being seen, and then once they were out of sight I spotted which room they had gone in. I slipped next to the door and listened for a moment in case there was anything useful I could transmit to Opaline.
So, yeah, about that. I was kinda being a double agent, albeit not by choice. I had to keep an eye on what they were doing in order to deal with this stripes guy, and also keep Opaline happy. I really could not afford to annoy her, especially when she had some magic and none of the rest of us did.
As I listened, I heard quite animated talk.
"Hey, Sunny. What's up? You haven't said anything the entire time." That was Zipp.
Then Sunny spoke. "Truth be told, Zipp, I didn't sleep hugely well last night."
"Nightmare?"
Nightmare? This wasn't good. Hopefully this won't end like that story where Sunny goes mad and murders her friends.
"Yeah," Sunny then replied. "It was really strange, but also quite graphic at the same time. I know normally most dreams don't stick in your mind, but this one did. Perhaps I should stop watching scary movies late at night."
I then heard Zipp snort. "Come on! Invasion of the Tripods isn't that scary!"
Oh yeah. That was the movie we watched last night. I certainly thought it was a bit frightening, so I don't blame Sunny for being scared.
"Just because something isn't scary to you doesn't mean somepony else wouldn't find it scary." I could only assume that was Izzy telling Zipp off. The next line was, I think directed to Sunny. "But as I said last night dreams can't hurt you, as they're just your brain trying to process your day. We can safely move on from them."
It was surreal, leaning next to the door and listening in on a conversation I wasn't party to. Hence the spy movie reference I made earlier.
Sunny's voice was then muffled for a bit, before Zipp spoke again. "When you two are finished, I'll take you two down to see something pretty remarkable. But only when you two are ready, of course."
Did Zipp mean her workshop? I hadn't been able to get into that yet! No doubt it would have all sorts of useful stuff to help me out!
Before they set off, I opened the door to the room. "Can I come too?"
No sooner had I entered the chamber with the others than my locket suddenly buzzed. I guess it just got reception again. I trotted off to one side of the chamber to take the call and stopped when I was certain nopony was looking. I then flipped it open.
The scowling face of Opaline appeared before me. "Misty! What is taking so long?! We have a-" She suddenly stopped. "Wait. Is that... pizza in your mane?"
"Yeah. I just had lunch- I was really hungry, and sometimes you get so into eating that-"
"The crown, Misty. Do you have the crown?"
I paused before answering, knowing the probable reaction. "Err, no. I didn't get it. I kinda got captured and am now sorta a prisoner in the castle with the others, but also sorta not as they let me roam around the place freely."
"Oh. Bother."
That caught me by surprise. "I must say Opaline, you're taking this remarkably well."
"Well I can hardly shout at you with those three ninnies over there, can I?" Opaline answered, her facial expression making her displeasure more than clear. "This is, of course, a setback. But we can work around it. Time for the backup plan."
"You had a backup plan?" I asked, slightly surprised. If she did, Opaline was crazy prepared.
"Who do you think I am? Queen Chrysalis?" Opaline replied, looking a little annoyed. "Anypony worth their salt creates a backup plan if the main plan goes wrong. And then creates backup plans to the backup plans in case the original backup plans don't work. You said you were in the castle, correct?"
"Yeah, that's right. It's quite nice, actually, but the limited space does get a bit boring after a while."
"You miss being at home, don't you?" Opaline commented. "But you being in the castle is quite convenient. It can, amongst other things, put you in the correct place for disrupting my opponents. And this is where I play my next card."
"How?" I asked.
"The Royal Celebration is tonight," Opaline continued, her face focused on something. Probably some paper. "This means that all eyes will be on Pipp Petals and not on... ugh... Queen Haven, which means that we can act." She then went off on a strange rant. "Honestly, how long has she been keeping my seat warm? About twenty years, isn't it?"
"Twenty five," I answered.
"Close enough. But anyway, her time is limited anyway. I'll get her out of the way later, but at some point I'll have to get rid of her. But no matter. Our plan depends on the public's attention being distracted whilst Pipp is performing, and that means we have a limited window to act."
This seemed to be going round in circles. "I hope I'm not being presumptuous, but what actually is the plan? I'm not quite sure what you're asking me to do here."
Suddenly, there was a shimmering near me, and a fog began to form below something else.
As I looked over, I saw a crown moving upwards out of the fog, before it was deposited on the ground near me. I picked it up and took a close look at the crown. "It looks just like the one the Queen wears!" I said.
"Exactly," Opaline replied. "The crown you are now holding is an exact replica of the false Queen's crown, perfect in each and every detail. She won't be able to tell it or the real one apart. And that is exactly why I need you to act."
"Am I needing to switch it over mid performance from behind the Queen's throne?" I asked.
There was a brief pause. "Did you have that idea all by yourself?"
"Well, I may have seen it somewhere but-"
"Forget it. It's a stupid plan. Far too much can go wrong. What I do need you to do, however, does not concern the stage. As you probably know, the Queen has her own chambers. It's in there the Crown is kept, in a vault and lockbox. Whilst the concert is going on, I need you to access the room, switch the crowns over, and then escape. Return to me as fast as you can."
I felt uneasy over this. Far from being the narcissist I had expected, Queen Haven had been surprisingly nice. OK, she was perhaps a bit haughty and she could be a bit cold at times (but having said that I had stolen from her), but otherwise fairly reasonable. I wasn't sure about this. "How do you want me to get there?"
"Climb some stairs, do acrobatics, charm your way in, I don't care!" Opaline paused. "You seem to be having doubts about this."
"Do we really need to steal from them?"
"Excuse me?"
I spoke again. "Do we really need to steal from them? Is there another way?"
"May I remind you of what is at stake if we fail? Without that crown there is no realistic way I can defeat the One with the Stripes and prevent this world from being destroyed!"
Destroyed? What?
But I had no chance to speak up before Opaline continued. "And besides, there's something in it for you. If you get this artefact to me in one piece... I'll give you your Cutie Mark. Something I want for something you want. It's an even swap, is it not?"
I chose not to share what the text had disclosed to me the previous night. "Of course, Opaline. I won't let you down."
"Good. I've got to go now- one of the other agents has news for me. Besides, I think those other ponies want to talk with you."
"Hey! Misty! Over here!" Sunny's voice called to me. Oh no? What had she seen? Did she know I was working at crossed purposes with Opaline?
"Try not to act too suspiciously, Misty. Opaline Out."
I quickly dashed over to them as Opaline's head vanished back into the compact. "Sorry guys! I got distracted! I have a very short atten- ooh! Shiny!"
So, it turned out that Zipp's plan was remarkably similar to the one Opaline had cooked up. But something Opaline had said had me curious. She had said to switch the crowns over, but I thought Queen Haven didn't take the crown off? At least that's what Zipp had said. If there was a crown in there, what could that mean?
Night had fallen, and crowds had begun to assemble at the bottom of the palace, ready to get into the main room for the big performance. The news media was constantly talking about it. I was currently sneaking through the access tunnel Zipp and Sunny had identified. They wanted to see if a pony could fit through it properly. I'll admit I'm pretty skinny, but I was able to get through it with minimal difficulty.
Once on the other side, I switched on some night vision goggles in the room. Unfortunately, it was pretty packed, and there was no obvious pathway forward.
"Really?" I asked myself. "Why in every heist is there a room filled with random junk? This is gonna take ages to move!"
But move it I had to, if my friends were to find a way in. I began to shift stuff to make a suitable path and clear the way. It sure did take me a while, but eventually the path was clear.
My radio suddenly buzzed. Zipp had given us radios so we could stay in contact. "Misty, you there?" the voice said. The voice of Sunny, to be precise.
"Receiving you loud and clear, over?" I replied. Sunny had taught me correct radio protocol, but I hadn't quite followed all of it.
"What's the condition of the tunnel, over?"
"Seems good to go. Plenty of space, over?" I neglected to mention I'd cleared some gaps to let them through. I could hardly have expected them to do all the work.
"Excellent. Make sure to keep watch for guards."
That I could do, at least for a bit until Opaline needed me to get moving. "Understood. Over and out!"
I headed forward through the room and climbed up an access chamber, before spotting what appeared to be some sort of control box before me. Of course! The platform next to me was an elevator! They could use that to get up here more swiftly!
I pushed the down button to send it down to the bottom of the chamber. I got ready to go, before stopping. Was I really doing the right thing?
Truth be told, were any of us? I looked back at my flank and weighed up my options. If I went through with this, I would get that Cutie Mark- in theory. But if I didn't, then what would happen to the world? And could I trust a word Opaline was saying?
As the light started to fade, I had to make my move. There was no turning back. I had to get up there and get that crown like there was no tomorrow.
I knew that I had to create a distraction in order to ensure they didn't follow me up the chamber. I also knew that there was a good chance that the guards would be distracted. It wasn't hard to figure that out as the performance began and the area was flooded in music and light. No, I had to find another way around and out of here as soon as I could.
It was then I spotted the obvious route for my escape. There were two routes put into place in case the cables failed (and these weren't an option to me because the cables were currently in use by the Queen and the Princesses). These two routes consisted of a small crawling chamber which, as the name suggests the occupant crawls up, or an elevator.
I decided against the elevator almost immediately. The elevator would make far too much noise and would reveal my position, and this would blow the heist before it could even begin. I knew behind the curtain the other two were probably flopping about with the fake crown to swap with the other crown.
But hadn't Opaline said something about another fake? I had the one she had teleported to me, but if the real one was in the safe, then weren't they swapping fakes around?
I didn't have time to think about that, but noticed something interesting. The music was a lot louder than it had been before, and so it gave me an idea for a possible distraction.
I headed over to the cargo elevator control panel and immediately punched the up button. With a whirr, the elevator started to move upwards and into the upper chamber, producing a fair bit of noise as it did so. This, so far, was working perfectly. I dived out of the way and stopped beside the access panel that would take me into the crawling chamber. I hid there, watching, waiting, seeing if anypony took the bait. There were two guards nearby who would almost certainly here the noise of my crawling normally. But with the elevator moving upwards, it would mask any sound that I made. I grinned. This was working better than I'd hoped! Maybe the professional heist job was for me after all.
I watched as the guards trotted over to the elevator, and I then dived into the chamber and closed the doors behind me.
"Time to put those years of climbing to work," I said to myself, and began to shimmy my way up the crawlspace. It was tight, only wide enough for a fairly slim pony. Good thing I was a fairly slim pony. For a pony with such a thin body, Misty had remarkable agility and climbing skill.
It was quite dark in there, but luckily I had decided to wear a head torch, and switched it on to illuminate the space ahead. It was seriously dark, but the light at last seemed to be approaching.
I emerged at the top, and pushed the door open partway down a corridor. I knew this corridor pretty well. It was one that I had roamed down during the crown stealing attempt number one. I pushed onwards into the corridor and made my way along, the torches continuing to glow bright and the lights giving the corridor plenty of light as I made my way along it.
I then stopped and turned a corner to access the Royal Chambers. It was a lot easier doing this when there was light, and nopony around. No need to worry about waking the Queen up this time, or her referencing Pinkie Pie for whatever reason. What had that been all about? Was the Queen a former human?
I dismissed that thought. That many human turned ponies in close proximity? That sounds like a piece of bad fanfiction!
I pushed onwards into the room, and opened the door to access the interior. There was lots to see inside, and it was pretty nice to look at. I had to focus, though, as I had a mission to complete. I removed the picture over the top of the safe, and then got to work on the combination. My goggles were filtering through the positions and numbers to try and eliminate the variables, and the display was also amplifying the 'clunks' which indicated I had found the correct position.
At last, I was through! I swung the door open, and pulled the crown in there out, setting it onto the bed behind me before swapping the other one in. I was about to close the door when suddenly-
"The game's up, Misty!"
I looked over my shoulder. It was Zipp! How had she found me?
"Back away from the safe and put your hooves where I can see them."
I collapsed onto the floor and tried to make myself as small as possible. It always works when Opaline is mad. "Take what you want! Just don't hurt me!"
Zipp, however, only seemed to be interested in the contents of the bag I had for moving the crown. She pulled it open. You might be asking why I wasn't fighting back. I was only a scrawny mare against a pegasus in the peak of her physical strength. If I had tried to fight, I'd have had my flank handed to me pretty quickly.
Zipp looked at the crown in confusion, then glanced to the safe, then to the crown again. "So, you were planning on swapping this crown for the real one and then sneaking off before anypony noticed, huh?"
"Opaline made me do it!" I cried, again making myself as small as I possibly could.
Zipp studied the crown in the safe, and put it alongside the other one. Her eyes widened when she saw they were precisely the same. "Fake crowns, plots upon plots on top of each other, farce galore. When did this turn into an 'Allo, 'Allo episode?"
I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Zipp was about to answer, but our conversation was interrupted by the TV coming on. Pipp was suspended upside down from wires, and there was what seemed to be fighting. There was also a lot of shouting from nearby.
Zipp looked at me. "What happened in the past doesn't matter now. All that matters is we find that crown and get the buck out of here."
I didn't want to be captured again. I only survived because the Queen showed mercy. If they caught me again, it'd probably end with my head on a spike. "OK. Let's get out of here."
Zipp charged out into the corridor and along the path. I followed as best I could, but I wasn't as quick as she was. Alarming broadcasts were being played over the speakers inside the palace, indicating that we weren't exactly wanted inside this place.
I ran down as quickly as I could, before I noticed Zipp had stopped and was looking at something. I tried to get to her, but two guards suddenly stepped in the way and blocked me. Seconds later, one had slammed me into a wall and was pinning a lot of pressure on my neck.
"More than what you deserve, brain zapper," he said, with a sadistic smile. "Any last words!"
"Get off me!" I yelled, partly to get Zipp's attention. This seemed to work as she sped towards me.
"A unicorn, all alone. Fancy some fun?" My other captor was in on this as well. This wasn't going well.
"Hey! Get away from her, you monsters!"
Zipp was near them, and they dropped me down, having found something else to look at. I snuck round them to try and get to Zipp.
"It's the princess!" said one of the guards. "Remember, the General didn't say she had to be conscious."
Before anypony knew what was happening, guards charged in from doors and corridors and began dogpiling Zipp! I tried to get through, but the mass of bodies was still moving with force. Blows and impacts rained down on the pegasus.
Suddenly, something slid underneath the crowd and to me. I picked it up. My eyes widened in surprise. It was the crown!
"Misty... run... save yourself..."
I barely heard Zipp's words over all the shouting, but the violence continued as they were clearly trying to beat her into unconsciousness. And eventually, they did, as the figure underneath stopped moving.
I did what anypony would have done in this particular case. I simply ran for it. I covered the ground as quickly as I could and tried to leave the pandemonium quickly consuming the area. Guards were pouring out of the woodwork and filling the corridors. I had to use garbage chutes and other escape routes in order to get out of there.
When I landed outside the palace, I saw soldiers moving about the perimeter, who were sweeping for anypony else. Probably ponies like me.
I ran off into the night, towards the rally point, the crown still in my possession.
I was a coward, I know. But I didn't see what else I could do. Those guards seemed to have no problem with strangling me without any provocation. Imagine what worse things they would do if I hadn't fled!
I now had the crown on me, and all I had to do was finish the mission. Get this thing to Opaline, and then tell her we're through. I'd had enough of all this scheming and plans, and just wanted it all to end.
If possible, go back to the original world. Life in Equestria was now a nightmare, and I was terrified of what might happen to me if I stayed around. This was not a happy world, and I worried intensely about the others.
I continued to dash through the street, trying to avoid the lights from the street lamps. The city was heavily locked down. Soldiers were patrolling every street and keeping an eye out for any dissident movement. I tried to keep down and low, and was determined to stay safe and still. If I lost this crown, we may lose the chance to fix everything.
I stopped behind a garbage can to let some soldiers pass.
"This place has gone downhill ever since the prisoners arrived," said one.
"Did you see that earth pony, though? Fine bit of flank if I do say so myself. Shame she's not a pegasus. Can't pollute the bloodline, can we?"
How ironic. If G4 was anything to go by, the genetics of the three tribes are incredibly closely intermingled. What would happen if, say, a unicorn was born here? I dreaded to think.
Not only that, but they managed to be racist and sexist at the same time. Seems both go hand in hand. Or hoof in hoof, I guess. Once they were gone, and a tank had rattled by, I continued down the path I had been given and stopped behind another box to grab some food out of it. There was a box with a pizza in it, and I figured that as I was going to be travelling a long way back to Opaline's castle, I needed to keep my supplies of food up. Why was this even thrown away? It looked perfectly edible, and there wasn't anything visually wrong with it.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
I froze. Damn it! I'd strayed into a spotlight!
"YES, THAT'S YOU, FRIZZ FACE! COME HERE WITH YOUR HOOVES UP!"
I bolted in the other direction. What did he call me? Seriously, he called me that just because I have dreadlocks? Gunfire followed as I escaped as quickly as I could away from these awful ponies and to try and get to safety.
I leaped over a gap and made my way to a street, where I briefly caught sight of Hitch, following somepony. What was Hitch doing here? Then I remembered when in the movie I was. But I don't recall all these soldiers in the film.
Hitch stopped ahead of me and started shouting, so I barreled in a few moments later. "I've... got... the... crown!" I wheezed, showing them the crown in my bag.
Izzy looked concerned. "Where's Zipp?" she asked.
I looked down, my guilt over leaving Zipp behind coming back worse than ever. "She stayed back to stop the guards from capturing me. The army's hunting the princesses."
As if on cue, Pipp then arrived, her arrival made clear by the crash of a can. "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!? The army's arrested her! I saw them beating her before I ran!"
Wait. The army beat up Queen Haven? I don't remember that happening in the film either! I thought the guards just hauled her off to a prison somewhere!
Sunny spoke before I did. "Wait, Zipp didn't tell Pipp the plan?"
"Was she meant to?" I asked. Why didn't I think to tell Pipp? I'm close to her! Why do I always mess things up?
"Yes," Izzy 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 like some profound truth of the universe had just been revealed to him. "If Pipp's mom is the queen, that makes her a princess."
"No shit Sherlock!" Pipp snapped. She would have said more, but her phone interrupted her.
And the situation had somehow gotten even worse than I thought it could. Somepony important in the army had used the chaos of the night to overthrow the government and install a junta of his own to run the country. A junta is a military government, by the way. It's a word from my old life.
And the penalties were pretty bad. Seemed virtually every conceivable offence was answered with death, usually a shooting, but sometimes other things. Seems like he was capitalizing on the fear of the unknown to further his own power. Rather like Sprout.
Speaking of Sprout, what was he up to? Did we have two dictators running around now? Was there going to be a showdown between them?
I wanted to speak, but no words formed in my throat. This was my fault.
"We have to go back!" Pipp said. "We can't just leave mom and Zipp with those pigs! Who knows what they'll do to them!"
Sunny spoke next. "We can't!"
"And why is that?" Pipp snapped, looking like she wanted to punch Sunny's lights out.
"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!"
Izzy then took her side. "She is right, you know. We can bring back magic, but we need the crystal. We get magic back, we save your folks. Deal?"
Just then, I heard shouting behind us, and looked back to see soldiers blocking the road. "Uh, guys? Soldiers over there! We can't go back!"
Pipp looked over, and then spotted something. "Fine! I know a way out. Follow me."
The next day was pretty tense. We wandered across expansive terrain through the land of Equestria, trying to keep ourselves safe from whatever might be out there.
I think the lack of anything was more concerning. I didn't see a thing for ages, and the region seemed very empty. Fear of the unknown is a powerful emotion.
One that Pipp seemed to be feeling right now as we trotted along. "Hey! You!"
I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked around you. "Sorry, were you addressing me?"
"Yes. Who else could I be addressing?!" Pipp snapped.
Yikes. She seemed annoyed. "Are you OK?"
"What part of me looks OK?" Pipp asked. "My life's been flipped upside down, and this mess is the fault of you lot! We should never have let you into the palace to stay."
That hurt badly. "Pipp, I thought you were my friend!"
"I did too. And then you went and pulled your little stunt. You know, you're pretty lucky I didn't hand you over to the authorities. What sort of friend goes behind their back and steals from them?"
I tried to come up with a response. "We need the cry-"
"I don't want to hear another word about that damn crystal, Misty." Pipp looked to be so hot under the cover you could see the steam coming from her ears. "Truth be told the others seem to be on my nerves too. But I think you and your earth pony and unicorn buddy owe me three words. And I think you know what those three words are."
I glanced up. "I'm so-"
I didn't finish my sentence, as something metal collided with my cheek. I fell back and grabbed it, wincing in pain.
"Pipp, what has gotten into you?" Sunny asked, further up the line.
"She'll thank me later," Pipp replied. "If she ever thinks of betraying a friend, she'll remember the pain." And she trotted off.
Hitch looked over. "Yikes. I suggest we stay away from her for a while."
Sunny and Izzy dropped back to treat my injury, with Sunny applying an ice pack. "She's just hurting," she said. "She'll get over this eventually. But for now I think we need to stay away from her."
I nodded, trying to concentrate. Those golden plated hooves did a number on me. We made it to the campfire for the night, and after eating together in silence simply left for our beds and went off to sleep. The tension was certainly there for all of us, and we sat there under a featureless sky, with our minds focused on other things.
At least, I think they did. I knew the truth of how they felt about this situation.
It was a mess. I'd messed up something awful.
This disaster was my fault, and it seemed I was already paying the price.
That night, in the tent, I could truly reflect on how alone I was. Fate is cruel sometimes to those bounced about like tennis balls on a court. If we can't truly control our fates, what is the point of it all?
It wasn't as if I'd made the choice to come here. I hadn't decided to come here, after all. I was made to come here, by whatever that voice I had encountered in the castle had been. I was dragged into that water and forced to be like this. Forced to go on this crazy adventure. Forced to be a thief. Forced to be the character who has the odds most heavily stacked against her by the circumstances of her time.
Would I have chosen to come here, forced to live this life in an alien body as a unicorn with no magic and apparently no way of doing anything right?
No. No I wouldn't. I was stuck here, stuck in a place that hated me, and hated everything I'd done. It was a miserable life, and I hated it now. I cursed the day I'd even become Misty. And with the amount of stuff that I'd screwed up, it only seemed fitting to curse the other days as well, as they had left me miserable and unable to just enjoy things around me. Not even the darkness or this mattress, which was giving me severe backache and other spinal pain.
I was still stuck here, no matter how much cursing I did. It didn't change anything that had happened, no matter how much I wanted it to change. I was small, insignificant, the sort of thing that blends in when walking around a square or sitting at a table. I just blended in to the point nopony spotted I was even there. I truly was nopony, the bland flavor of ice cream nopony buys, or the world that everypony tries their hardest to avoid interacting with, as it simply causes them pain and sadness.
All the things I'd done flooded back through my memories. Seeing the ruins of Equestria, abandoned after thousands of years of harmony. Theft of the crown (twice). Meeting Sunny and Izzy (at least they were still on speaking terms with me). The fun that we had in the palace during that time. Opaline demanding things of me. The chaos that broke out after the party, and evading the police.
Yesterday stung most distinctly in my mind, and I could still hear Pipp's words ringing in my ears.
"She'll thank me later. If she ever thinks of betraying a friend, she'll remember the pain."
I rubbed the cheek in question, still smarting even after Sunny had applied an ice pack to get the swelling to go down. Turns out getting smacked in the face with metal hurt. At least she didn't go any further with that, as even though she isn't the strongest mare I'm not exactly the toughest pony out here. That wasn't what hurt, though.
Every word she had said was true.
I couldn't hold it in any longer. I turned my head to one side and wept, determined to ensure nopony heard my pain. I was, put simply, the butt of this universe's joke, the punching bag of the being who oversaw this. If there is a creator, he must be a very cruel one.
I did my best to keep the noise down, but it seems somepony heard me, and stopped in front of the tent. "Misty?" they asked. "Are you OK?"
"Go away," I replied.
"You're not going to help yourself by shutting yourself off," they said. "I know how you feel."
They did? I crawled forward, trying to remove any evidence of my tears as I crawled over to the tent entrance and opened it. I then saw who was on the other side. It was Hitch.
"Misty, I want to help," he said.
"How could you possibly understand me?" she said.
He then said the four words I was least expecting.
"I'm not from here."
He wasn't? What? "You mean, as in, 'human'?"
Hitch looked at me. "Yes. And I can tell from your face that you aren't either, considering your speech patterns and other points you're making. And seeing as I heard you crying, it only seems you're hurting."
That gave me some relief, so I pulled myself out of my tent and into the moonlight. A fire was already going, and we sat round it. Hitch already had two mugs sitting there. "I asked Sunny if I could borrow some of her hot drinks, and she agreed. We're worried about you, Misty. I heard what Pipp did- I had a word with her about it, and she's here."
Pipp appeared on the other side of the campfire, looking down. She saw me, and her eyes filled with guilt. "Misty, I apologise for what I did," she said. "Yes, I was frustrated, but it doesn't justify taking my anger out on you. I really am sorry." The fact she was struggling to maintain eye contact with me suggested this was true.
So, I said the three words that can set anypony free. "I forgive you." I was never one to hold petty grudges. Even against those who had potentially hurt me.
Hitch placed his foreleg around my shoulder. "At the end of the day, we're all outcasts in a way. We are here, stuck in a world not meant to house us, never designed for our needs and hopes and desires. And yet, here we are. We have each other as a support group to survive in the harshest of times. When empires fall, we're still there. When horrendous regimes mistreat their own people, we're still here. When the darkness is thick and it seems the sun will never rise, we're still here. The simple fact is that we've always been here. And we will always be here, as long as the world exists."
That was actually pretty profound. Had he been a philosopher in a previous life?
The next day saw a walk across Equestria, and I will admit seeing the landscapes of Equestria helped to improve my mood a bit. It was lovely to look at it unfolding before me once again. I can remember feeling the same sense of wonder when I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time and truly got sucked into the majesty of Tolkien's creation. It was so much more than just a fantasy book. It was a living, breathing world, full of amazing places, wondrous civilizations, and interesting characters.
And I was getting the same feeling of wonder from being in this section of Equestria. It was very peaceful, which probably helped for my mental state. I also took the chance to do some positive reflecting, which Hitch helped me with. Pipp also mentioned this thing called a mindfulness app- when I have a phone I'll have to give it a try.
I took this chance to reflect even further as we pushed onwards into this land, which glowed with such life and intensity it was sometimes had to believe I was actually here. I went onwards, my smiles attracting more attention.
That night, we set up camp in another place on the side of a mountain. Truly we were the Fellowship now. The Fellowship of the Crystals. Didn't quite have the ring (pun not intended) I was looking for, but if you can think of any words for crystals that rhyme with ring let me know in the comments.
"Come on, Hitch! Sit with us!" I called to him, seeing him trying to start his own campfire for some reason. I'd had a chat with Pipp about things she liked, and we found we had even more in common than I thought possible.
"Alright," Hitch said. "At least knowing that there are other people in my situation makes things a little easier on me. Possibly not on you guys, but it's comforting to know I'm not alone."
After a brief chat about the world, Sunny said something actually very profound.
"But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Izzy, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
"What was that?" Izzy asked.
"That there’s some good in this world, Izzy… and it’s worth fighting for.”
That really struck a chord with me. I couldn't hide the fact I'd done a lot of bad things whilst here. But my heart knew we aren't entirely defined by bad things.
Even if I had done wrong, that didn't mean I couldn't turn over a new leaf and fight for a better tomorrow.
First there is a Mountain, then there is no Mountain, then there is
The next morning saw things start to go a bit wrong. Nopony could agree which way to go! They were looking over a map and trying to decide which path to take to Bridlewood. Hitch, for some reason, favored the straightest route as it had the shortest mileage. But that seemed risky to me. The straightest route is also the one that is most likely to have ambush placed on it. Sunny, however, favored the route through Ghastly Gorge, as at least we knew what was on it even if the path was longer.
So much for being a united fellowship if we were already disagreeing over the path we were meant to take. This was ridiculous.
I looked on at the debate raging, before suddenly the locket around my neck lit up, and I was pulled away from them. I know what you'll say- why didn't you take it off or scream for help? Well, if I did remove it, Opaline would know I'd had doubts about which side I was on, and even though the world was scary I feared Opaline more. As for screaming- you try screaming when one of these things is pulling on your neck!
We eventually stopped at a nearby cliff, and the locket opened, revealing the head of Opaline in a gas cloud. "Another delay, Misty?" she asked, looking around. "Where in the world are you?"
"I'm not too sure of that myself," I replied. "But if it's any consolation I have the crown."
"And yet you're travelling in the opposite direction to the castle according to my map," Opaline replied, looking a bit annoyed. "We've already had enough failed attempts at getting the crown, and its crystal contains the power I need to save this world."
"I thought you wanted to rule it."
"How am I supposed to rule the world, as alicorns are meant to, if the world gets destroyed?" Opaline thundered. "According to my assets, the One with the Stripes is making his move. Oh, and good work on creating that coup. With all the chaos going on in pegasus territory moving my own assets around un noticed will be so much easier. The lack of the Together Tree network makes things a bit more difficult, but that's a side effect of no magic."
Moving assets? Together Trees? What was she talking about? None of this made sense.
"These other ponies I'm with have something in common."
Opaline frowned. "What's that? Being annoying?"
"Well, they don't want the world blown up, so that's a good thing, right?"
A devious smile was beginning to build on Opaline's face. "And they want to reunite the crystals. Genius, Misty! If we get them to put the crystals back together I will be restored to my full strength, and then I will be able to bring him down! Clearly my genius is rubbing off on you. Keep following them and ensure they act in compliance with our needs."
I heard some sound. "Gotta go. Need to get back to saving the world and all that."
"Wait, Misty, I'm not fi-"
Opaline was interrupted mid sentence by me shutting the locket. Now I had to figure out where the Tartarus I was.
I looked around me, and soon figured it out. There was a path that seemed like it wanted me to climb it. The text I had seen in one of my dreams had told me I was to come into a great destiny, so maybe this was it? I decided that was the best course of action, to make a climb out of here and to a higher altitude. That way I'd be closer to the birds, who are arguably more free than the rest of us. Apart from pegasi, of course. They can fly, but couldn't at the time the events I'm narrating happened. The mountains continued to loom above me.
This was absolutely breathtaking. Mountains like this are few and far between where I was originally from, and yet the vistas unfolding were like I was on another planet. I suppose that, technically, I was, although the shape of Equestria does bear a rather noticeable resemblance to the continental United States and Canada if my memory of the G4 map was anything to go by. I was standing, it seemed, on the roof of the world.
As my ascent through the clouds continued, the terrain began to change once more. Lush alpine grasses and terrain built from rocky paths soon began to shift away from that, and began to turn rather more snowy in texture.
The colours and smells were wonderful, almost alien to my nostrils. Not really surprising, given I was on another planet in the body of a creature that would be considered alien if taken to the human world. It brought an odd euphoria to me, given I'd lived in urban places for much of my life.
I heard the sounds of birds and the noise of the various animals who lived up here, including an odd squeaking noise that I kept hearing from some snowbanks. This was a bit odd. If they were meant to be pikas, what were they doing this high up? I thought they usually lived lower down. Unless Equestrian pikas lived at a higher altitude than their real world counterparts.
On the topic of altitude, the increased height was beginning to get to me. Pipp may have had an easier time, as would probably have Zipp, as the pegasi have evolved to live at higher altitudes (I mean, their main city is on top of a mountain), but I still felt they would have been loving this. I continued climbing, having to stop more often as the air got thinner. If it didn't flatten out any time soon I'd probably find myself in outer space. That would be a surreal experience for sure.
I was continuing upwards when the path finally levelled out. I walked forward and sat down on a rock, quietly panting. There was no wind, and it was eerily silent. I looked over and saw a decaying sign.
HURRICANE'S PASS
HIGHEST CROSSING OF THE WORLD'S EDGE MOUNTAINS
14,000 FEET
No wonder I felt so woozy. The lack of air was noticeable, and it took me longer to get my breath back. But if this was a sign proclaiming a summit, that meant that the return run would be considerably easier, as it would all be downhill!
As I sat there and pondered to myself, I found myself realising something about this world, and this climb.
The climb had been difficult and tough, and I was still sorta working with a nutcase.
But I had never felt more free in my entire life.
Is this what they mean by the term self liberation? Because if so, this was absolutely wonderful to experience. Freedom is something you don't really experience when you've never had it taken from you.
And I'd had a lot taken from me by whatever had brought me here. All of them things I thought I could never lose. My humanity, my background, even my gender. If you'd told me then I'd be brought to Equestria as a female unicorn and be wandering across the land with a group of friends who were intent on fixing magic, I'd have asked you what story you were reading on Fimfiction.
And yet, here I was. The only question I had was... why me?
Out of all the billions of humans that exist, why did it pick me to fill this role of Misty Brightdawn? Why did it pick any of us? That still didn't make any sense.
I glanced down at the locket, and then to my side, an eternal reminder of being the oldest blank flank to have ever lived. How was I going to get my Cutie Mark? The text had made reference to a Make your Mark Chapter 4, but when I was last in the other world there were only three and Hasbro had been keeping us in limbo as to whether Make your Mark would return. I sat back a bit and relaxed somewhat.
These big questions I was pondering could wait until later. I was soaking up the atmosphere. If I hadn't come here, I'd never have seen this place. I'd probably still be rattling about the quiet seaside town with the same things going past every single day, which got a bit boring after a while.
I sat there, listening to the wind howling around and the landscape seeming to shift on the winds of snow that blew about. I shivered. I was beginning to get cold. I probably needed my cold weather cloak, so I pulled it on. It was a nice purple garment Opaline had supplied me with. It certainly helped me stay warm.
Just then, I heard hoofsteps behind me! I turned and looked at them in surprise.
The figure came to a stop at the base of the summit, and looked just as surprised as I did.
I looked in utter surprise at who was standing there. Before me was a red stallion with green eyes and blonde mane and tail. A G5 detractor would have probably called him a Big Mac knockoff, only of course he was nothing like him in personality. In fact, the two characters couldn't have been more different.
My eyes widened. "Sprout?" I said. "What are you doing here?"
Sprout looked back. "Misty?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"
"That's as good a guess as any," I replied, as I sat back down on a nearby rock. There was something important I'd picked up in that conversation, though. Sprout knew who I was despite the fact he shouldn't know me at this point in the story.
There was hope at last! I had found another ally in Equestria! Somepony in the same predicament as me!
"I came looking for Hitch," Sprout said, also sitting down. Seems he'd also picked up on my choice of words and was simply rolling along with it as he went along. No need to state unneeded pleasantries when you can figure out what's going on almost immediately. I sat there in surprise as well, amazed that fortune seemed to be working in my favor once again.
"Well, he went another way," I admitted, sitting back and glancing down a bit. I was feeling pretty confused right now. Inside. I mean, even if he had some messed up views (or probably didn't, if what he'd said implied what I thought it did), he was pretty cute and-
And why was I thinking this? I'd been a guy before all this started! What was going on?
I sat back, trying to process all the confusion in my head, these new sensations and feelings that I couldn't make sense of. I glanced about the mountaintop, seeing the wind continuing to whirl around. This must have been what being a member of Thorin's Company during the search for Erebor must have been like. I'd have said a dragon would have fitted the scene, but there weren't any dragons. At least none I knew of.
"Hey, are you OK?" Sprout asked. "You seem troubled."
I looked at him. "I am currently experiencing emotions and feelings I never thought I'd experience. And I'm here, on top of a mountain, on an alien planet, in the body of a fictional character, talking to another fictional character about how I feel. This is either the greatest comedy or darkest tragedy ever written."
"I know how that feels."
Glad we cleaned that one up. "You do?"
"It's never easy trying to survive in an alien world in the body of a character intended to be a hate sync, and yet I've somehow managed to survive. If you need tips or help with surviving out here, I suggest going against what they expect of you and following your heart instead. That's exactly what I did."
I'm not sure why, but those words made me feel a lot better. "Thanks, Sprout."
"No problem, Misty. Now then, shall we get off this mountain?"
I was more than happy to do that.
Well, I sure learned a lot about him as we walked. Seems he'd popped into Maretime Bay some point after Sunny and Izzy had left (or a similar time to me, as Sunny and Izzy had been stuck in the same cell as me only a few hours after my attempt at crown theft auto), and he'd been seemingly teleported here after finding a hat and wearing it before hiding in a tree.
He had it easy compared to me. His may have been tough, but at least he didn't have the agony of being changed and then knocking yourself out. That liquid smelled horrible, after all. I wonder if Opaline ever cleaned it?
Even so, our combined experience of being stuck in a foreign world with things we didn't recognise or lives that were not our own was certainly a familiar refrain. Naturally, it got me thinking as we headed through a grassy pasture.
Who in Equestria wasn't a human? I know we know little about Opaline's past or what she was doing during the events of the movie (which I guess I was finding out first hoof, I guess), but I seriously began to wonder if Opaline was a former human too. I mean, if she was it would explain some things that I observed in her behaviour.
Sprout seemed to be a little more concerned. He'd fought this human guy who had tried to blow up Maretime Bay with some sort of mech suit, and this suit had inflicted a lot of damage on Maretime Bay's outer fields. He'd beaten it with a version of his robot from the movie, and then succesfully lobbied for increased military spending. He did express concern he had started a war, which was understandable. If you want peace, avoid the pinpricks that precede cannon shots, or so Napoleon Bonaparte said.
Maybe that was why Gulfstream timed his coup when he did? Was he concerned an invasion was coming? It didn't justify his actions, but it did give something of a rationale to his actions that I found curious. Was this was being a military leader was always like? Constant paranoia and fear? I could relate to some of that. The impulse to destroy things, less so.
As we continued to make our way down the mountain, we came under attack from these ghost ponies. I'm still trying to process the encounter so can't really give much of a coherent account of the incident, but it was pretty tough going to say the least. I sat there, tired and confused, as we tried to make sense of what had happened.
"That guy knows us," Sprout said, as he looked at me, and stopped for a moment.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"You know, the sun catches your mane really nicely at that angle," Sprout replied.
The original Sprout would never have complemented a unicorn, or helped them. Looks like my prediction about their being two dictators was wrong. This Sprout was... really nice.
I moved onwards, waiting for Sprout to join me as we continued our descent of the mountain into the valley. "So, how did you figure out where any of us were?"
"I figured you'd be heading to Bridlewood, so followed the trail left by somepony and trekked to Bridlewood over the mountains," Sprout replied. "It was pretty good fun, even if it was pretty tough going at times through pegasus and unicorn lands. I certainly had fun. It was quite exciting at points, all the things I did and saw. Enjoyed my runs, as well. And you?"
"Eh, less so. Kinda comes with serving... somepony." I indicated to the locket to give Sprout a hint as to what I meant.
"I understand," Sprout said. "Not easy at all. As I said earlier, a good policy is always to follow your heart and do what you think is right. Sometimes listening to your gut can help."
I looked confused. "The stomach isn't known for its ability to process thoughts and concepts. Incidentally, we ponies can eat meat it seems. Equestrian ponies really are alien, huh?"
Sprout shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if I know anything about this world it's that Equestrian ponies clearly evolved differently to ones back in the other world. Notice how our eyes are on the front of our heads rather than the sides, and our muzzles are shorter?"
Now that he pointed it out, it was interesting. I'd never really taken note of that, to be honest. I guess I was just so used to the characters looking like this that I'd never really given it a second thought after all. If I'd been teleported to the G3 world on the other hand...
No! Don't give the author ideas!
Oh? OK.
Anyway, our journey through the mountains continued downward, which was fun for a bit. The hills were now much more lively, although something that did creep me out was the fact that there was a profound lack of birdsong anywhere. I also hadn't seen any bird in a while, if at all. Why wasn't there any birdsong? Was it because the birds had all gone extinct following the chaos that broke Equestria apart?
Or was there another reason that there was no birdsong? Could it be the place itself?
Sure enough, we soon arrived outside Bridlewood. All I'll say is the others were relieved to see me- and rather surprised to see Sprout, to say the least. But at least something good had happened. The party had been reunited, and we could now push onwards together into Bridlewood and solve this mystery once and for all.
Our world needed us. Our friends needed us. We had to find that last crystal, fit them together, and hope for the best.
Otherwise, we were doomed. And if that had been the case, well, let's just say the ending wouldn't have been pretty.
I knew from the movie that it was covered in signs telling other ponies to keep out, and that only unicorns were permitted inside the forest, but that restriction technically didn't apply to unicorns.
Like me.
I looked up at the signs, each of which conveyed so clearly how society felt about the other tribes. The usual, such as keep out smallbrains! and cannibals have no place here!
I sighed, and noticed Sprout looking sadly at the signs. "Sorry in advance," I said, looking down with shame.
He reached over and rubbed my shoulder. "There's no need to be sorry," he said. "It's not your fault their are racists in the world. We've got a lot of work to do if we're going to overcome this prejudice, though."
"Every journey begins with a single step," Sunny said. "I mean, we've walked a long way up to this point and probably are tired, but if we continue with our trip we could find a way to fix this and-"
"Sunny, you've overexplained it," Hitch said. "We knew what you meant when you started. We need to get moving- no point in standing out here."
I took a deep breath, and started to move forward.
"Come on, guys!" Izzy said. "My house is this way!"
I stepped into the forest, and looked around me, seeing the landscape shifting from rolling fields near mountains to forest canopies, with trees stretching high into the sky and seemingly scraping the top of the world.
As I walked through, I felt a very odd feeling. Somewhere in my heart about this place.
Back in the old world, there was a singer called John Denver. He largely wrote songs about the western portion of my old nation, focusing particularly on the interactions between people and nature. One of his songs became a state anthem, by the way.
Anyway, in one of them he speaks of a man who comes home to a place he'd never been before. Obviously this wasn't meant in a literal sense, as you cannot come home to a place you've never lived, but what Denver meant was that this person felt such a strong connection to this new land it was effectively his new home.
I was having the exact same feeling as I walked through Bridlewood. I had never been here before for obvious reasons, and yet this place somehow felt like home. Despite the fact I'd never been here before, I felt I had been.
But that made no sense! But then again, so many things around here didn't seem to make sense when looked at on an objective level. Perhaps it came from being a former brony who knew this stuff, compared to Misty herself who presumably wouldn't have any real knowledge of the area.
I tried to relax, and walked onwards, watching things going on as the sunlight cascaded down my features. It was a lovely day, I must admit. I just wanted to soak it up and smile. I had to squint sometimes at the light, but it was lovely nonetheless. It seemed almost poetic.
Here I was, a pony who had never really had any true sense of home when a person, trotting through a place where I felt a sense of home. What was going on?
"Hey, Misty?" said Sprout, shaking me out of my thoughts.
"Oh, hey," I said. "Sorry for spacing out. I kinda just wanted to soak it up, you know?"
"I get it," Sprout smiled. "This place is beautiful- just like you."
My brain stopped for a second. I knew I was having challenges with this myself, but had Sprout just said what I thought he said?
He just called me beautiful?
This couldn't be the Sprout from the movie. The Sprout of the movie would never express romantic attraction towards a member of another species! Or race. Are the pony groups separate species or different ethnic groups? It's not entirely clear.
But he wouldn't have said that. And I seemed to have attraction back!
I was so confused.
Sprout noticed my lack of speech. "Sorry. I have no clue what came over me."
"It's OK," I replied. "Truth be told you're quite sweet yourself, and got us out of that jam with the ghosts."
Sprout went bright red- which was quite remarkable given he's red anyway. "Err, thanks."
This conversation was getting too awkward for words, so I dropped it when we got to Izzy's house.
After producing her keys somehow from nowhere, Izzy opened the doors and went into her house. The door was a nice door, and Izzy had greeted her house for some reason. I have no real idea why, but then again her house, her rules.
I smiled as I trotted in, listening to all the ponies chatting to each other and generally just enjoying the company of one another, I then came to another realisation.
As we were still in the events of the movie, most of the ponies I had encountered had their movie voices. If this sounds weird, remember this is a media franchise where I'm from originally. During the show's run, they switched voice actors to a new team of actors based out of Canada who gave the cast new voices.
Misty was introduced in that era, and as a result didn't change voice actors- it's the voice her voice actor, Bahia Watson, gave me that's coming out of my vocal chords. My Canadian accent sounded really out of place amongst lots of American ones. Which, in a sense, only amplifies how much of an outsider I was at the time, making for a rather poignant point of comparison.
Did this mean that at some point everypony would wake up with different voices? That would fill me with existential dread if that fate potentially awaited me. But I suspected I didn't have that to worry about.
Pipp was busy snapping photos of everything whilst Sunny asked Izzy about her basement, which I can only assume is some sort of reference to something.
So, the group of us then sat down for tea. Two unicorns, three earth ponies, one pegasus. An interesting dynamic, given the shows normally go for two of each tribe. As my presence here constituted a distortion in the timeline, I felt out of place still- even if the giant floating text boxes that seemed to follow me around told me this was my destiny. Well, it wasn't as if I couldn't have some fun whilst I was here. That I could do, and I would do.
Unfortunately, things hit a bit of a wall. Izzy hadn't been planning for this many ponies to disguise as unicorns. In the film, she only needs to disguise four ponies, and as one of the extra ponies was a unicorn (me, namely) that meant she wouldn't need to disguise me. But she needed to disguise three earth ponies and a pegasus, two of them being male, making in all four.
Apparently she needed more material for male ponies as the heads are constructed differently, and, err, how to put this a bit delicately for the benefit of my friends, but, um, Pipp is, shall we say, a bit bigger than other ponies. As Izzy needed to disguise the wings in order to make the disguise convincing, she'd need a bit more material to fit round her barrel.
Once that was decided on, we all needed to have a wash. Hitch and Sprout went through the shower first as they have manes about half an inch long that takes two seconds to dry. Sunny and myself would need to take longer as my mane is especially fussy, and Pipp wanted a bath so she agreed to go last and let us wash first.
Izzy was certainly well stocked for mane conditioner, I'll say that. After several days of no washing it was nice to finally wash all the dirt and grime out of my fur before applying some necessary chemicals and fluffing my mane. Good thing my fur didn't puff out, as happens sometimes in fanfiction.
Once I was done I dried myself with a towel, and then went to help get the beds set up. Izzy lived on her own as it's implied her parents are either deceased or living elsewhere- either way they're not a part of her daily life anymore.
As a result, her home only had one bed. As we didn't all fancy sharing a single bed, Izzy produced large numbers of beds from nowhere and set them on the floor and upstairs. So we helped her set them up and laid them down.
"Izzy, these are different colours," I said.
"Of course they are!" Izzy smiled. "I got some for each of us in different colours. I didn't anticipate Sprout being here so he can use the one meant for Zipp."
Well, that was wild. Once I'd brushed my teeth and we got ready for bed, I drifted off to sleep.
The slow smell of morning slowly drifted into my nostrils, slowly shaking me from my slumber. That was a lot of uses of words that begin with the letter S. Perhaps it was a world record? I have no way of knowing.
I slowly shifted my eyelids open to see what was going on around me. I soon noticed my fellows were not in their beds. I looked about in a slight panic. Had I been here on my own the entire time?
I slipped the covers off myself and loudly yawned, stretching my forelimbs to get myself into shape for the day. I hauled myself forward and glanced about to try and find the others again.
Nope. No chance at all. I slipped off the bed and neatly arranged the sheets and blanket on top of the bed so it took up less space. I placed my hooves onto the floor and trotted over to a desk, where I suddenly spotted a certain orange mare was sitting. Her mane was all over the place- I guess we'd call it bed mane?- and she was reading through a book.
"Hey, Sunny," I said, quietly.
Sunny jumped and suddenly slammed the book shut before spinning the chair round. "H- hey Misty!" she said. "Sorry. You startled me there. How long have you been standing behind me?"
"About twenty seconds," I said. "Any sign of Izzy?"
"No, she left earlier," Sunny replied. "We're on our own in the house and can't risk leaving in case we spark a riot amongst the locals." She looked wistfully out of the window. "And such a shame it is, because it's a lovely day out there."
I looked past her to whatever she had slammed shut. "What were you reading?"
Sunny turned her eyes back to the book. "Oh? This little thing. This was just my dad's journal. He collected all sorts of things in there. Notes, maps, bits of historical info, his own thoughts- some of it is a tad disorganized, as he tended to write about whatever came into his mind."
She stopped, and looked back. "I meant Argyle's journal." She sighed. "I'm just so confused. I know I didn't come from here originally, but I keep feeling Sunny's emotions and thoughts. What is happening to us?"
I put a hoof on her shoulder. "Perhaps this could be for the best. You've got the best of Sunny and whomever you once were rolled into one. And you know the show. We know what's coming, so can best plan for the future."
Sunny nodded. "That is true. Thanks, Misty. Now back to decoding the stuff in this book."
I excused myself to let Sunny get on with it, and dropped down to the lower level to find Pipp preening herself in front of a mirror.
"This is a kitchen, right?" I asked.
"It's also the only space with a big enough mirror to allow me to set my feathers properly, considering the amount of fluff on these things!" Pipp replied. "I gotta keep looking my best, after all."
I simply backed away and went to find something to eat. I was pretty hungry, after all.
One of the benefits of being a unicorn was that I could go outdoors without raising any real suspicion as to who I really was. After all, unicorns were the main group who resided here, and took all sorts of things to be used for other purposes.
Even so, I wasn't from here, so had to be careful as to the extent I exposed my existance. When not in Izzy's house, I spent most of it behind a bush set back from the main path, meaning I couldn't be seen by any pony passing by.
I sighed, watching this world going by. A world I moved in but didn't really belong as an outsider. I looked the part, but still didn't fit in. I didn't know the first thing about living in Bridlewood, but hopefully Izzy could get me up to speed.
I sighed, and crouched down to avoid being seen for a bit, before figuring I should head back indoors and get some rest. Or maybe some lunch. Lunch was always a good thing.
I turned to go, but to my surprise Sprout was there. "Fancy seeing you here," he said, with an awkward smile.
"You two," I replied, trying to mask my own awkwardness. "What brings you to this bush?"
Sprout sighed. "Pipp's turned the living area into a studio. She's been recording some musical ideas on her phone, but I'm not sure any of them will take off. The acoustics in that place aren't the best."
I nodded, as if in agreement, but I could sense something was up. "I don't think that's the entire reason, is it?"
Sprout nodded. "No. Listen, I needed to talk to you. About yesterday, and other stuff."
I wasn't sure where this was going. "OK," I said. "What about it?"
Sprout looked even more awkward, and his face was red. I know his face is red normally, but it was even redder now thanks to his cheeks doing weird stuff. "OK, time to stop beating around the bush. Err, you see, well, it's that..." He took a deep breath. "Misty, I have a crush on you."
I blinked a few times. "Sorry, could you repeat that? I'm not quite sure I caught it the first time."
Sprout nodded, and spoke again. "Misty, I have a crush on you."
The entire world seemed to stop turning in that moment as I processed those words.
Sprout Cloverleaf, the nominally crazy demagogue, momma's boy, race war agitator, and building demolitions expert, had a crush on me?
A unicorn?
This was rather a lot to take in as I looked at the floor awkwardly. My mind was able to process the concept, but at the same time it was so strange and new to me. I nodded.
But this revelation gave me hope. This Sprout was indeed different. His personality, his attitudes, he was so much more friendly- he truly was different.
And to be honest I did like him back. Not to that degree, but enough to be a sort of crush.
"Are you OK?" Sprout asked. "I can go away if you want and-"
"It's OK," I said. "It's just rather a lot to take in, that's all. Truth be told I have felt something for you as well. Perhaps we should go back to Izzy's house and deal with it there? Beats standing out here for no readily obvious reason."
Sprout nodded. "Yeah. I can do that."
We stopped in Izzy's garden for a while, and then just seemingly spent loads of time just sitting there, facing one another. I lost track of how long we were there for, but we found comfort and solace in just being together.
After all the madness and craziness in the world, I'd finally found a stable thing to anchor myself to. Despite the fact they barely interact in the show, Sprout and Misty is one of the more popular G5 ships out there. And it seemed this world had decreed it as well, so there was that.
I mean, Hitch and Pipp did seem kinda close to each other, so there was that.
I soon lost track of time, as before I knew what had happened a voice startled me out of my thoughts.
"You might want to move from there. Trees often dump water on that spot, hence all the bushes."
Sprout and I both jumped in the air, and turned to face whomever had just spoken. Looking at us was Izzy, who was carrying a shopping bag on her back, and seemingly had other things stuffed into another thing she was carrying.
And from her smile and other cues, I think she knew our secret. Looks like the game is up.
I was the first to speak. "Uh- erm- yeah, sure, we'll move!" I said, as we glanced back at the house. Luckily, Pipp had her headphones on and was completely oblivious to what was going on outside.
Sprout was the next to speak. "Gotcha, we'll head over," he said, as the awkwardness moved back over his face. "Look, what you saw-"
Izzy smiled, a gentle look that calmed our fears greatly. "Your secret is safe with me," she winked, before moving towards the door. "Now then, next is dinner. And I have a Bridlewood staple lined up for tonight!"
Wait, dinner? I looked up and only then noticed the sun beginning to set in the sky, gradually changing the light to glorious golden shades that cast beautiful rays across the land.
How long had we been out here just chatting?
Sprout trotted over. "Look, it's been fun, but it may be best we keep this under wraps for now," he said. "No clue how the others would react to this."
I nodded. "Yeah. Probably for the best." Even so, I couldn't ignore the butterflies in my stomach.
I woke suddenly, in a place quite unlike Bridlewood. I looked around myself, to see where I was.
"Hello?" I called. "Is anypony there?"
I glanced about, to see what had replaced the place I had once been. For one, the wooden, rustic interior of Izzy's home was completely gone. It was instead replaced by cold metal and long corridors, which were completely empty apart from beeping machinery.
A siren blared through the corridors.
"ALERT! ALERT! ENEMY FORCES HAVE BREACHED THE INNER SANCTUM! ALL AVAILABLE UNITS REDEPLOY IMMEDIATELY TO FACE THE ENEMY! I REPEAT! ENEMY FORCES HAVE BREACHED THE INNER SANCTUM! ALL AVAILABLE UNITS REDEPLOY IMMEDIATELY TO FACE THE ENEMY!"
This station was under attack? I stepped to one side as a group of soldiers sprinted past, lugging heavy gear and carrying weapons. What was odd was that they didn't seem to notice me at all.
As if I wasn't there.
I decided to follow them to wherever they were going, trailing behind at a reasonable distance in order to avoid being spotted. I hid behind objects to minimize detection, but was sure to keep an eye on what was going on.
Sirens continued to blare and red lights flashed from warning boxes mounted on the walls. Presumably this was battle stations onboard this craft.
Once I was done with some of the following, I stopped behind a door, and peered through the access hatch. Some sort of firefight was going on inside the room. More of the soldiers were firing on something, but I saw a combined force of ponies fighting back.
Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. Together.
We had set aside our differences and were working together! It was some sort of miracle!
I moved along a bit to keep following the soldiers, but at last found my way along and into a window. Why this thing had windows I had no clue, but I looked out regardless. The area down below matched the landscape around Maretime Bay- a place I was yet to go.
Why was this thing hovering over Maretime Bay? Did it need to be positioned over it for some reason?
More explosions echoed from down below as some very large guns seemed to be firing from the ground. Seems we had quite the fighting force on the ground, that was actively repelling the invaders, whomever they may be.
Based on their build, they were humans. Members of the species I had once belonged to.
I shook my head as the ship shook again.
"ALERT! ALERT! SHIELDS ARE DOWN TO TWENTY FIVE PERCENT! TAKE EVASIVE ACTION! ALERT! ALERT! SHIELDS ARE DOWN TO TWENTY FIVE PERCENT! TAKE EVASIVE ACTION!"
I decided to get moving again, following along another corridor and hearing more fighting going on. I slipped through another door into what seemed to be a central station. Seeing as the path had led me here I could only assume that this place was very important to whomever commanded this thing.
At the core of this room was a large throne, presumably from where the ship was run. The ceiling stretched upwards into the sky seemingly forever, and the ground was made of some sort of metal or marble. Windows at one end let light in, revealing the sun setting in the sky.
Perhaps this craft was so large it blotted out the sun itself. That was a scary thought.
I turned my eyes to a huge machine stomping about the room. It seemed to be pack to the brim with weapons, and an energy shield glowed around its framework. Each weapon was currently firing out into the skies.
"Thought you could get away with betraying your own species, huh?" the pilot said. I recognized the voice. It was the same guy we encountered when we met the ghosts back on the mountains!
But then I saw what the weapons fire was directed towards.
Burning in from the top of the chamber was Sunny Starscout. She was fully powered up in her alicorn form, and her horn was glowing with barely suppressed energy.
"You want nothing but to kill the innocent! These ponies did nothing to you!" Sunny replied.
"They made the mistake of serving the wrong generation! This abomination must be put right!" The suit fired off a barrage of rockets. "You could have been like a god, putting the wrongs right and punishing those who question the will of the Gods!"
Sunny fired a beam to blow the rockets up, and then dived in. "I'D RATHER DIE THAN SERVE YOU!"
There was a pause. "Then die you shall. ACTIVATE OVERDRIVE!"
The suit's arms suddenly dropped down, and energy blades deployed from the hands. The blades began to spin furiously.
"LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE PLASMA SWORDS!"
The blades slammed into Sunny's shield, energy bouncing off and flying everywhere. Sunny's horn glowed once more, and she chopped through the blades like they were made of paper.
"You were saying?" she said, with a confident smirk.
The suit switched back to firing its guns, and Sunny whizzed about the room. "Missed me! Your aim must be lousy!"
As I watched on in awe, I realised what I was witnessing. This, somehow, must be some sort of great battle for the end of the world. And Sunny was leading the charge against whomever this was.
I then got a brief glimpse of the pilot, and noticed they were wearing a striped shirt.
Wait a moment. Opaline had mentioned that the foe was the One with the Stripes? Was this him?
As the battle continued to ramp up, soldiers flooded the room to fire on Sunny. "Oh, come on! Bringing in your hired help isn't very honorable, is it?"
"If you aim to fight fair, you're not doing it properly," the figure in the machine replied, the mech leaping into the air and slamming onto the ground. "EARTHQUAKE!"
Sunny was temporarily thrown off balance, and flipped over before firing once again. "EAT THIS!"
As the battle continued, I felt a buzzing sensation-
-And woke up. I looked about myself in surprise. "Hello? Who is it?"
Just then I realised the buzzing was from round my neck, and I saw the locket vibrating. I must have forgotten to take it off before I went to bed. I walked downstairs to avoid waking anypony up, then flipped it open.
"Hey Opaline," I said.
"I thought you weren't going to pick up!" Opaline said. "Five attempts, all to voicemail. How are we going to save the world if we don't communicate?"
"That's a fair point," I admitted. "Well, I'm in Bridlewood right now."
"Have you got the third crystal yet?"
"Not yet," I replied. "That's the plan for tomorrow. Then we'll put them together.
"Good. Time is of the utmost essence, Misty." Opaline's brow furrowed. "Is something wrong?"
"I think you're standing a bit close to the screen. I can only see your eyes."
Opaline grunted. "Bother. Must have forgotten to calibrate the cauldron again." She then backed up. "That better?"
"Yeah. As you were saying?"
"Time is of the utmost essence, Misty. It turns out that fool Gulfstream is proving to be more of a problem than I had thought. He's getting the pegasi ready to fight. If we don't act quickly all will be for nothing- I don't particularly fancy ruling over a nuclear wasteland, after all."
Wait. They had nukes in this world? That's a scary thought.
But then Opaline continued. "We may have to get rid of him somehow. But before then getting the magic back is of the utmost essence, as without it we cannot defeat the One with the Stripes. Trust me, I tried."
"Gotcha. So, err, well-"
"Out with it!"
I gulped. "So, I kinda have a crush on a guy and-"
"What is a guy?"
Oops! Used a human word. "Erm, a stallion."
Opaline's face looked quite approving. "A potential target to manipulate and move in the direction we want. Just don't let your attachment get too in the way, or it could hamper our other operational plans."
Suddenly, I heard movement from upstairs. "Opaline, I gotta go. Somepony's coming."
"Understood. Give me a full operational report when you have the crystals. Opaline out."
Opaline's face faded from the display as I closed the locket, and hid behind a chair.
"Hello? Is somepony there?"
I put my head up, and luckily it was Sprout. He looked at me. "Why are you up so late?"
I shrugged. "I wanted to get some air, so I hopped out of bed for some. That's why I'm here."
Sprout nodded, although something in his body language suggested he didn't entirely buy my explanation. "Should we pop outdoors? I think some air would be nice round here. Besides, I've heard Bridlewood can be lovely at night."
That sounded like a good idea, actually. I headed out of the door with my crush, keen to see what secrets this mysterious new place could hold for somepony like me, lost and confused in a dark world.
The trees seemed to be glowing with some unusual energy, and the plants were themselves glowing. They were covered in some light that meant you didn't need a torch to see where you were going. I could, at least. I could have used my horn to light the way if we'd had access to magic, but as we didn't I couldn't. Besides, blank flanks can't really cast spells very well, so that probably wouldn't have worked all too well.
We paused after some time underneath a tree, its light allowing us to see the stars above.
"Just breathtaking," Sprout said quietly. "Who knew this was under our noses?"
It had been a long time since I had last seen proper stars. Light pollution or being under tents had rather affected that. But here we could see the night sky, the stars shining above us as beacons of a better world.
"Looking up at them means we're looking back in time," I said. "Light can take a long time to reach us. In fact, the very source of the light may not exist anymore."
Sprout nodded. "True. But the very fact it produced light means we can remember and observe that it existed." He looked around. "Nice plants, huh?"
"Yeah," I smiled. "Lots of glowy things."
"Bioluminescence," Sprout replied.
I snorted. "Try saying that one five times fast with a mouth full of marshmallows!"
We both laughed at that for a bit, before things fell silent once more. We just soaked up the stars and the landscape with happy smiles.
Before we were done, however, Sprout turned to me, looking concerned. "Misty, why are you still working for her?"
I blinked. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I think you do," Sprout said. "You were talking to Opaline earlier. I overheard it. Tell me, what do you have to gain from working from her?"
I decided then and there to spill the beans. "Opaline wants the crown and the magic to be back so we can defeat the One with the Stripes and prevent Equestria from being blown up by a madman!" I sucked an incredible amount of air into my lungs as I finished the sentence.
Sprout looked at me. "The same guy we fought on that mountaintop. And I faced him in Maretime Bay. Somehow we've all been drawn here, to face him. But why us?"
I sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that I seem to be following my own destiny. And keeping Opaline happy is the easiest way to avoid ending up a thin red smear on a wall somewhere."
Sprout sighed. "I know things aren't ideal right now for anypony, but I suggest going against what they expect of you and following your heart instead. That's exactly what I did."
The very same words he said on the mountain when we first met. I looked down. "I don't think I can turn back though. Not after what I did. That madpony is in charge because of me. I split up friend groups. Zipp and the Queen are in a mess because of what I did. When I've done so much wrong in the world, can I really turn back to the light?"
Sprout pulled me into a hug. "You're not a bad pony, Misty," he said. "We all make mistakes and decisions we regret- enough to last me a lifetime. But you can't let those decisions define you forever. We are so much more than what we have done."
I closed my eyes, trying to hide something. "Who would ever want to love a worthless failure like me?"
"I could."
My eyes went wide. Well, this was going a bit fast.
"You're not just saying that to make me feel better?" I asked.
"No," Sprout replied. "I've spent time thinking, processing it in my heart- and I know the truth now. Ever since we first met I've felt the butterflies in the pit of my stomach. And I can finally put a word to that sensation."
He dropped back to look me in the eyes. "And trust me, I thought I would never find it either. I think you know what I'm thinking, huh?"
I was about to reply, but suddenly I heard music in the distance. "Wait, what's that?"
Sprout sighed. "Seriously? A musical number when I'm about to say possibly the most important thing I've ever said? Looks like we'll have to get this out of the way, but at least the words seem to have loaded in my mind."
The music was telling me I would lead off, so I did.
(when you're with your friends, yeah, you're with your family)
I took a deep breath.
"What is the key to a family? (Oh-oh) What is the key to a home? What is the part that I'm missing? (Oh-oh) To help me find where I belong?"
Sprout then took over the vocals.
"I'm searching, I'm lookin' for something! Something that comes from the heart! (from the heart) 'cause sometimes you need something to lift you up! And help to reignite your spark!"
I then resumed the lead vocals, but something weird then happened.
"Even when it feels so/ confusin' when you're alone!"
I was somehow singing two notes at once during that moment. Sprout then switched onto lead vocals, which was a nice change. He has a surprisingly nice voice.
"You know we got each other to find the way home!"
Sprout glanced over. "Switch lines! I'm on backing vocals!"
'cause I got you and you got me! We're closer than close friends, yeah, we're a family! If you're feeling low or incomplete/ You've always got me, yeah, we're a family!"
Sprout then adopted lead vocals, so I dropped back onto the odd interjection now and then.
Together when there are good times! (Oh-oh) Together when times are tough!" (Times are tough)
I then resumed lead vocals.
"Together when things need celebratin'! And when you think that you've had enough!"
Sprout went onto lead again.
"'cause I know you better than anypony else!"
Sprout then stepped back to let me take over on lead as he dropped back to backing. Had this been a film the camera would be spinning round us now.
"And you know me better than I know myself!"
We then launched back into the chorus, with slightly different words to before.
"'Cause I got you and you got me! 'Cause when you're with your friends/ Yeah, you're with your family! Keep 'em in your heart/ 'Cause that is the key! Oh, when you're with your friends/ Yeah, you're with your family!"
"One more chorus!" Sprout called.
"I got you and you got me! 'cause we aren't just friends/ No, we are family! When you're feeling lonely or incomplete/ Don't forget about your friends, yeah, they're your family!"
"'cause when you're with your friends, yeah, you're with your family!"
And that was utterly true. These guys were my new family. And in Sprout I'd found somepony who understood me better than any other pony I knew.
We trotted back to the house, content in each other's company. If this was love, I wanted it to last forever.
The next day came, and we were mostly put into disguises. I wasn't as I already was a unicorn, but Izzy thought I stuck out too much, so had an idea.
She took me upstairs to her bathroom after the others were done getting fitted into their kit, and with Pipp's help they redid my mane to disguise me. They tried a lot of different colours, but I thought the orange and purple shades worked best for now. I could always wash it out later. I do kinda like the old colours, to be honest.
Once that was done we got on our way to the Crystal Tearooms, and Sunny won against Alphabittle. Quite easily, might I add.
Possibly a little too easily.
Once our disguises were exposed, the jig was up, so to speak. Boy was Alphabittle scary when he was mad. And he was rude to Izzy too!
"There is no deal, spy. The only thing we do with spies is string them up- we have plenty of trees to hang your kind from. Did you really think we'd let you go and report back to your spymaster especially given Fillydelphia recently started rearming?"
They're rearming? No wonder everypony is on such edge.
Just then Pipp removed her disguise. "I'm not a unicorn either. I'm a pegasus, and she and I are friends!"
"You tried that trick at Thunder Bay, but it won't help you now," Alphabittle said. "Now then, you'll have a 30 second headstart-"
"I'm an earth pony too," Sprout said, removing his horn. "I know I don't look like much, but if you let your bigotry consume you then you'll just be miserable."
"I'm an earth pony as well," Hitch added. "And I will not tolerate my friend being spoken to that way."
"And I'm a unicorn!" Izzy said. "But you probably knew that already."
I then stepped forward, shaking my mane a bit to reveal my features. "And I'm also a unicorn, but you probably didn't know that seeing as I'm not from here."
Alphabittle froze, and looked at me with a shocked face. "Can it really be?" he said. "After all this time... my Misty has returned to me?"
The world seemed to grind to a halt as I looked up. My heart pounded in my chest as I noticed all the unicorns staring at me.
What had Alphabittle just said?
No, I'm serious. What had Alphabittle just said?
"After all this time... my Misty has returned to me?"
Those words echoed through my mind as I tried to process what it could all mean. As I stood there, shocked, I finally was able to get my thoughts into motion and hopefully put two and two together.
Alphabittle had referred to me as 'my Misty.' That implied some sort of familial connection, as that sort of term of endearment is often used to refer to ponies or people close to you in a family.
He also looked pretty old. I know that's a strange metric to use for this, but I had to use something as a reference point to figure out what was going on.
My best guess was that, somehow, Alphabittle was my dad.
WHEN WAS THIS ESTABLISHED?
Before I could react, Izzy suddenly spoke. "Ooh! That's who you were referring to when we passed on my way to the train station!"
I glanced about, seeing Sunny seemingly start to speak, but Alphabittle reacted first. He lunged over and pulled me away from the others and into his grasp, seemingly not seeing the absolute confusion on my face.
"And why am I not surprised she's with a group of enemies!" he said, as he pulled me over to him. It seemed he was pretty keen on the whole getting me back things, which is absurd as I barely knew him. "Well, you've lost your little hostage."
I looked to Hitch, who was glancing about in a panic, clearly trying to figure out what to do. I mouthed to him 'help me. Jinxies.'
Hitch spotted this, and nodded. "Uhh, Wing! Feather! Magic! MAYONNAISE!"
The entire room suddenly froze up, all the unicorns standing still as statues before us. It was actually pretty creepy to be honest, just a lifeless room full of nopony moving around at all. It was very spooky.
And then it began.
"Bing!"
"Bong!"
Alphabittle moved to start doing the jinxy moves, which gave me the perfect opportunity to wriggle out of his grasp. I then dashed for the door, tapping Izzy on the shoulder. "Time to move!"
"On your tail!" Izzy replied. "Well, not literally as I'm not standing on your tail, but-"
"Less 4th wall breaking, more running!" Sprout shouted.
As we left, Sunny caught up to us with the crystals in tow. Alphabittle was still shouting in the distance as we cleared the door.
"You'll pay for abducting my daughter!" he bellowed, even as he danced about like a lunatic.
We had to keep going through the forest. No doubt that little stunt had woken the entire forest up, and if we weren't careful we'd end up in the middle of either a rock or a hard place. The locket continued to smack against my chest as I ran along, getting increasingly out of puff.
Izzy then dashed over to me. "What's going on, Misty?"
"When was it established that Alphabittle's my dad?" I replied, still trying to make sense of it all myself. I mean, it was always a mathematical possibility, but it felt like a contrived coincidence at first.
And it raised the question of who the hay my mom was!
Izzy replied, with a casual shrug. Whilst running at the same time. "I dunno. I guess we could discuss it a bit more if we get some time but-"
Hitch, however, interrupted the moment. "Guys? Less discussing the plot, more running! I suspect Alphabittle's gonna have every unicorn in Bridlewood on our tail!"
"There isn't a pony on my tail!" Izzy said, looking behind her. "I doubt it could support the weight of a fully grown pony!"
"Not what he meant!" Sprout said. "Less talking, more running!"
We continued on our way towards what appeared to be a clearing. If we were lucky we could lose them there and then we could head back to Izzy's house to hopefully put the crystals together and get magic back!
That was an enormous sentence.
We hid in a bush near a clearing as suddenly we heard strange voices in the distance.
"Our vehicles are unable to proceed further- the roadway up ahead is too narrow for our tracks. You'll have to continue on hoof, I'm afraid."
We heard two ponies talk for a bit, and then suddenly we saw a face I hadn't seen in a long time.
It was Zipp, alive and well. She was a bit grubby, but she seemed to be physically fine. After her came some soldiers, and then the Queen fell out of a bush and into the clearing.
And then a stallion I didn't recognise arrived. Apparently he was Pipp and Zipp's dad. What is this, national discover your dad day?
Unfortunately, some tanks rolled in from the other side, and Alphabittle was leading them. I tried to hide as he and the Queen got into a very loud shouting match. Seriously, you don't need to speak so loudly! You're right next to each other!
Thankfully, proceedings were soon interrupted by a news bulletin in which that crazy General threatened violence. My heart sank. This mess was my fault. I'd helped that guy seize power by accident.
But what happened next surprised me. Queen Haven asked the unicorns for help to overthrow him! This was an unexpected turn of events, but at least we were working together instead.
We collected our supplies and began the long haul back to Zephyr Heights. Our bags were full, and I kept my feelings about Sprout hidden- if Alphabittle harbored such negative attitudes about unicorns no doubt he despised earth ponies too. And if I was his kid he'd be pretty cross about that.
But I also had a renewed sense of purpose. This set of events gave me a new chance to overcome my mistakes.
