//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Origin // Story: My Little Pony: Make Your Mark In Love // by SamSwordsman123 //------------------------------// Hitch and Pipp entered the Brighthouse as Zipp and Sunny were finishing the dishes from their own meal. Izzy was playing with Sparky who had recovered from Opaline draining him. “Hey Pipp! Hey Hitch!” Sunny said. “How was your date with the Pipqueaks?” “Great!” Hitch said with a blush. “They put together a little video to help rally ponies against Opaline and we had lots of fun.” Pipp also blushed, “And we uh… had our first kiss!” “What?” Izzy exclaimed. “That’s great!” “Congratulations you two!” Sunny said. “I’m happy for you,” Zipp said before turning to Hitch. “Just don’t do anything to hurt my sister! I trust you but I still need to be clear!” “Got it Zipp,” Hitch said before looking around. “Hey, where’s Misty?” “Upstairs reading and practicing magic,” Zipp said. “I tried to get her to come down and have dinner with us but she insisted on sticking with her books,” Izzy said. “She must be really determined to stop Opaline,” Zipp said. “No surprise, after spending her whole life serving that evil queen,” Sunny said. “She’s probably angry about it now. Did you see the look she gave Opaline after she saved us?” “Yeah, but anger and hatred are not good things,” Hitch said. “We spent all our lives living in fear and hate towards other pony kinds in each our communities. Sprout nearly started a civil war because of the all the propaganda we were fed here!” “Yeah, but Opaline is genuinely evil!” Zipp reminded Hitch. “True, but Misty might do something she’ll regret,” Hitch said. “I just don’t want her to make the same mistake that Sprout did. Even if Opaline is evil we can’t take things to far, or we could end up right back where we started… or worse.” “I’m sure she’ll be fine!” Izzy said. … Upstairs, Misty was hard at work, her eyes narrowed as she studied a new spell. “Okay, vanishing,” Misty said. She lit up her horn and tried to perform the spell. “Misty?” a voice interrupted Misty’s concentration. Her magic faded before she could complete the spell. She looked and saw Pipp and Hitch had come up, with the latter carrying Sparky on his back. “Oh, hey guys,” Misty said. “How’d your date go?” “Good,” Hitch said. “We kind of… um...” “Kissed,” Pipp finished for him. “Oh, that’s… nice,” Misty said. “You look pretty hard at work,” Hitch said noticing her with a lot of books on the desk. Misty sighed. “No unicorn has managed to become proficient with the old spells as far as I know. I have to figure everything out myself if I want to stop Opaline.” “How long have you been at it?” Pipp asked. “Since this afternoon,” Misty said. “Misty you should really take a break,” Hitch said. “No, I spent years working for that evil queen! She could strike anytime! I have to be ready!” Misty said. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt because of me again!” She looked at Sparky in guilt. The little dragon had recovered from having his dragonfire drained so many times at least, but it had caused him immense pain. “Misty it's not your fault,” Hitch said. “Yes it is,” Misty insisted. “I brought Sparky to Opaline and led all of you into the trap. It IS my fault!” “You were raised by Opaline,” Pipp reminded her. “She made you think what you were doing was right. We’ll stop her, and her son and army.” Misty nodded. “I’m gonna make sure of it.” She turned back to her books and tried the vanishing spell that would make something invisible to the naked eye. She picked up an apple and hit it with her magic, causing it to turn invisible. Misty then looked up the counter spell and tried it, causing the apple to reappear. “Wow, that’s cool,” Hitch said. “Wish I could do that.” Misty sighed, brushing a bit of sweat from her forehead. The young couple noticed this and gave her a worried expression. “Don’t tire yourself out,” Pipp said. “Make sure to get some rest.” “I will,” Misty said. But she didn’t. She was up all night reading the books and practicing spells from Opaline’s books. She only took breaks to go to the bathroom and get a snack from the fridge downstairs. She managed to do things like create a heatwave that was hot enough to melt snow instantly, gave Izzy a mustache before she went to bed, causing the other ponies to laugh. Then she tried teleportation but only ended up burning her coat. “Ouch,” Misty said. “That’s a tricky one.” She located a first aid spell to heal the burns and then looked at other medical spells that could heal broken bones in a matter of hours. It was a long night, and she was left with bloodshot eyes by morning. “Misty! I told you to make sure to get some rest!” Pipp scolded when she came out of bed. “We all need to take a moment to relax,” Sunny said. “Even with Opaline out there. We’re not gonna be able to take her if we overwork ourselves.” “You know what I think we should do? Go to Bridlewood!” Izzy said. “Misty’s never been there!” “I agree, we could find her family there,” Zipp said. “Let’s go,” Pipp said. Misty stumbled into the Marestream with them. A pair of pegasus royal guards were there to guard Zipp and Pipp as well. “Get some rest, Misty,” Sunny said. “You’ve earned it.” The blue unicorn yawned and got on the sofa in the vehicle. She closed her eyes and took a nap. … In the Crystal Team Room, Alphabittle served a cup to Queen Haven. “I just can’t believe that there is really an evil alicorn out there!” Haven said. “And on top of it all one of Zipp’s suitors got murdered!” “I know,” Alphabittle said. “I’m sorry. I can only hope that this threat is dealt with before anypony else gets hurt. But I suppose that’s unlikely, since that Opaline has an army out there and she’ll probably strike pretty soon. We unicorns haven’t got much in the way of combat defenses, aside from the signs we put out to discourage Earth Ponies and Pegasi from entering our forest.” “Well you might have to change that,” Haven said. “Speaking of which, that unicorn that used to work for Opaline managed to steal some old books on magic from her. Perhaps you should speak with her if the opportunity arises, Alphie.” Alphie, as she’d nicknamed him, seemed uncertain. His ears drooped. “I suppose so. Can you… tell me about her? Did you meet her?” “Yes, she seemed nice, and knowledgable about our new enemy,” Haven said. “And her name was Misty?” Alphie asked. “Yes… why?” Haven asked. “That’s… my daughter’s name,” Alphie said. “Your daughter?” Queen Haven exclaimed. He nodded. Then the door opened. … The Mane 5 and Sparky watched from the front port of the Marestream as they made their final approach. “Misty, we’re here!” Izzy called. The blue unicorn had slept throughout the whole ride. She opened her eyes as they landed. They headed outside and Misty looked around, seeing the many treehouses. Misty’s eyes widened as a feeling of nostalgia entered her. “You okay?” Sunny asked. “I feel as though I’ve been here before,” Misty said. “Well, this is the home of unicorns in Equestria and you are a unicorn,” Zipp reminded her. “Unless there’s some secret unicorn settlement somewhere else.” They all chuckled and then made their way to the Crystal Tea Room. To their surprise they saw not only Alphabittle but Queen Haven as well. “Mom!” Pipp exclaimed. “My darlings!” Haven said. The Pegasus queen hugged her daughters and then looked at Misty. “Well speak of the pony! We were just talking about you, Misty,” Haven said. “Misty,” Alphabittle said stepping forward with a look of recognition. “Uh, hi,” Misty said shyly. “You must be Alphabittle. Do you… know me?” Alphabittle nodded, sadness and warmth in his eyes. “A father could never forget his daughter.” The Mane 5 all gasped and Misty’s mouth fell open. Alphabittle then walked back behind the counter and took a picture off the wall, a picture of him and a filly Misty as well as a sky-blue mare. “You and your mother were my whole world,” Alphabittle said. “She loved the wilderness and took you out camping when you were able to walk. You both never came back. I thought…” A memory seemed to flash through Misty’s mind of days just before Opaline. She saw her mother, the sky blue pony with a green mane in the picture. She carried Misty on her back through a forest and set up a tent with the young filly before they broke for dinner, roasting vegetables around their campfire. Then a roar sounded and a monstrous creature emerged from the woods, growling menacingly. “Run Misty!” the filly’s mother said. The filly was frozen in fear and the mother had to kick her away. That caused her to run as her mother ran at the monster. She wandered for days, hungry, tired, until she happened upon a group of statues with a dark looking castle nearby. “Hello?” the filly asked. “Is anypony here?” Hoofsteps sounded and Misty saw her, Opaline looking down at her in surprise. “A filly?” the evil queen asked. “Please… I’m so hungry… so cold,” the filly said. The alicorn gave a calculating glare. “Come inside.” Misty followed her inside. Opaline fed her and took her in, making her do all the work around the castle. She’d saved Misty’s life, and made her her slave to carry out her plans until she was of no use to her and Misty finally broke free. “What about my mom?” Misty asked. Alphabittle looked down. “I haven’t seen her since she took you on that camping trip. She never returned. I thought you were both dead. You are alive, but if there was a monster there, and she held it off while you ran, she is most likely…” There was no need for him to say the word again. Misty bowed her head and Izzy and Sunny each put a hoof around her as the others watched in sorrow. Alphabittle then led them to a cemetery in Bridlewood where they saw a gravestone for two ponies. One name read Cloudy Brightheart, beloved mother and wife, and the other Misty Brightdawn, filly taken too soon. “We never found the body but we did put this memorial stone here for you both,” Alphabittle said. Misty shed fresh tears. “Mom,” she cried. Alphabittle put a hoof on his daughter. “Its not your fault.” “I know that,” Misty said. “But… if she’d never taken me on that camping trip and we never ran into that monster, maybe I never would have run into Opaline and she’d still be trapped there now! Its not that I’m trying to blame Mom, but… I just wish it could have been different.” “I know, Misty,” Alphabittle said. Misty embraced him. Queen Haven stepped forward. “For what its worth, I think your mother would be proud of you Misty. You saw what you were doing was wrong even though you had been raised by that dreadful queen as long as you can practically remember. Not everypony could have done that. Many of us in each of our lands simply accepted the view of the majority.” “Yes,” Sunny agreed. “You are a pony with a good heart, Misty. That’s who you are at your core,” Zipp said. “That’s why Opaline couldn’t change you. Just like I was rebellious and investigative at my core.” “And I’m proud you are,” Queen Haven said ruffling her eldest daughters mane. “You and your friends reunified ponykind. Of course I wish you were a little less rebellious.” Zipp smirked. Misty managed a smile at her then looked at the grave. She lit up her horn and then cast one of the other spells she’d learned. One that could mask something from sight. She targeted the side of the grave that had her name on it and caused it to become invisible. That part of the grave now looked blank. “The Misty that served Opaline is gone,” Misty declared. “I’m now the Misty that will help defeat Opaline. Misty Brightdawn! Daughter of Alphabittle Blossomworth and Cloudy Brightheart!” She embraced her father who looked at her proudly. He spotted the royal pegasus family watching and extended his hoof. The three royals came forward and joined the two unicorns. Misty opened her eyes at the contact and smiled wider. “We’ll all be a family someday,” Queen Haven said. “Once Alphie and I marry. Though that might have to wait until after we defeat Opaline, maybe. Or perhaps we can do it sooner.” The three younger mares looked at them as they broke off the hug. They then looked at each other. “So, I guess when that happens, you two will be my stepsisters, huh?” Misty asked. Zipp shook her head. “No, Misty.” Misty’s eyes widened. Then Pipp said. “We’ll be sisters. All three of us!” The Pegasus sisters embraced their future unicorn sister now. Hitch, Sunny, and Izzy watched with Queen Haven and Alphabittle. They knew the battle with Opaline and her army would come sooner or later, but right now they were thankful for the moment to share with their friends and family.