Day 8 of the spell:
The trio of Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis remained hidden in Equestria. They were cold, and alone, as they made a settlement out of a little cave inlet.
Cozy Glow wrapped herself in a blanket, and put her hooves up to a fire pit for warmth. Tirek sat and kept Cozy in check, while Chrysalis paced wondering what her next course of action would be.
"This place sucks." Cozy said, shivering. "Sure all the towns and everything seem so great and advanced, but the wilderness is just as foreboding as it's always been."
"For once we're in agreement. New Equestria isn't all it's cracked up to be." Chrysalis said.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I miss old Equestria. And dare I say, I miss dopey Twilight and her dumb friends." Cozy said. "I miss pitting ourselves against them, but they didn't want to make it fun. Twilight just hated us. And not in a fun way. In a way that... she just wanted us gone... and she got what she wanted. Hmm. I wonder how Equestria was without us? Heh, clearly a disaster based all of this. But you know... *sigh* just think about all the evil schemes we could've come up with, and used against Twilight. All the ways she would've stopped us. But nope... we were best left in stone, and... missed out on Equestria..."
After Cozy's long winded speech, there was a strong silence in the cave. The only noise was the sizzling of the fire.
"Well... what do you suppose we do now? That dark patch in the sky grows bigger by the day." Tirek asked.
"Why should we do anything?!" Chrysalis asked back.
"Because if that patch in the sky goes boom, there may not be an Equestria for any of our kingdoms." Cozy said.
"So be it! It'll all be worth it to hear the screams of all the ponies as they're evaporated right before their own eyes!" Chrysalis exclaimed.
"But what are you going to do after you're evaporated too?" Tirek asked.
"Stop raining on my joy with your reality checks! Let me live out my fantasy and imagine those ponies suffering." Chrysalis said.
"How about you get your head out of the clouds and do something useful!" Cozy exclaimed.
"Yeah well how about-" Chrysalis started.
"You listen here-" Cozy said.
"I'm sick and tired of you two-" Tirek started.
The trio yelled and argued back and forth with each other. When suddenly, their bickering was interrupted by one familiar pegasus.
*ahem*
"HMM?!"
The three silenced themselves when they heard the voice of somepony else. But who could it be?
"Who goes there?!" Chrysalis exclaimed.
They looked to the entrance of the cave and saw a familiar pink pegasus.
"What is up my fellow Pippsqueaks? Long time no see. How have you all been?" Pipp asked.
It was Pipp Petals, alone. Chrysalis hissed and snarled at Pipp. This scared her. But she took a deep breath and stowed her fear.
"I'm not leaving 'til I get what I came here for." Pipp said.
"Hmph." Chrysalis got pouty and left Pipp alone.
"What do you want?" Cozy asked, with a closed attitude.
"Please, I need your help. My friends have been captured, and... I can't help them by myself." Pipp said.
"The new gang of heroines? They're in trouble and you want us to help? Forget about it." Chrysalis said.
"Please, if we don't unite, and save Sunny Starscout, that big dark spell is going to continue to grow, and pretty soon something really bad is going to happen." Pipp said.
"You want us to confront that insane alicorn?" Tirek asked.
"No thanks. Give her credit for one thing, she's terrifying. Just the sight of her with all that magic filled me with fear, and probably sliced my life expectancy in half." Cozy said.
"If we're destined to all perish at the hands of that spell, I'll happily die having not seen that hideous alicorn again." Chrysalis said.
Pipp paused for a moment. She needed to approach this from an angle that would get their attention. But how does one grab the attention of three villains?
"What? You three are scared of her? Come on, you guys are like the baddest bunch old Equestria ever knew. Surely, this alicorn is a pushover compared to you three at your best." Pipp said.
"We were. When I had nearly taken over Equestria, I had so much magic. Just thinking about it makes me drool..." Tirek shook his head to bring himself back. "Sure, if it were an even playing field, there's no doubt I could best that evil alicorn, but she's got all the power, and we have nothing. I'm not ashamed to admit we're not much match for anyone without any magic." Tirek said.
"You guys? Sure. But me? My sharp wits and super intellect make me an unbeatable opponent, even without any magic." Cozy said, confidently.
"Sure..." Chrysalis and Tirek said, letting out a collective groan.
"The only magic here came from that annoying little dragon, and those magic crystals. We walked right into her scheme. She wanted us to take what little magic she had, and the dragon, so that we would do battle against you and your friends. And when the moment was right, she ended up reaping in the reward and took all the magic from those weird crystals of yours." Tirek said.
"The only magic we couldn't get our hooves on was Sunny's weird alicorn powers. I would've loved to have stolen that and have been whatever she was." Cozy said.
Pipp then realized something. Opaline may have had all the magic, but there was a chance that Sunny still had her alicorn magic.
Her friend was being held prisoner in the castle, and the growing strength of the spell was an indication that Sunny was not able to stop Opaline. If all of her friends could get into that castle and unite hoof to heart with Sunny, then it might be checkmate for Opaline and her plan. But what about Sprout? If the trio weren't interested in confronting Opaline, perhaps Sprout might be more their speed.
"You know, if you're too afraid of Opaline to want to fight her-" Pipp said.
"I never said I was afraid of her! I just... couldn't care less to try to do anything." Chrysalis said, interrupting Pipp.
"Well, regardless, I don't think I'll need your help to take on Opaline. I think my friends and I can take care of her." Pipp said, confidently.
"Hmph. Cocky pegasus." Tirek said.
"So then you don't need us then? Alright then get out of here, please." Cozy asked.
"Well, hold on to your hooves. Just because my friends and I can handle that alicorn, doesn't mean there aren't other fish to fry." Pipp said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tirek asked.
"You're serving fish?" Chrysalis asked.
"How about you three try your hands at somepony your own size?" Pipp asked.
"Like who?" Cozy asked.
"Sprout Cloverfield has my friends imprisoned in his factory. I'm not able to get in there myself, so I need some creatures just as dastardly as him to outsmart him, and set my friends free. Once we're reunited, I believe that we'll unite hoof to heart, and put an end to Opaline and her spell. But you guys have to help reunite me with my friends to make any of that possible." Pipp said.
"Bold of you to assume we care." Chrysalis said.
"You don't have to do it for me. Think about it more like an exercise. Wouldn't it be great to get the band back together,
and put a stop to a little sad mommy boy's plan?" Pipp asked.
"Mommy's boy? Well he can't be that challenging." Tirek said.
"I do enjoy the opportunity to overthrow somepony in charge." Cozy said.
"I'm still skeptical. Nothing has worked out for us, so I'd rather not have any involvement with any of this. Not you, your friends, or that alicorn." Chrysalis said.
Chrysalis crossed her front limbs, closed her eyes, and turned her head away from everyone else.
"So what about you two?" Pipp asked.
Cozy peered her large red eyes around the cave. She looked down to her left, then down to her right. She seemed to have something big on her mind.
"I still just don't get it. Why?" Cozy asked.
"I explained why. This is important. The fate of Equestria could come down to you guys helping me save my friends."
"No, not that. Why come to us at all? Besides our tremendous capabilities... you really trust us to help you?" Cozy asked.
Pipp nodded affirmatively.
"But I misused your trust once already. I'm shocked you aren't more upset." Cozy said.
Pipp nodded her head side to side, signifying that she wasn't upset.
"But... so then, if things hadn't been interrupted by that alicorn, what do you suppose Sunny would've said to us after our defeat?" Cozy asked.
Pipp thought long and hard. Not just about the question, but why Cozy would ask this question to begin with. And then she began to figure her out.
"She wouldn't have turned you to stone and left you there for a generation. That much I'm certain of." Pipp said.
*sniff* "You stupid ignorant poines... *sob* don't you know I'm evil? Why would anypony want to help us?" Cozy said, weeping. "I am evil, that's why they turned me to stone... *sob* and left me there to rot for a whole generation! Right? It just makes sense. Why else would we deserve... to spend so long in..."
"I don't know what reason they had for doing the things they did. But things are different now. And so long as you show signs of wanting to change, I'm for it." Pipp said.
"So... *sniff* fine. I'll help you. Only so I can give Sunny a piece of my mind. Tirek?" Cozy said.
"Fine. I suppose the two of us could still pull this off." Tirek said.
"Maybe, but it just wouldn't be the same without all of us." Cozy said.
Chrysalis opened one of her eyes, and observed Pipp, Cozy, and Tirek all giving an intense stare at Chrysalis.
"Okay, okay! I'll help your friends, just don't stare at me like that again." Chrysalis said.
"Deal." Pipp said.
"Woohoo! Rebellion time!" Cozy exclaimed, joyfully.
"It's not like there's much going on anywhere else..." Chrysalis said under her breath.
"Okay. Is this really happening? We're a team now? Cool. What do we do? Do we put our hooves in the middle and yell 'go team' or or how about-" Pipp said.
"How about you just lead the way to this mommy's boy, and we'll do the rest." Tirek said.
"It's a done deal." Pipp said, grinning.
Meanwhile, at Opaline's castle, the ancient tome was scribbling away as it continued to write the outline for Opaline's new reality. The further along it was, the more powerful the spell overhead grew. It was only a matter of days now until it reached the end of the book, and the spell would reach full power.
Sunny Starscout felt all but worthless, as she could not muster her alicorn strength to stand up to Opaline, nor could she conceive of doing anything to stop the spell.
Opaline attempted to mellow down and relax in her throne, but that was exceedingly difficult these days. She continued to feel more pain as Twilight's magic crept and wore her out the longer she held it. She took deep breaths, and held it in, in an attempt to suppress the magic, and keep it from hurting her more.
And then there was Misty, who wasn't doing a ton of note. She failed to cheer up Sunny, and she failed to impress Opaline. She was kind of on her own. But it was becoming quite apparent that time was limited. The spell was growing quite intense. The blemish in the sky grew exponentially larger in the sky each day. The tome itself was so powerful, the inside of the library was flooded with dark magic, it was difficult to even enter.
Opaline looked out the window of her castle, and witnessed the power of the dastardly spell she'd created. It was one of the only things that brought her pleasure, as she dealt with the immense pain of containing the magic.
"There isn't anything any of those foolish ponies can do to stop my plan! It is too late. Too close to completion! Once the book is fully written, finally a new Equestria will be all mine! Mine! MU-AH-HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!"
Opaline indulged herself in a great big evil laugh.
"Um. Opaline?" Misty said.
"What is it, Misty? Can't you see I'm leveling up my evil laugh?!" Opaline said.
"It's just... *gulp* things are going to change a lot after that spell is complete, right?" Misty asked.
"Indeed. What is your point, Misty?" Opaline asked.
Misty gulped, but nevertheless spoke to Opaline.
"There is going to be an after the spell, right?" Misty asked.
"In a way... I suppose technically." Opaline said in a disinterested tone.
"With your plan generations in the making finally about to be complete, um, I was wondering..." Misty said, with nervousness.
"Get on with it, Misty, spit it out! What do you want!?" Opaline snarled.
Misty quivered beneath Opaline.
"Do you think it's time to bestow upon me my cutie mark?" Misty asked, shivering.
Opaline and Sunny all looked at Misty with a look of amazement, and surprise.
"You know what. I do suppose you are right." Opaline said. "With only so much time left, and all things considered, I can't think of a better time than now to give you your cutie mark."
Misty was shocked, and happily surprised.
"Thank you, Opaline. You don't know how long I've wanted this." Misty said, ecstatically.
"I do know how long you've wanted this. You've wanted a cutie mark ever since I took... you've wanted a cutie mark ever since you learned what a cutie mark was, and wondered why you didn't have one." Opaline said.
"Do you still want a cutie mark?" Opaline asked.
"Yes! Yes I do! More than anything! It feels like my whole life has been leading up to this moment! Oh, I wonder what it's going to look like! Maybe a butterfly, or or, maybe a-"
"Silence, Misty. I must concentrate." Opaline said.
"Understandable, proceed." Misty said.
Opaline closed her eyes, and lit up her horn. Sunny watched in amazement as things unfolded. Opaline put her horn to Misty's flank, and-
When the glowing spell stopped, Misty and Sunny were stunned at what they saw. Nothing.
"Wha? Huh? W-Where's my cutie mark?" Misty asked, concerned.
"Huh, would you look at that. I'm so sorry, Misty. I gave it all I could, but it seems you simply aren't ready for your cutie mark still." Opaline said.
Misty started to tear up intensely.
"But I devoted my life to you! What more could I have done for you?" Misty said, crying.
"You could've been a competent assistant for one." Opaline answered, deadpan.
*gasp*
"What do you know about cutie marks!? You didn't earn yours YOU STOLE IT!!" Misty exclaimed.
Sunny gasped, shocked at Misty's backbone.
"Misty, that's enough!" Opaline shouted. "I don't want to hear any more backtalk!"
"I devoted everything to you! And if this is my reward, a big fat nothing! Then maybe I'll... I'll... I'll..." Misty couldn't get out another word. Her face was drowning in tears, and troubled emotions.
"You'll what? Drown me with tears?" Opaline mocked.
Misty gasped loudly, and then ran out of the throne room crying.
"Misty!? Misty!!" Opaline exclaimed.
Opaline ran after Misty.
Opaline made it to Misty's room, but there was nopony besides her inside. Just an open window, and Misty's necklace broken on the ground.
Opaline heard the faint sounds of hoofsteps running away from the castle outside.
"Hmph. She could've just taken the stairs. Didn't have to exit through the window like that." Opaline said.
Opaline was disinterested in Misty from this point. Although she did notice Misty's necklace cracked on the floor. She must've either thrown it, or stepped on it.
"Hmm. Her communicator. How she's been relaying to me.
Opaline used her magic on the mirror, and even though it was cracked, it still seemed to function.
A cloud came out from the mirror, and formed a face. She was expecting to see a copy of herself. But what she actually saw terrified her. The cloud formed an apparition of a familiar pony princess.
"AAHH!!" Opaline screamed.
Opaline swiftly flung the mirror at the wall and shattered it. The apparition disappeared. Opaline breathed uneasy, as she tried to catch her breath, and bounce back from her terrifying experience.
Opaline reentered the throne room to greet sad Sunny, leaning against Opaline's throne.
"Not a huge loss. At least now it's just you and me, Sunny. Alicorn and alicorn. Or at least, you have potential to be an alicorn. Hmm. I wonder if you'll get to shine your alicorn powers before the spell completes." Opaline said.
Sunny turned her head away from Opaline. She'd hardly said much, but now she really didn't feel like saying a word to Opaline after how she treated Misty. Even so, Opaline sat on her throne, and loomed over Sunny.
"There's still time to change things, Sunny. I can make you the lead pony of my new Equestria, while I serve the role as mentor." Opaline said. "What do you say?"
Sunny spat in Opaline's face out of defiance.
"Ugh! Grrr, fine!! Suit yourself! I'll be the lead pony! And you'll be a smoldering pile of dust if you're lucky!! Along with the rest of your pathetic friends!!!" Opaline exclaimed.
Opaline looked outside, and noted how dark the sky was because of her spell.
"In just two short days time, my plan a generation in the making will finally be fulfilled!" she said.