Zipp flew after the Marestream with her hooves around Misty’s waist. She carried the unicorn as far as she could before her wings got too sore for her to continue. She set down Misty who got on her hooves.
“You okay?” Zipp asked as she landed in front of her former enemy.
“Yeah,” the blue unicorn said. “Thanks.”
“Just returning the favor,” Zipp said, all distrust lost. “Come on, let’s get back home.”
Home. Misty thought. Where is that for me?
Zipp began to walk and Misty reluctantly followed, though she couldn’t help but begin to cry. She sobbed, drawing the attention of the Pegasus Princess.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Zipp asked. “I didn’t say something mean, did I?”
“No!” Misty said. “Its just when you mentioned home, I realized… I don’t have one!”
“Oh,” Zipp’s ears fell in embarrassment.
“At least, I don’t anymore,” Misty said through her tears. “Opaline’s castle was the only home I ever knew till now. But she just used me to be free! I stumbled onto the castle when I was just a filly! If I hadn’t done that then she could have been trapped there forever and wouldn’t free now! She’ll come for us sooner or later! She probably already has her army freed or will soon!”
“Don’t worry, Misty!” Zipp said coming to a brief stop and putting one of her silver hoofs on Misty’s shoulder. “We’ll figure something out.”
They looked at the sky and noticed it was nearly sundown, twilight to be exact. The last traces of sunset were on the horizon. Zipp looked at Misty and sighed before pulling the teary-eyed unicorn into a hug.
“I don’t hold anything against you… not anymore,” Zipp said. “If you hadn’t helped us, we wouldn’t have gotten away. Opaline would have killed or brainwashed us and all other ponies wouldn’t have a clue she was out there.”
Misty managed a small smile and returned the hug. It felt nice, this was the first time she’d ever gotten a hug from Zipp, and one of the few she’d gotten in her entire life, most of them had been from Izzy.
“Thanks, Zipp,” Misty said wiping her eyes. “I don’t know where to call home right now… but I know that you and the others are my friends and where I should be.”
“Maybe we can go to Bridlewood soon,” Zipp suggested. “That’s where the unicorns live after all so you had to have been from there originally. The unicorn leader Alphabittle is engaged to my mom, I’m sure he could help you out!”
“That would be amazing,” Misty said. “Maybe I could find my real parents.”
“Maybe,” Zipp said. “Come on. Let’s get to the Brighthouse. I’m sure the others will be happy to let you stay as long as you want.”
Misty nodded. “That’ll probably be until we defeat Opaline. Speaking of which I brought some books from her library on spellcasting with me. She was training me for a few days.”
“You certainly fought her better than any of us could,” Zipp said. “I mean, I landed a blow, but you got two. Even if one of them was a surprise attack.”
Misty smiled. Even if she’d been defeated, she’d put up a good fight. Hopefully with the books she’d stolen… or borrowed since Opaline had actually given her permission to take them, she could grow stronger and help Sunny and Izzy as well as other unicorns use their magic better. With enough of them, perhaps they could overwhelm Opaline’s army. But that would have to wait.
She and Zipp made their way to Maretime Bay and to the Brighthouse. Stepping inside they saw Sunny and the others sitting on the couch, resting. Hitch and Pipp tended to Sparky, rubbing the little dragon’s back and feeding him cooked baby carrots. Izzy and Sunny took the other couch. They looked to the door as they heard it open.
“Oh, you guys made it,” Sunny said in relief. “I was worried when you flew out Zipp. But I’m glad you and Misty are okay.”
“Yeah, well I couldn’t leave her,” Zipp said.
“That was quite an adventure,” Pipp said with a smile before shivering. “Scariest experience ever! Normally I like scary, but when there’s actual danger not so much!”
“I know right!” Izzy agreed.
“I’m just glad Sparky’s back and we all got out of there,” Hitch said. “But we’re going to need to do something about that evil alicorn!”
Suddenly Sunny’s stomach rumbled. She sighed. “We can’t do anything on empty stomachs. I’ll get a big dinner ready!”
None of them had eaten anything today with Sparky missing and them getting captured by Opaline. Sunny and Izzy went into the kitchen and started cooking while Pipp tended to Zipp and Misty’s wounds, spraying them with a healing spray to help with their injuries. She and the others had already treated themselves of the second degree burns that they’d suffered from Opaline’s beams, and Sunny had recovered from her minor back injury. Once she treated her sister and their newest member, Pipp turned to Hitch, putting her hoof on his as she looked at the baby dragon.
“That monster of an alicorn,” Pipp muttered under her breath. “How dare she hurt Sparky like this! And she nearly killed us too!”
“Yeah,” Hitch said. “I guess the first thing I’ll have to charge her with kidnapping and child abuse, for both Sparky and Misty on that one! And attempted murder, oh and she also said she killed Celestia and Luna too, so that adds assassination, treason, attempted theft of magic, and conspiracy that I can think of. Well she’s gonna be sent to prison for a long long time!”
“Might as well throw her in jail forever!” Zipp said. “I mean alicorns can live forever right?”
“They can potentially,” Misty said. “But its not actually being an alicorn. That’s just the start according to Opaline. They have to have immense magic power that delays their aging or stops it altogether.”
“How long then?” Hitch asked.
“I don’t know,” Misty said. “Thousands of years though."
“But If that’s the case though, how did Opaline survive without magic?” Zipp asked.
“It wasn’t easy,” Misty said. “She had to spend an hour mediating and think of something to drive her every day to keep the dormant magic in her body active so she wouldn’t die. Then once magic returned, she didn’t have to do that anymore.”
“Could there be another alicorn out there then?” Sunny asked. “I could use somepony to teach me so that I could stand up to Opaline next time.”
“I don’t know,” Misty shook her head.
…
On her remote island, Flurry Heart lay on her stomach, her eyes closed as she focused on the thing that had kept her going all these centuries. Her love for her family. They appeared in her mind's eye. Her father Shining Armor, her mother Cadance, her Aunt Twilight. All of them had trusted her to look after Equestria.
Her mother had lost the will to live after Shining Armor fell in the final battle against Opaline that had resulted in her aunt sealing away every last bit of her magic. She remembered standing by Twilight’s death bed a few years after her mother Cadance had passed away.
“You were the best niece a pony could hope for,” the elderly alicorn said.
Flurry watched her with teary eyes. Twilight couldn’t call upon any sort of magic to prevent her aging even if she had wanted to. It had all been used up when she created the unity crystals.
“One day your time to guide Equestria will come,” Twilight said. “You must help the next group of heroes to stop Opaline for good.”
“I will Aunt Twilight,” Flurry said.
She stepped back from her aunt as Spike and all of Twilight’s best friends from her youth walked up to her slowly. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.
They’d all been great heroes, and she would continue their legacy. The losses of her family weighed on her even today. But she would see this mission through to the end. Then she could decide what to do afterwards, whether she wanted to keep going or not. She still had her Uncle Spike at least, and now that magic was back she could focus on the love she had for her family for a few minutes instead of an hour every day. Her mane flowed as she thought of them. Even if most of them were gone, she still carried them in her heart.
Tears ran down Flurry’s cheeks in the present day as she gathered her will like Opaline had had to do for all those years. Like the evil alicorn her immortality or delayed aging came from within, for she was the Princess of Love, like her mother before her.
She would keep it going for at least a while longer.
…
Hitch looked at Misty. “Well, since you helped us escape, I don’t think any of us are gonna press charges. You guys agree?” he asked the four mares besides Misty.
“Yeah,” Sunny said.
“I forgive her,” Pipp said.
“I’m still proud to call her a friend!” Izzy agreed.
“Me too,” Zipp said.
“I’m sorry everypony,” Misty said stepping forward. “I can’t undo the past, but I can do what I can to help you defeat Opaline. I did bring these.”
She used her magic to open her saddle bag and drew a few books.
“These contain spells that could help us,” Misty said.
“Wow,” Izzy said. “I’ve never seen an actual spellbook before.”
She browsed through the titles. “Unicorn Royal Guard’s Spellbook, Everything Magical, The Art of Transfiguration, and Advanced Spells for Gifted Unicorns.”
“Well those will probably help you two and Sunny out,” Hitch said. “Though I guess we Earth Ponies still have to figure things out from scratch.”
“That’s why we have the garden,” Sunny said as she as she got out a pot and vegetables to make soup. “We might need even more practice space now since we know Opaline’s out there. We’ll have to tell everypony tomorrow.”
Zipp and Misty rested as they had been walking for a while. Soon they were served vegetable soup at the table. Sunny had made a large batch and all of them ate around three bowls except for Misty who had eaten at Opaline’s during one of the breaks after her friends had been put in the dungeon.
They headed up to the second floor and got a sleeping bag out for Misty. Hitch, meanwhile, returned to the station with Sparky.
“It's not the most comfortable but it will do until we get another bed,” Sunny said.
“Thank you,” Misty said.
She got into the bag and smiled.
“It's actually better than my old bed. Though that was only a soft ball shaped one.”
“Mine’s a hanging bed,” Izzy said gesturing to her own artistic swinging bed that she’d made herself.
“Good night everypony,” Zipp said with a yawn.
“I need some beauty sleep after a long day like that,” Pipp said.
They all climbed into bed. Though privately each of them felt a sense of unease. Afterall, they’d all come close to death today at Opaline’s hooves. It was a rough night.
Hitch locked all the doors to the station. Even though Opaline had gotten what she wanted from Sparky he was afraid she’d come herself now. Plus there was no telling when she would strike. Misty wasn’t working for her anymore but she probably had her army ready.
…
Opaline did have her army back now. Many of them had been brainwashed by her magic, which had worn off after seven hundred years. But she’d easily caught those that tried to flee with her magic, even in her rusty state, and re-brainwashed them. But before she began her game to reconquer Equestria she had to dispose of her dead soldiers.
“Bury all the dead!” she ordered after she had finished greeting her son after his release. “Then return to the castle!”
“Yes, your highness!” the guards said.
They picked up the broken bodies of the handful of Pegasi that had fallen when they turned to stone and died upon the impact. There was a bit of blood here and there as the body parts that had turned to stone had started leaking as soon as they reverted to organic. Among the dead was her Pegasus officer, he’d need replacing.
“Queen Opaline,” a voice addressed her.
She looked and saw a middle-aged black unicorn with a white mane, a silver helmet with her symbol on it, purple armor on his body and an eye patch over one eye. The other shined bright red, on his flank was a cutie mark of a red heart and drops of blood.
“General Bloodheart,” she greeted with a small smile.
This was her right hoof pony, the one who had freed her from her imprisonment all those centuries ago, the father of her son. Not her king as they had never married, but he was second in command of her army as he had the most experience. Though she had been planning to demote him somewhat and make Fire the new second in command since he’d been close to coming of age.
“We must have been frozen for a long time,” the general consort said.
“Seven hundred years,” Opaline said. “Equestria has changed, new magic has surfaced, but the goal remains the same. I will have it all for myself, as was my destiny. But those loyal to me shall keep theirs, as I allowed you to keep yours.”
“Yes, my queen,” the general said bowing. “At last we will have a strong effective ruler… unlike Celestia.”
She smirked. Bloodheart had always felt that Celestia was too soft, forgiving Luna for her treason as Nightmare Moon, and failing multiple times against the monsters back in Twilight Sparkle’s day. This had led him to seek a new leader for Equestria, and he’d freed her from her prison. She’d rewarded him with a night of pleasure that resulted in their… no… her son. The General had known better then to claim to be the father of an alicorn. As such she had been the only one to assume the role of a parent, and Bloodheart merely a mentor to Prince Fireforge until he was ready to lead.
Bloodheart and his Earth Pony Lieutenant followed Queen Opaline and Price Fireforge into the castle. The former two made their way to their chambers while Opaline led her son upstairs, his room was just below hers.
“At last,” Opaline said as she looked at him. “I have you back.”
With them alone she allowed herself to show her motherly side and hugged her son. He hugged her back, wickedness in his eyes to match hers.
“I’m glad to be back, Mother,” he said.
“And now that you are, we will conquer this new Equestria,” Opaline said. “How would you like to lead the first battle in a few days?”
“I would relish it,” Fireforge said as he brandished his warhammer.
…
The next morning, Sunny and the others stood before the Sheriff Station on the announcing stand. They’d set up the emergency message to be sent to both Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood as well. Everypony needed to know what was going on.
“Everypony, I have bad news,” Sunny said. "We know now that a real enemy is out there, and she wants to rule over us all as a tyrant.”
She gestured to Izzy who unveiled a realistic drawing she’d made with Misty of Opaline.
“Her name is Opaline, and she is an alicorn from ancient Equestria,” Sunny said. “She tried to steal magic hundreds of moons and was the reason all pony kind was divided. But now she has returned and wishes to steal all her magic for herself as well as force us to bow to her.”
Many ponies listened to this and muttered in fear.
“We will do our best to stop her!” Hitch said. “But we need your help to do so!”
“She has an army on her side!” Pipp said.
“We were in her castle to the northeast!” Zipp said. “A magic shield kept her trapped there until now! She could come any day.”
“I worked for her myself,” Misty said. “But I realized it was wrong when she betrayed me! I lived under her for as long as I could remember, but these ponies treated me with kindness.”
She gestured to the Mane 5. In Bridlewood, a certain gray unicorn looked at her in awe.
“It can’t be,” Alphabittle said as he watched her on the screen.
“And I will help them stop Opaline,” Misty vowed.
Queen Haven was also watching the broadcast with unease.
“Oh dear this is not good,” she said.
The Pegasus monarch let out a sigh and pulled out her phone to remind her heir of something. “Zipp, you better make sure not to forget about your suitors.”
…
Sure enough, Right Light was on his way to Maretime Bay, as his date with Princess Zipp had been scheduled for tonight. But he’d gotten an interesting letter yesterday in the mail… from somepony claiming to be another queen operating to the northeast.