‘Redeemed’ EXCLUSIVE Preview #1 · 3:19am Jun 13th, 2023
Misty stood in front of her friends with a drawing board containing battle plans behind her. The ponies had all gathered in the living room and were discussing a way to sneak into Opaline’s castle and get Sunny back, as well as Sparky.
None of them had any clue as to whether the baby dragon was still alive or not, but they knew that sooner or later, they were going to find out the truth. The worse case scenario was that either Opaline or Sunny had killed him, but none of them wanted to believe that their closest friend would ever do something like that.
Even Misty had to admit that she was still terrified about going back to Opaline, despite that being her intention earlier in the night. She knew that stealing both Sparky and Sunny back would be a herculean task to accomplish. It all depended on how far the orange earth pony had fallen, and whether not she was willing to come back with them at all. Her outburst had made it clear to them that she was angry at them and no amount of reasoning would make the stubborn mare flip sides that easily after everything that had happened to her.
It would take a lot to bring Sunny back, that was for sure.
Sparky was a different matter altogether. Not only did they not know whether he was still alive, but they also had no idea whether he would even survive the trip home if he had survived Opaline’s wrath. There was a very strong chance that if he was alive, Sparky was most likely drained of all his dragon fire, which was the very essence that made up who he was. He was most likely near death and that was a terrifying prospect.
Despite all of their doubts, however, they knew that it had to be done. Misty knew it deep in her heart that she would never be able to live with herself if they didn’t at least attempt a rescue mission. She knew the risks, but the thought of Opaline taking over and killing her friends was too much to bear. She had to be stopped no matter what.
“Okay,” Misty spoke. “So here’s what I’m thinking we do. We take the Marestream to Opaline’s castle and make it seem like I captured you all and brought you all here just for her. I know Opaline. She has such a high ego that she’ll actually fall for that. Common sense isn’t exactly her strong suit considering the amount of failed plans she has under her belt, most of which involved me.”
Zipp stifled laughter at that last sentence.
“Just one problem,” Hitch pointed out. “What do we do if she doesn’t fall for it? Remember, we’re trying to get both Sparky and Sunny. A couple of us have to fight Sunny and take her down while another one of us gets Sparky. And we have to do it all while Opaline is distracted with her new “prizes.” We can’t be sure that she’ll be distracted that long.”
“That’s where I come into play,” replied Misty, flipping towards a map of the castle. “The first thing I’m going to do is come in and play up the whole ‘I was wrong! Forgive me, Opaline!’ shtick that will cause her to let her guard down for but the briefest of moments. Then, while I go on a monologue on how oh so terribly wrong I was, one of us sneaks upstairs and snatches Sparky. And then…well, I’ll tackle Sunny and knock her out, providing she’s even there, and we’ll haul her back to the Marestream unconscious.”
“You’re gonna TACKLE Sunny?!” Izzy looked flabbergasted at the prospect. “You know, I don’t really see that part of the plan working out too well. After all, she’s an alicorn and we’re…well, you know.”
“Powerless mortals without a hint of combat training or skill,” Pipp finished for her. “Yeah, Misty. We might need to revise the way we take down Sunny. Simply trying to pounce on her punk style isn’t really the smartest move.”
Misty nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you may be right. Any other ideas?”
Izzy raised her hoof. “Ooh ooh!! I got it!!”
“What is it?” Misty asked.
Izzy smirked. “Here’s my plan! We infiltrate the castle, confront Sunny, and offer her a gift and say ‘Hey! Wanna help us defeat Opaline together? Because all it takes is coming back with us to Maretime Bay!’ And then she’ll say, ‘Yes! I’ve been waiting for somepony to ask me! Let’s go!’ Best friends forever!!”
The others looked completely dumbfounded at Izzy’s idea.
Misty shook her head. “No no no, absolutely not. We’re going with my plan then.”
“Yeah, that has gotta be the worst plan of attack I’ve ever heard,” Pipp agreed. “No offense, Izz.”
Izzy looked crestfallen at that. It was obvious that she expected her idea to go down much better with her friends than it ended up doing.
“So I guess we tackle Sunny then,” Zipp said. “This’ll surely be a sight to behold. Pipp, make sure to capture that on your phone.”
Pipp nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, I can already see the amount of impressions this baby’s gonna get. I’ll add a sunglasses filter for you, Misty.”
Misty couldn’t imagine what she would do without her friends by her side to support her. Well, they weren’t really her friends, more so Sunny’s. Even so, they were all ready to stand by her side in battle. They had forgiven her for everything she had done in the past, and for failing to save Sunny from Opaline’s clutches. The only question was whether she could forgive herself and allow herself to be redeemed in her own eyes.
That was something she still struggled with. She still didn’t think that she was ready for that. Perhaps once they had saved Sunny and turned her back to the light, she would finally be willing to let go of her past and move forward with her life the way Zipp wanted her to. Until then, however, she would still feel responsible for it all.
“Once we get Sparky and Sunny back,” Misty spoke to her friends, “We will research a way to make new Crystals. If this Twilight Sparkle pony was able to make them, so can we. We’ll get magic back in no time.”
Hitch sighed with relief. “Well, that’s a relief. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss magic already, despite how unpredictable it can be.”
“So do I, Hitch, so do I. But I can’t believe it, we actually have a plan!” Zipp exclaimed.
Misty nodded in confirmation. “We have a plan. It’s all up to us. The future of Equestria is in our hooves now.”
Later in the night, the ponies began preparing themselves for the inevitable final battle that was about to take place. There was an aura of nervousness and anticipation in the air at the same time as each pony was assigned their roles. Everypony knew that there was no guarantee whether the plan would succeed or not.
Yet Sunny meant too much to all of them. She had been the one to bring them together. She had given all of them a sense of purpose in their lives when they had none. She had given them hope that they could change the world. To them, demonstrating to Sunny how much she meant to them was more important than their own lives.
Misty assisted in the preparations and once everything was loaded onto the Marestream, she went back inside the Brighthouse to collect her thoughts. All of this was still nerve-wracking to her. She didn’t know if she was going to come out alive or even worse, get her friends killed. She never claimed to be an expert strategist as she had demonstrated on several occasions how terrible she was at thinking of plans. Despite this, however, she knew she had to try her best. These ponies had placed their trust in her once again.
And unlike before, she was not going to let them down.
As she was pacing around the empty bedroom, she heard the sounds of hoofsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Izzy come walking up the ramp and stand by the doorway. The unicorn had a troubled expression on her face, which was a cause for alarm.
Misty motioned for her to come in and Izzy did so, stepping over scattered detective gear and other possessions. Once they were face to face, she asked her what was troubling her and whether it was because of what they were about to do.
Izzy shook her head. “No, that’s not it. It’s just that…” She sighed heavily. “I don’t like how you didn’t stand up for me back there when we were planning strategies. Do you really think my idea is that outlandish, Misty?”
“No! I-“
“Tell me the truth.”
Misty looked down in shame. “I…I’m sorry, Izzy. I didn’t mean to make you feel ostracized back there, it’s just that…you know not everything can be solved with a simple lighthearted conversation, right? Especially not the way Sunny is feeling right now. We can’t just talk to her once and expect everything to be okay.”
“And is there any reason why Sunny wouldn’t listen to us?” Izzy asked her. “I was the first non-earth pony friend she ever met. If anypony can talk some sense into her, it’s me. We don’t have to resort to violence.”
“But that’s the thing!” Misty cried. “She won’t listen to us! I still play back that fateful night in my head constantly whenever I’m alone and it haunts me. I remember how angry she was, how she screamed at us while holding the Crystals up in the air as she prepared to drop and shatter them.” She shivered. “Whatever Opaline told her got to her deeply. If we’re going to get her to see reason, it’ll take lots of time. We can’t expect it to be instantaneous.”
Izzy faced her with an angry expression. “Maybe you think that way, Misty, because you haven’t forgiven yourself and you’re projecting. I know Sunny. She can be reasoned with! I know that deep down, she’s just hurting! She simply lost her way, she’s not evil!”
“Maybe she wasn’t then, but she definitely is now!” Misty shot back. “It’s been six months since magic was destroyed, who knows what lies about us Opaline has fed to her by now?! Izzy, I have the responsibility of keeping all of us alive while we go on a rescue mission that could potentially end our lives! I have the job of keeping us all together, and if there’s even a 1% chance that Sunny may not see reason, we have to take it as an absolute certainty!”
Izzy looked at her in an obviously disgusted manner. “No we don’t. If that was the logic we went on, then you wouldn’t even be here tonight!! We wouldn’t’ve forgiven you as you would still be considered a threat. We gave you a chance, Misty. Sometimes all you need is a leap of faith. That’s what we did for you, so why can’t we do it for Sunny?”
“You just have to trust me, Izzy,” Misty told her. “I wasn’t able to save her then, but I can save her now. If we try to negotiate, we’ll just waste time. Just stick to the plan.”
Reluctantly, Izzy nodded, though it was clear she wasn’t happy about it in the slightest. “Fine. But you better be right about this, Misty. I hope you are.”
With that, she turned around and left the bedroom, leaving Misty alone to reflect on what she had just heard, and whether or not her friend was right.
This looks incredible!
5733135
Thanks!!
The question is, are they ready?
5733150
Maybe, maybe not, but they’re doing it anyway, mainly because Misty still blames herself for what happened to Sunny.
5733151
Yeah, you didn’t get what I was going for there
5733152
Oof, I am so sorry for that. What was the intention of your comment?
5733153
If you’ve seen Tangled you’d understand
5733154
I have seen Tangled actually. Unfortunately, it’s been a while. I gotta brush up on the movie to find out what you’re referencing. I’ve definitely binge watched the series more times than I can count though, so there may or may not be a couple of references to it thrown in somewhere in the story.
5733155
And yet you didn’t get my reference to the best song in that series.
You disappoint me. I frowny face at you!
5733156
Oh wait! I think I know what you’re referencing. It’s “Ready As I’ll Ever Be,” right? Love that song! Please tell me I’m right…
Edit: Forgive me if I don’t pick up on references straight away. I’m writing this story at like close to 12 in the morning where I’m at and my brain isn’t the best at that time (which is most likely why I edit certain sections of story content out come morning because I’m thinking ‘What the hay did I just write?’). So yeah, sorry about that.
5733157
Yeah, you’re right.
You get smiley face now.
5733158
Yay!!
This is looking good so far!
A few things I thought of when I read this:
1. Based on a lot of battle-strategising scenarios I've seen before, I have a strong feeling this plan is gonna fall apart very quickly
2. Besides the fact that it manifests when she has a strong desire to help others, isn't Sunny's alicorn magic tied to the Unity Crystals? If so, then would the crystals' destruction affect that at all?
3. I wouldn't mind if Izzy does manage to break through to Sunny, but not in the way she hoped. I think she needs to face the cruel reality that Sunny may have fallen too far
5733165
About Sunny’s alicorn transformations, no, I don’t think the Unity Crystals’ destruction would affect it in any way. The reasoning for this is because the way I see it, the Crystals already gifted her that power-up in the movie. It’s a part of her DNA at this point, so that wouldn’t really be a problem.
Plus, Opaline already has all the magic in Equestria by default now, so who’s to say she didn’t gift Sunny some of that magic to maintain her alicorn status if it really is Crystal dependent?