//------------------------------// // The Talk // Story: The Bell of Bridlewood // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// Oak sat on the couch, sipping at his coffee, continuing to stare down at the old photo, while Alphabittle paced back and fourth between the window and the doorway to the kitchen, occasionally glancing out at the forest outside, the darkness pierced by the crystals protruding from the ground, and down at the picture that was still up on his phone screen. "What do I do, Oak? Has she been up in Zephyr Heights this entire time? Did... Did a pegasus take her all those years ago? Is that why there was no trace of her? No tracks to follow?" Alphabittle asked. These words finally got Oak off the couch, who came between his longtime friend and the window. "That right there, Alphabittle... That right there is why you need to go home and get some sleep before you make any kind of decision. Because the last thing you should do is march up to Haven with that kind of accusation. All that picture proves is that either Misty was in Zephyr Heights for a party last night, or that there's a practical twin out there somewhere." Alphabittle took a deep breath as he paused in his pacing. Oak was right; the caffeine from the coffee was already wearing off, and he wasn't going to do himself any favors by mentally fueling these scenarios that were most certainly hogwash. Oak went and grabbed the scrapbook, closed it, and gave it back to Alphabittle. "Go home. Get some rest. Then go explain to Queen Haven why you cut her evening with you short. Then start to think about how to approach this," Oak told him. Alphabittle took another breath, then nodded, accepting the scrapbook and slid it into his saddlebags. "You're right, Oak. I'll head home. Thank you," he said. "I know this is a potentially life-changing situation, Alphabittle. But you still have to take it one step at a time. Let me know if you need anything," Oak told his friend, walking him to the front door, seeing him out. Breathing in the fresh air, Alphabittle walked home in silence, listening to the crickets, as his mind continued to fly through the possibilities of where his long-lost daughter had been for the past twenty years, or if he and Oak were both seeing things and this mare wasn't Misty at all. His horn lit up, and he pulled out his phone with his magic, and began sending Haven a text. Alphabittle I know you're probably asleep. I want to say again how sorry I am for last night. I don't quite have a handle on the situation yet, but I've gathered myself enough where I can explain things to you, and I'd really rather do it in person. After I get some sleep and a meal, I'll head back up to Zephyr Heights. With that, he went up his front walk, opened his front door, and stepped inside. Before going to his bedroom, he went across the living room over to Izzy's, and Misty's, old bedroom. The mattress was bare, no sheets or pillowcases, but he had wanted to keep it furnished as a guest bedroom in case Izzy had wanted to come home. He could still see Misty's old crib in his mind, that had become Izzy's. A small part of him had always thought it hadn't been a good idea to keep Misty's room as it was after she vanished, but because he did, he was able to take Izzy in, and hit the ground galloping with raising her into the mare she had grown up to become. His vibrating phone pulled him out of his reminiscing. He pulled it out, and read the alert. Haven I don't care what time it is; thank you for letting me know. Come by anytime, and you'll have my attentive and listening ears at the next meal. Love, Haven He felt his throat tighten at the end of the text. Haven had been the reason for his second chance, and because of the invitation to her masquerade, she was also the reason that he had discovered his long lost daughter. Feeling the waves of tiredness continue to crash into him, he sauntered over to his bedroom, placed his phone on the charger, and collapsed onto his bed, hoping to get enough rest to eat a good meal in the morning, and get right on the road back to Zephyr Heights. After six hours of sleep, Alphabittle woke up just before noon, had packed his camping supplies, ate a substantial meal, then left back for Zephyr Heights after making a quick stop at the Crystal Tearoom to make sure everything was still running smoothly in his absence. He got halfway before stopping to make camp for the night. Sleep didn't come easy; the old and new pictures of Misty was constantly on his mind, making him restless. Was she still in Zephyr Heights? Did she go back to Maretime Bay with Izzy and the others? He wasn't sure when he got to sleep, but he awoke the next morning feeling mostly rested. After some haycakes over a campfire, he packed up, and continued on to the pegasus city. Trying his best to make it for lunch, his pace with his camping gear was just a little too slow, and he arrived on the castle grounds just before 2PM, and was greeted by the door guards. "Hello again, Alphabittle," the sergeant greeted. "Greetings, sergeant. I take it Queen Haven is unavailable?" Alphabittle asked. "I'm afraid her afternoon is quite busy. I've been instructed to put you in one of our guest suites, and she can meet you for dinner, sir," the guard told him. "Sounds like a plan to me, sergeant. I've had quite the hike," the unicorn replied. "Castle staff can show you to your room, sir. I hope you enjoy your stay." With that, Alphabittle went into the castle, where the butler escorted him to the closest guest room, and was informed he'd be returned for when dinner was served. He laid down on the bed, found it extremely comfortable, and managed to get a couple more hours of sleep, before he was woken up by a knock at the door. He rolled off of the bed, and went to answer the door, finding Captain Zoom Zephyrwing at his doorway. "Mr. Alphabittle, sir. I'm here to escort you to dinner with Her Majesty Queen Haven," she greeted. Alphabittle nodded, grabbed his phone off of the charger and his scrapbook, before glancing at himself in the mirror and found himself acceptable, before returning to the front door. "Lead the way, Captain," the unicorn said. Zoom lead him up a flight of stairs and down two hallways, before opening a large set of double doors; Haven's private dining room. "Alphabittle Blossomforth, Your Majesty," Zoom announced. Haven looked up from her phone, and immediately got up from her seat at the long table, coming down and meeting Alphabittle halfway, where they embraced each other. "I'm sorry again for how I left the other night," Alphabittle apologized again. "You're here now, that's what matters. Now come and sit down. I'm all ears," Haven said, parting from the embrace and walking him down to the seat adjacent to hers at the head of the table, moments before the servers came out with the first course, a salad. "Dinner is served," the butler announced. "So what happened the other night?" Haven asked, after taking a sip of red wine. Alphabittle cleared his throat, then picked up the scrapbook that he had brought with him off of the table, opening it to the last page, and setting it next to Haven's plate. "I told you about my daughter, how she vanished twenty years ago. That's the last picture I have of her, a few months before that happened," Alphabittle explained. Haven glanced down at the photo, finding the foal sitting in the much younger Alphabittle's lap somewhat familiar. Alphabittle got out his phone, and for what had to be the fiftieth time at least, opened the gallery folder to the picture he saved from Pipp's Ponygram. "This was taken the night of the Manesquerade," Alphabittle said, setting his phone down on the scrapbook page just above the photo. Her reaction was strikingly similar to Oak's. "Oh my hoofness..." Haven commented, her voice just above a whisper as she took another sip of wine. "I raced home to look at old pictures... I had to be absolutely sure... And I'm ashamed at the foolish conclusions that my sleep-deprived mind started jumping to," the unicorn confessed. "What do you mean, Alphie?" Haven asked. "Before reunification, we always warned younger unicorns to not stray out into the open outside the forest, that pegasi would come and snatch them away, or steal their 'sparkle'. I immediately began to wonder if that was the case, and I'm sorry." Haven gave him a compassionate sigh. "Alphie, prejudices aren't going to vanish completely that fast, and in the state you were in, I'm not surprised that you started jumping to reasoning that you were told in your youth," she told him. "So she hasn't been living here?" Alphabittle asked, as he closed the scrapbook and returned his phone next to his plate of salad greens. Haven shook her head. "She arrived on the Marestream along with Zipp, Pipp, and the rest of their friends. I hadn't seen her before that night," Haven said. Alphabittle didn't know what to say, so he took a few bites of salad, and a few drinks of wine, until Haven decided to break the silence. "What are you going to do?" she asked him. "I've been going over and over that in my head for two days. I suppose I should talk to Izzy and the others, see what they know about her... But..." Alphabittle paused, and Haven saw him shudder for a moment. "...But what if she doesn't remember me?" Alphabittle asked, his voice quivering slightly. Haven took a breath. "I'll be the one to rip this band-aid off. She probably won't, Alphie. Realistically, do you remember anything from when you were that young? I know I sure don't. Core memories rarely form when foals are that young," Haven reasoned. Alphabittle felt his chest squeeze around his heart for a moment, but realized that Haven was most likely right. "So... So is this the right thing to do? Do I just... Come back into her life all of a sudden? After all this time?" he asked. "It's certainly worth a try. Even if she doesn't remember you, you're her family, and there's absolutely no reason that the two of you shouldn't be able to try and start again. Here's what we're going to do, Alphie. You and I are going to enjoy this amazing dinner, you're going to return to your room to get as good a night's sleep as you can, then you're going to go to Maretime Bay and talk with Sunny and the others to see what they know, and see if you can meet her." Alphabittle downed the last of his first glass of wine, realizing that he hadn't really had a good head on his shoulders for the past two days, ever since he had spotted Misty in that dance, and Haven's clear and level-headed words were bringing him some much needed comfort at the moment. "Thanks, Haven. I'll do just that."