“Wait wait wait. So you’re telling me that there really is another alicorn out there that you’ve defeated in the past and now she’s come back for revenge?” Sunny asks Twilight who frowns and nods. Twilight had explained what her short experience and knowledge of Opaline was, which definitely wasn’t much, considering she had only fought Opaline once and had barely won. This was due to the fact that they were both equal in power but in skill, Opaline definitely exceeded Twilight. Opaline was also much more experienced and ruthless than Twilight.
“Opaline was actually distracting me for her spell to start building up enough power to spread across entire timelines. I had to stop her by… taking a trick out of Midnight's playbook… and stealing her magic… or at least most of it. I’m guessing she used what was left of it to escape and get as far away from the spell as possible… almost like she knew me and my friends would find away to lessen the effects of it.” Twilight explains, wondering if that was actually the case. She then turns to Sunny and her friends as they all continue walking through Canterlot. “Since Opaline hadn’t made a single move while or after Midnight was defeated, I assumed that she wouldn’t ever be a problem again… but clearly I was wrong.” Twilight says regretfully and Sunny could tell that Twilight felt like this was all her fault.
Sunny speeds up a little to catch up to her before putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, causing Twilight to look down at her and smile a bit. Sunny smiles back a bit before that smile slowly shifts into a frown. “Twilight… What do you think would happen… if Opaline tried using Midnight's magic to restore her powers?” Sunny asks and after thinking about it for a bit, Twilight looks at her with a dark look on her face.
“Midnight's magic is unpredictable and even more so dangerous and violent. For all Opaline knows, trying to absorb Midnight's magic could do any number of unknown horrifying things to her, like destroy her from the inside out, rip her apart- literally, turn her into another Midnight physically and mentally, cause HER to be absorbed instead of the magic… it goes on and on and gets worse as it does.” Twilight explains, sending shivers through everyone’s spines, even her own at the many thoughts of what the rogue magic could do to someone stupid enough or not nearly strong enough to try and use it for themselves. It’s dangerous, deadly, and extremely unpredictable just like the pony it belonged to. “But I doubt Opaline doesn’t already know that, she’s incredibly smart and not to be underestimated.”
“Well… that’s pretty much the answer I was expecting…” Sunny says, slightly relieved that no one could use Midnight's magic except for her but horrified to hear about what could happen to anyone who tried. It was either death or a fate much worse than that. Either way, you couldn’t win. “So at least we know why she wouldn’t use it, but we still don’t know why she stole it or had one of those unicorns steal it to begin with.” Sunny says, groaning in frustration. Zipp sighs before walking forward to catch up with the two princesses.
“Or why she had them attack us at the bridge. So many questions but not enough answers.” Zipp says, sounding just as frustrated as Sunny.
“We can figure all that out later… right now, you all should rest. We have a lot more to discuss.” Twilight suggests, stopping and turning to the young ponies following her. They all nod before Sunny seems to remember something.
“We will but first, there’s somepony we want you to meet.” Sunny says, sounding a bit more enthusiastic than she did just a few moments ago which peaks her interest. Seeing this, Sunny and the others lead Twilight to where everyone else who was with them on the train was currently recovering from the horrifying experience. Sunny spots the two ponies they’re looking for and turns Twilight’s attention to them. Twilight immediately recognizes Solaris but doesn’t recognize the alicorn next to her.
The alicorn seems to recognize her though when they walk closer and she sees Twilight looking right at her. They both stand up and turn to face them but the alicorn is slightly shaking.
“Ummm… hello there. It’s nice to meet you. I’m-“ Twilight starts to say until she’s cut off by the alicorn speaking while stammering.
“I-I know who you are… Hello again Twilight. I-It's been a while, huh?” She asks and Twilight looks confused but gets the feeling that this pony is somepony she’s not only met before, but one she’s been at odds with.
“Who are you…? Have we met before?” Twilight asks and the alicorn nods before holding a hand in front of herself and suddenly a small multicolored flame comes from it for a few seconds and Twilight goes wide-eyed as she realizes who she’s talking to.
“Sky Blazer…? But… how are you… when did…?” Twilight tries to ask, starting to become defensive until Sky Blazer starts to explain.
“After you and your friends opened that portal, I started to regain control as I got sucked into it and over the years, I had been constantly fighting to keep it… until one day, I felt my life slowly start to fade away… I could sense that something had happened to Midnight… or at least the dark side of me could. Overtime, we both slowly got weaker until another portal opened and I got sucked out and when I woke up… Solaris, Sunny, and the others were all standing around me.” Sky Blazer explains, looking around at the others as she says the last part.
“So… you’re back to the way you were before… before you got your powers and memories back?” Twilight asks and Sky Blazer nods, causing Twilight to slowly smile before crouching down and hugging her and she looks shocked before hugging back. This earns smiles from Sunny and the others, even Solaris. “Everyone’s gonna be so thrilled to hear that.” Twilight says and Sky Blazer hesitates before nodding and replying with a “maybe”.
“Don’t worry, once everyone sees you’re good again, they definitely will be.” Pipp says and Sky smiles at her and the others before turning to Twilight and nodding. Twilight smiles at that before addressing all of them.
“For now, rest and eat. You’ve all come a long way, you’ve earned a break.” Twilight says and everyone sighs in relief except Zipp, who is reluctant to do so.
“Whoa whoa whoa, we can’t just rest like nothing’s happened. There’s still so much we don’t understand. For example, the Unicorn who opened the portal back there also attacked Canterlogic, killed and injured innocent ponies, and stole dangerous, uncontrollable magic and we don’t know why. Plus, this new alicorn has yet to make a move of her own but who’s to say she hasn’t already made one?” Zipp says and everyone looks a bit conflicted until Sunny sighs and turns to her.
“Zipp, we just got our flanks handed to us by three or four of, possibly, the deadliest mares in the world besides this new alicorn. Innocent creatures almost died and we need to be prepared for whatever they do next… but we can’t do that if we don’t take a moment to recover. Do you understand? Investigating can wait. Until we’re back up to full strength, we have to recuperate from this mess.” Sunny says and Zipp looks shocked and kinda hurt. On one hand, she understands but on the other, she thinks Sunny is the one who doesn’t understand, especially when it comes to what she just said.
“Full strength… full strength? Sunny, we haven’t even reached the true peak of our powers and you always hold back. You could literally blow a hole through an entire city in seconds or lift one up if you wanted to but you don’t. You severely limit yourself. Even when you were angry at that Earth Pony, you were still pulling your punches, I could tell. If you hadn’t, she would’ve been obliterated at the first punch.” Zipp says, causing Sunny to tense up as everyone turns their attention to her, especially Twilight. She knew she had sensed new magic within Sunny, potentially dark magic, but she had hoped she might have been wrong.
“I hold back because I have to! Because if I just accept that I could kill a normal pony with a flick of my hand, if I just suddenly decided to stop holding back… I’d never go back to that. And that’s not something I want. Midnight saw what she could do, and she decided not to hold back anything at all… and I refuse to live like she did.” Sunny snaps, causing everyone to flinch before she walks off angrily and Zipp looks after her before groaning in annoyance and walking in the opposite direction. Everyone looks after them both before Twilight sighs, hoping that soon they would cool off and fix things… before it was too late.
Flashback
As Opaline laid awake in her bed, desperately trying to think of ways to restore the rest of her magic, she’s brought out of her thoughts when she hears a knock at the door to her bedroom. She groans in annoyance, knowing who it is before getting up, walking to the door and opening it, looking down to see a crying and shaking Misty standing there with her favorite toy, a butterfly plushie. It slightly hurts Opaline's heart to see how scared and upset Misty is as it reminds her of the first day she found her.
“Misty, what are you doing up so late? Go back to bed.” Opaline asks, although she already knew the answer. After all, ever since that day, Misty had been having nightmares about the bear that had killed her parents. Opaline almost smiles at the memory of killing it.
“Can… can I sleep with you…? I don’t like sleeping by myself…” Misty says in a shaky voice and Opaline is about to decline until Misty looks up at her with pleading, tear-filled eyes. “Please momma…?” Misty asks and Opaline has to admit that on one hand it feels weird to be called momma, but on the other… it makes her become a little bit more loving, caring and compassionate towards Misty… her little filly that saved her life.
Opaline sighs a bit before opening the door a bit more, allowing her to come in before she closes it and walks back over to her bed. She sits down on the side of it and picks Misty up when she’s close enough then puts her on the other side. She then moves the covers up to cover Misty’s body and make sure she’s comfortable.
“There you go, all better?” Opaline asks, slightly cringing at how tinder her voice was right then. After Misty nods, Opaline smiles and gets ready to cover herself until she hears Misty speak.
“What’s that?” She asks, pointing towards her thigh and Opaline looks down to see her cutie mark was revealed.
“That, my little pony, is a cutie mark… it’s what a pony gets when they discover what’s special about them.” Opaline explains and Misty looks amazed by hers, looking at it with wonder and amazement. “It is amazing, isn’t it? I got mine the day I discovered that I was an alicorn… of fire.” She continues, and to emphasize her point, she holds up one hand slightly and just barely manages to spark a flame from it. Misty jumps a bit, letting out a surprised squeak and Opaline chuckles a bit. “You don’t have to be afraid Misty… my magic is… very limited now… thanks to a meddling pony by the name of Twilight Sparkle.” Opaline says as anger creeps into her voice.
“Why would she do that…? That’s so mean that she would take away your powers like that.” Misty says and Opaline sighs but then smiles a bit, laying beside Misty.
“It is mean… but let me tell you a story.” Opaline says and Misty hugs her plushie a bit more as she cuddles up into Opaline's side and Opaline smiles and wraps a wing around her.
“If I fall asleep… promise that you’ll finish it tomorrow… or whenever you get a chance?” She asks and Opaline hesitates before looking at her and nodding.
“Of course… Now… let’s begin.” Opaline says as she starts to think about her past. “There once was a young alicorn, one of power, of strength, and great beauty. She was growing up in the kingdom of Skyros which is now referred to as Canterlot. It was a city of many Alicorns, all with different talents, skills, and ideas. Every single one was unique in their own ways… but two of them stuck out more than the rest. One was an alicorn of the sun… the younger one was an alicorn of the moon. They had a big sister who was denied the role of the sun and instead became an alicorn of shadows.” Opaline explains, thinking back to her days in Skyros, constantly being overlooked by Astelle, Celestia, and Luna.
“The main young alicorn was an alicorn of fire… just like me. But… apparently that wasn’t good enough for the 'golden ponies' who thought they were so great because they had the whole sun and moon thing going for them. The fire alicorn vowed to show them she was the wrong pony to push around… then one day… a new alicorn appeared. She was far older, scarier, and more powerful. She rolled through the city like a plague, taking down anyone who crossed her path… and the alicorn of shadows was helping her to get back at the sun and moon ones. Unfortunately, that didn’t end so well for them… but the damage had been done. After they were beaten… the only ones left were the Fire, Sun, and Moon Alicorns.” Opaline continues, remembering how Midnight had showed up, destroyed most of Skyros, and slaughtered every alicorn there except her, Astelle, Celestia, and Luna. The only reason she survived was because Midnight hadn’t seen her or sensed her.
“None of them were originally Alicorns at birth… they were made Alicorns. Transformed from normal ponies into goddesses. While the Sun and Moon one thought to use their powers in the service of others to keep their praise, the fire one was still. Being. Left. Out. So she decided to take all the magic in Equestria for herself, to finally fit in and be just as strong as them if not stronger. But… they stopped her and instead of… giving her another chance or just finishing her off… they decided to further her suffering by locking her away in a prison deep inside a mountain. For many…many years… she was alone… waiting… until finally someone freed her but it was the same alicorn that had nearly ended their kind. She had a plan… one that would not only help her get revenge, but it would also-“ Opaline continues until she’s cut off by the sound of Misty’s adorable snoring.
She smiles down at the little filly before pulling her a little closer and laying her own head down. “Goodnight, my little filly. Sleep well.” Opaline says before slowly drifting off to sleep while still cuddling Misty.
Present Day
As Misty remembers that day, she can’t help but wonder why she had never asked Opaline to finish that story for her. Maybe it was because that night she had dreamt about getting her cutie mark, being special. After that, she just wanted to focus on getting it by any means necessary… and look where that got her. Misty decides that now is as good a time as any to ask for the rest of the story.
Sure Opaline might not tell her but it was worth a shot. She gets out of her bed and walks out of her room, making her way through the seemingly endless hallways of the castle. Once she turns one corner, she bumps into someone massive. She shakes her head and looks up to see the face of Ragnar, who seems to be snarling slightly. She gulps silently and starts backing up.
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t see you coming…”Misty says but he just tilts his head before huffing and walking past her, just narrowly avoiding bumping into her. She stares after him for a bit before releasing the breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding. She takes a moment to calm down before continuing to walk to the throne room. Once there, she spots Opaline sitting on the throne, seemingly thinking deeply about something. “U-Ummm… Opaline? Is this a bad time?” Misty asks, causing Opaline to focus her vision on her.
After a few seconds, Opaline shakes her head and stands up, walking a little close to the mirror pool. “No, not really. What is it Misty?” She asks and Misty hesitates then walks a bit closer.
“Nothing I… I just… I-“ Misty stutters before sighing heavily and finding the right words. “I was wondering if you… could finish that story for me? Ya know… the one about the fire alicorn and the others?” Misty asks and Opaline says nothing for a bit which worries her and she starts to change her mind until she hears Opaline sigh then speak.
“Alright… the fire alicorn was defeated and locked away by the Sun and Moon ones. She spent many years alone until the same alicorn that attacked her home and eradicated her people freed her, granting her the opportunity to get revenge. It would also do something far greater for her. But then the older alicorn was defeated and trapped by an alicorn that was much younger but possibly just as powerful while the fire alicorn escaped to fight another day.” Opaline says before anger starts to creep into her voice as she continues.
“Years later she returned and confronted the younger alicorn… which cost her all of her magic and power. But her plan had worked for the most part, however… it cost her greatly. Many years later… she stumbled upon a little filly… all alone, scared. She saved the filly and helped her conquer her greatest fears as much as she could… and decided to raise her as her own… hoping to avoid making the same mistake with her that she made… with her magic.” Opaline says before she closes her eyes, breathes in and out, and opens them. “The end.”
Misty just stares, dumbfounded at Opaline. She didn’t know what to expect but she doesn’t think that would’ve been on the list. “Wow… I’m kinda glad we didn’t finish that story sooner… it was worth the wait.” Misty says and Opaline gives her a quick glance before chuckling a bit and walking back to the throne.
“And hopefully… the next phase of our plan will be too.” Opaline says before the mirror pool projects an illusion, showing what’s currently going on with Sunny and her friends. “I’m coming for you Twilight Sparkle… and then it’s your turn… Sunny Starscout.”