The Crystal Brighthouse had largely fallen silent as Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp had quickly gathered around Misty to stare down at the book that had been placed in front of her on the table, and one by one, their wide-eyed expressions betrayed their thoughts.
"Do... Do you know what this means, Misty?" Alphabittle heard Izzy whisper into the other unicorn's ear.
Misty forced herself to tear her gaze away from the photo in the book to glance at Izzy inquisitively.
"It means WE'RE STEP-SISTERS!!!" Izzy squeed before throwing her forelegs around Misty in an excited hug. "That is so awesomely amazing!"
Misty managed a small smile as she returned the hug as best she could under the current squeezing conditions, before returning her attention to the photograph in the book.
The filly in the old picture was her, no doubt.
"This is... This is so unexpected. I'm sorry to say that I don't remember much of anything before Opaline," she confessed.
"Queen Haven warned me that that would most likely be the case, Misty. It's alright," Alphabittle reassured her. "What's important is that I finally found you. But, who is this Opaline?"
"All I remember is being lost. She found me, and brought me to her castle. She was all I had ever known, u-until now that is," Misty answered.
"Opaline Arcana is an ancient alicorn, trying to usurp all the magic in Equestria for her own whims. She had to have gotten close to doing that, because what we know is Princess Twilight Sparkle put the magic of Equestria into the unity crystals and hid them away as ponykind began to splinter apart," Sunny explained. "She had been using Misty to spy on us, but I'm proud to say that she's seen the light, and finally gotten her cutie mark."
Misty smiled bashfully at the compliment.
"Could I see it?" Alphabittle asked.
"Absolutely," Misty answered immediately, all too eager to show off what she had yearned for for years and years. She stood up and turned around, showing him the purple and orange butterfly.
"And you just got that today?" Alphabittle asked.
"About two hours ago!" Izzy interjected. "My step-sister here has quite a bit of catching up to do. Eeee, I just love saying that!" Izzy said, unable to keep the excitement in again.
Misty lit her horn up, and carefully picked up the book with her magic, closed it, and floated it back over to Alphabittle.
"So... Now what?" Misty asked as Alphabittle accepted the book and put it back into his saddlebags.
"That's... Certainly the question now, isn't it?" Alphabittle began, as he fastened his saddlebag flap closed. "I didn't come here to interrupt whatever you've built here with your friends, Misty. I just wanted you to know that you have a family, and there will always be a place for you in Bridlewood. It would be an honor to get to know you again after all this time."
Misty was clearly touched.
"Thank you, but I'm not sure yet what kind of spare time I'll have. Part of me thinks the best decision would be to return to Opaline, to keep an eye on her," Misty answered.
Alphabittle found the answer somewhat perplexing, and he didn't want to seem rude.
"Why would you do that?" He asked.
"She doesn't know I've defected. If I can hide my cutie mark, I can keep my friends appraised of what she's up to," Misty told him.
Sunny was the first to discern that something was off from the expression on Alphabittle's face.
"We know it's risky, Alphabittle, but—"
"Risky? She'd be going back to the monster that probably took her from me in the first place! So many things could go wrong, if this Opaline so much as suspects that..."
Alphabittle took a breath, desperately not wanting to lose his temper.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, it just doesn't make sense to me. I told myself that I wouldn't come here to step on any hooves... Do what you think is best, Misty. All I want is to know that you're safe."
With that, Alphabittle got up from his seat at the table, and walked to the door, mumbling softly beneath a whisper as he went for the door, pushed them open, and stepped outside. He began trotting down the hill towards the beach, leaving the occupants of the Brighthouse just a little confused at the unicorn's abrupt visit that had ended even more abruptly...