Sprout Cloverleaf stood in the basement of Canterlogic, all the unicorn traps had been returned, but there was one thing he thought maybe they should use now. The giant robot he’d made to wage war against Pegasi and Unicorns, maybe he could use it against Opaline, the robot had been created to combat their enemies after all, and Opaline certainly was that. But Sprout hesitated, uncertain.
He eventually sighed and shook his head. “Only as a last resort,” he told himself.
Sprout began to walk upstairs, as he did so his mind turned to the blue unicorn whom he’d met a few days ago. He’d also found out that she had actually been a spy for Opaline, like him, she was a former villain. Maybe she could use somepony to talk to like he’d needed?
He took a breath and headed to the Brighthouse, not knowing if they were home. But there was a large camp of Zephyr Heights guards present there. He approached nervously, fearing that they might not take kindly to his presence.
He was right. As soon as some of them saw him they gasped.
“That’s Sprout Cloverleaf! The one that tried to kill the princesses and Queen Haven with a giant robot!” Thunder yelled fearfully. “Seize him!”
The guards charged at him before Sprout could react.
…
Zipp and the others rode the Marestream back to Maretime Bay, praying it was still standing. Thankfully, it was. They saw the city and Brighthouse were still intact, no sign of any evil forces. Though, it did feel strange when they got above the Brighthouse and saw the guards camp there. They landed and emerged from the vehicle. As they did so with the pair of guards that had accompanied them, the others approached them. Right Light looked at Zipp and smiled before bowing.
“Princess Zipp, Princess Pipp,” he bowed. “Welcome back to you and your friends.”
Zipp managed a smile. Even though she hated being called ‘Princess’ she was getting used to it from Right Light. He was just trying to be a gentlepony.
“Thank you, Right Light,” she said.
Misty’s eyes widened upon hearing his name, which sounded familiar. Though she couldn’t place it. Right Light meanwhile, looked over at the other guards a few feet away who were holding another stallion.
“While you were gone this former genocidal pony showed up,” he said.
“Sprout?” Hitch asked.
Sprout gave a pained groan. He’d gotten a black eye when he tried to resist.
“Hitch they attacked me!” he said. “I was just trying to come over and visit!”
“Release him at once!” Hitch ordered.
“Yeah, what the Sheriff said!” Zipp said.
The royal guards unhoofed Sprout. He walked up to them and Pipp was quick to apologize.
“Sorry Sprout! I guess other Pegasi are still uneasy knowing you were left off.”
Sprout sighed. “I know, but its all in the past now. I know I still have a lot to make up for, but I guess I’m not the only one huh?”
He looked at Misty as he said that. Izzy just smiled.
“Leh, I’d say Misty already made up for her past mistakes. She did save us twice,” the unicorn said. “You on the other hoof still have a jinxy air around you!”
“I know,” Sprout said. “And I hope to make up for it soon with this new villain out there. But I came here to talk to Misty.”
“Me?” Misty asked in surprise.
“Yeah,” Sprout said, his cheeks flushing as he looked at her. “Changed your mane color from last time I see. It looks good.”
“Thanks,” Misty said shyly. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Well…” Sprout started. “I just thought maybe you could use someone to talk to who can probably understand you. I mean, I’ve done some things I’m not proud of anymore so… I know what its like.”
Misty looked at him. “Wow… thanks.”
“That could be a good idea,” Sunny said. “It helps to have somepony who can really understand you. I mean, we understand you Misty, but to have somepony you have something pretty deep in common with could be good. Why don’t you and Sprout hang out a bit?”
“But what about Opaline?” Misty asked. “I have to be prepared for when she and her army attack!”
“You spent all night last night preparing. Spend today having fun and making friends,” Hitch said.
“Yeah, we don’t hold anything against you,” Zipp said honestly. “You can study spells later.”
“Just… don’t do another all nighter,” Pipp said. “Ooh, speaking of which we still need to get you a bed in the brighthouse.”
“Okay,” Misty said reluctantly.
“Come on,” Sprout said with a confident, even arrogant looking smile.
They walked down the path leading from the Brighthouse to the city.
“So, how did you come to work for Opaline anyway?” Sprout asked.
Misty sighed. “I just learned the whole story earlier today. I used to live in Bridlewood, but my mom took me camping and then a monster attacked. She held it off while I ran away, I didn’t know where to go. I just walked until I found a place. And it turned out to be the worse place possible. Opaline’s castle.”
“I’m sorry,” Sprout said. “Did she hurt you?”
“She talked down to me yes,” Misty said.
They talked about living with each of their mothers, even though Opaline wasn’t Misty’s real mother, the mother she wished she could have known and never lost.
“Wow,” Sprout said when he learned more details. “You certainly got a bad mother, mine never talked down to me or treated me like a servant or was ever cruel to me. Yet… you never became anything like her from the sound of it.”
“And I’m glad I didn’t,” Misty said.
“Wish I could say the same,” Sprout said. “My mother influenced me to hate unicorns and Pegasi, and I ended up nearly starting a war. You managed to break free from your mother… or Opaline’s influence… since she wasn’t your real mother.”
“We all make mistakes,” Misty said. “We just have to try and make up for them.”
Sprout nodded, then a voice sounded.
“I know that’s that like.”
They looked and saw a yellow Earth Pony with pink hair and a flower themed necklace and flower cutie mark. With her was a red Pegasus with a cutie mark of a lavender wing.
“Oh, hi Posey,” Sprout said.
Posey smiled at him then looked at Misty. “Hey, you’re the pony that worked for that evil alicorn! Boy I’d hate to meet her.”
“Uh, yeah… hi,” Misty said shyly. “You are… Posey.”
“Yeah, Posey Bloom,” Posey said.
“Well, I guess this is a little gathering of former villains day,” Sprout said with a slight chuckle.
Posey frowned. “I prefer to think of myself as foul tempered rather then villainous. But yeah, I wasn’t exactly a good pony. But I’ve been trying to be a better one.”
“And you are doing great bestie!” the red Pegasus said. “I’m Windy by the way.”
“Hi,” Misty said. “So you did something bad as well?”
“Yeah,” Posey said. “I nearly destroyed magic without meaning to. I was jealous of Pegasi being able to fly and unicorns having magic. I just felt so unspecial, and all my old friends were hanging out with new friends that could do all those cool things. I began treating other pony kinds with disdain, not knowing that it was causing magic to become unstable and then nearly die.”
“Oh, I remember when that happened,” Misty said.
“How, you weren’t here were you?” Posey asked.
“No, but Opaline was watching you all for a while,” Misty said. “Though she didn’t know that ponies not treating each other with kindness was causing the instability. Probably would have been disgusted by it if she did, she hates unity and equality.”
“Kind of like you did Posey,” Windy said.
“Yeah, well… unity anyway,” Posey said. “I wanted to be an equal to you Windy. Now I feel like I can, even if my attitude might still need some work.”
“Hey, you’ve been through a lot,” Windy said kindly putting a hoof on her friends shoulder. “You just seem to be the front of every joke. Especially around Izzy. Not your fault you’re agitated.”
“Thanks,” Posey said hugging her.
Misty and Sprout smiled.
“Well we got a former genocidal pony, a spy for an evil queen, a bad tempered Karen, and…” Sprout stopped as he looked at Windy. “Uh you haven’t done anything bad have you?”
Windy chuckled. “No, I mean… I did steal some food once when I was a filly to feed some critters that were starving.”
“A thief then!” Sprout said. “Well, we’ve all come a long way I think, or at least working on it!”
They all laughed. Misty smiled, these seemed like a group of ponies she could relate to.
She looked at Windy. “Though, at least you had good intentions Windy. That probably makes you the best out of all of us.”
The Pegasus shook her head. “None of us are better then the other. We’re all works in progress. But, what about Opaline?”
There was a moment of silence.
“She’ll come sooner or later,” Misty said. “And I’ll be ready to fight her when she does.”
“Me too,” Sprout said.
The two mares grinned nervously.
“Good luck with that,” Posey said.
“I don’t really want to get involved in a fight. I prefer a nice peaceful life,” Windy said. “Just soar through the air carefreely!”
She spun in the air like a ballerina.
“But I do hope you can stop her. I’d hate to lose this ability to fly.”
“We will,” Misty vowed.
…
Flurry landed on the mountain behind her home and ventured into the large cave where not just one, but two dragons slept. They were both many times her size, with the blue female being just slightly larger. The purple male had green spines. Both of them slept peacefully, and had been sleeping for several decades now. She had watched them, visited every day. Her Uncle Spike who had been adopted by her grandparents practically from the moment he hatched. His mate, the former Dragon Lord Ember lay next to him. She’d stepped as per tradition once her time as ruler expired after five hundred years. It had been a difficult time once magic was gone, the ponies that had become their friends came to fear dragons again thanks to Opaline, and they were forced to leave until a time when acceptance was prevalent again. The dragons had simply stuck to their own lands which were composed of beautiful jungles, as long as they didn’t burn them down, which had been the case seven hundred years ago. The dragonlands had been a waste land where little grew. Their brief friendship with ponies had at least had the long-lasting effect of them caring for their land. It also helped that without magic, they couldn’t use their dragonfire. But with magic reemerged, that could change. Good thing many of the dragons were sleeping, their eggs had had difficulty hatching without magic, and many of them never did. Flurry had stayed here and helped as much as she could. Just months ago she’d flown a dragon egg out to the mainland of Equestria, the sole survivor of Spike and Ember’s cluster that Flurry had worked to keep warm. Flurry just hoped that bringing that egg to Equestria had been the right call.
She approached her aunt and uncle. “Spike, Ember, wake up.”
She prodded Spike’s snout. He snorted and let out a bit of smoke. For a long time with the magic gone, the dragon’s had not let out smoke while asleep. Though that had changed. Still, Spike didn’t take up right away.
“Spike!” she said. “Spike? SPIKE!”
That got him to open his eyes. He rose his head and yawned, showing massive teeth that could chew her up if he so wished. But he’d never harm her.
“Flurry?” he asked as he remained sleepy. “Ugh, hey, morning.”
“Morning,” Flurry greeted. “After seventy years!”
“Been that long?” Spike asked. “Ah man! Hope everything’s well!”
“Can you both keep it down?” Ember grumbled as she just lay there with her eyes closed. “Ugh.”
“Ember, wake up!” Flurry said jumping on her aunt’s snout.
Ember coughed out a bite of smoke and she opened her eyes to see it. She jumped up.
“Is my fire back?” she asked breathing out and sending blue flames forward. “Yes!”
Spike breathed his green fire out as well.
“Alright, magic returned!” she said.
“Yeah, but so has Opaline!” Flurry told her.
“WHAT?” They both exclaimed. “But Twilight thought that her final spell that she used to seal all the magic from Equestria and the dragons would be enough to keep Opaline trapped. We gave her the power to do that when all looked lost!”
“Yes, but Opaline managed to somehow break the shield. She must have had outside help!” Flurry said. “Somepony evil must have stumbled on her castle and helped her! Hopefully we can stop her for good before its too late and she has the chance to take all the magic for herself!”
…
Opaline looked out across the land from the top of her tower. Her mane still burned with fire, though the majority of the power-boost she’d gotten from Sparky’s dragonfire was gone. If she was going to take all the magic in the Unity Crystals, she needed more power. That was the next step, pony magic. She needed to magic from a large number of ponies, especially the new Earth Pony magic, and the cutie mark magic. The Unity Crystals had been formed when Twilight sealed the magic of hundreds of ponies and dragons away. It would taken an equal source. Opaline would have to drain a near equal amount to be able to drain the power of the crystals. It would take a lot of time. But she had plenty of that being an immortal alicorn of immense magic power.
She heard hoofsteps nearby and looked to see her son.
“Is everything ready, Fireforge?” she asked.
“Yes Mother,” he said. “Our dead are buried, and what remains of our troops are ready for battle.”
“Good,” she said. “Don’t disappoint me.”
“I will not,” he said. “We will bring you little ponies to take the magic of… and destroy the ponies that get in our way. The ones that thwarted you will pay!”
“Try to capture them alive if possible,” Opaline said. “I have plans for the eldest Pegasus Princess in particular. She proved to have a curious mind, one that I maybe able to use to my advantage now.”
“Yes Mother,” Fireforge said with a bow.