Chapter Thirty Four.
Back Into The Swing Of Things.
David stood on the balcony that overlooked the plaza below. The wind blew through his hair as he leant against the railing, a telescope at his side aimed nearly straight up into the inky black sky. The human's gaze was focused on a single white pinprick of light sitting nearly exactly above the north pole.
"So this is where you're hiding." He heard Pipp speak behind him, "Brrr!" The small pegasus shivered, "It's freezing out here." She spoke through chattering teeth, her breath visible in the nightly air.
"Hey, Pipp..." David replied softly, not breaking his gaze at the twinkling star above.
"She... Told you, didn't she?" Pipp asked, placing her hooves on the railing and looking up at David.
"She did..." He sighed, finally breaking his gaze from the sky as he looked down at his feet, "I see she told you before me..." He added, disappointment in his voice.
"David. I'm so sorry. She made me promise to keep tight-lipped over it." Pipp spoke rapidly, "She wanted to tell you herself." She added, "Please don't be mad at me!" She shouted, her throat feeling tight.
"I'm not mad at you Pipp, just frustrated, it just feels like dragging you and your friends all the way up here was all just a waste of time." David replied, sighing as he looked back up at the sky.
"What are you looking at?" Pipp asked, rubbing her eyes as she craned her neck up at the sky.
"See that star?" David pointed up at the star directly overhead, "That is my home... Well, it was my home..." He added, looking longingly upwards.
"You? You are an alien? Where's your green skin, big black eyes and antenna?" Pipp replied in a teasing tone.
"No. I'm not an alien, and no, I didn't come here in a flying saucer." David replied.
"Awww... No fun..." Pipp pouted.
"Is that all you got!" Shooting Star shouted, holding her sword at chest height, barely breaking a sweat as her silver armour shone in the morning sun.
"Oh, I'm just getting started." Opaline replied, wearing a similar armour, similarly holding her own sword. Her roughly done ponytail fluttered like a flag in the morning breeze.
Both ponies had a rope tied around their wings and Opaline had a magic suppression ring fitted to the base of her horn, giving the pair an even footing. The two charged at each other, Shooting Star ducking under the blade of Opaline's sword as the Alicorn swung it left to right.
"Oof." Opaline grunted as Shooting Star delivered a swift kick to her stomach. The purple Alicorn quickly swung the sword downwards, embedding the blade into the dirt.
"Oww!" Shooting Star shouted as Opaline gave her a sharp kick to her chestplate, knocking the pegasus to the ground.
Opaline lunged forward, the two swords locking together, the two ponies grunting as they struggled against each other's blade and both made a loud clanging sound with each strike. With a quick swing, Opaline's blade sent Shooting Star's sword flying through the air, landing a short distance away.
Shooting Star looked at the blade close to her neck, "You know, for a pony who claimed to be rusty, you sure still got it." She chuckled, batting a piece of her mane away from her face.
"That now makes us 11 - 2." Opaline panted sharpy, the sword blade disappearing back into one of her armor pieces.
"WOOO! KICK HER BUTT MOM!" Shooting Star and Opaline looked over towards Sunny sitting on a picnic blanket, cheering loudly.
"Thank you sweetie~" Opaline chuckled to herself before turning her attention back to the pegasus on the ground at her hooves, "Here, let me help you up." She held out her hoof to Shooting Star.
"Someone's in a good mood today." Zipp snickered as she took a seat next to Sunny on the blanket.
"Mhmm, I haven't had a good night's sleep like that since I was a filly." Sunny giggled, "Want a banana?" The orange pony rummaged through a basket that sat behind her.
"Eh, sure." Zipp shrugged, grabbing the banana from Sunny and quickly peeling it, her ear twitched at the sound of a snorty giggle. Turning her head, she saw Pipp lying in the grass with David gently stroking her wings, "And I've lost my appetite." She groaned while making a gesture of grossness and disgust as she looked down at the half-peeled fruit in her hooves.
"David! Stop it! They're ticklish!" Pipp giggled in fits of laughter as the human's fingers ran through her pearly white feathers. The pink mare wriggled around on the grass like a worm on a hook.
"Awww. They look cute together." Izzy giggled softly as she sat down on the other side of Sunny, Hitch and Sparky sitting down alongside her too.
"Urgh. Really Iz?" Zipp glared at the unicorn, groaning, "What they're doing is... Is freaky!" Zipp flailed her hooves around in frustration.
"I mean, he and the Empress clearly made it work since they had Shooting Star." Hitch pointed out, shrugging as Sparky rolled around on the warm grass.
"Yeah, but it's another thing when it's your sister." Zipp grumbled, "Not like you'd understand..." She muttered under her breath, "And I'd prefer not to see them go out in public, thank you very much." The white pegasus angrily ate the banana, tossing the peel back into the picnic basket, "Besides, he's still married." She added.
"Were you even listening at breakfast? His marriage to the Empress is legally over." Sunny raised her eyebrow, "So in Pipp's eyes, he's fair game." She nudged Zipp's ribcage, "And besides, it's probably just a summer romance, she'll get over it before long." The orange shrugged.
"I hope you're right, Sunny..." Zipp frowned to herself as she looked at her younger sister, "I hope you're right..."
"Ok! Seriously! Cut it out!" Pipp squealed, reaching for her wing, "My! My phone's ringing!" She batted David's hand away from her wing as she pulled her phone out, "Oh! It's Mom!"
Zipp's ears perked up, "Mom's calling?" She spoke, Pipp held up her wing in a 'Sssh' motion as she answered the phone.
"Heya Mom!" Pipp spoke cheerfully, "I'm fine." She tilted her head, "Oh, Zipp is fine I guess..." Pipp turned towards her sister, rolling her eyes.
Zipp grumbled under her breath as Pipp continued to talk away into her phone.
"What? NEIGH WAY!" Pipp screamed cheerfully, her wings stretching outwards in excitement, "OH MY GLITTER! OH MY GLITTER!" She screamed like a little school filly. David barely caught her phone as she took off into the sky, cheering into the air as she did loop-d-loops.
"Give me that!" Zipp fumed, snatching the phone from David, "Hello Mother." Zipp spoke bluntly, glaring at David as she trotted away from him, "What's got Pipp so excited?" She asked, switching the phone into loudspeaker mode.
"Oh! My dear Zephyrina! I finally did it! It took a lot of convincing, but I got the Royal Court to repeal that stupid law that would marry off Pipp!" Haven practically squealed in Zipp's ear.
"Huh..." Zipp simply replied, now partly deaf from her mother screaming down the phone.
"You're not happy about this?" Haven questioned the tone in Zipp's reply, "You and I both know how unhappy your aunt became when she was married off and I didn't want to see my dear Pipp become just like that." Haven spoke in a somewhat serious tone.
"It's... It's not that." Zipp stuttered, her eyes locked onto her sister as she continued to fly around, "It's just that I thought being married off to some duke would have made Pipp act like an adult for once." The pegasus added, glaring at Pipp out of the corner of her eye, "Instead, she is still the same reckless filly that tried to fly by jumping from a window when she was 5."
"Zephyrina." Haven spoke sternly, "I know where you're going with this. Pipp jumping out the window because she wanted to fly wasn't the reason your father became ill."
"I wasn't going to say that!" Zipp snapped back, "Pipp has bloody fallen in love with that... That human!" Zipp fumed to herself.
"Zephyrina. I trust Pipp, and so should you." Haven sighed, disappointment clear in her voice.
"I DON'T TRUST HIM ALRIGHT!?" Zipp screamed at the phone, "HE DOES NOT BELONG HERE! OR WITH MY YOUNGER SISTER!" She stomped her hoof in frustration, "I DON'T WANT HIM TO BE A PART OF HER LIFE!"
"Well. If you're going to act like a filly, you'll be treated like one." Haven replied bluntly, holding back her anger as she hung up the phone.
Zipp shook her head in shock "Wow. She hung up on me?!" Zipp snarled at the phone, tempted to throw it to the ground and stomp on it before remembering how much it meant to Pipp as the last present she ever got from their late father, "Don't come crying to me if he breaks your heart, Pipp." Zipp thought darkly to herself as she looked at her reflection on the black screen, "Hey. Give this back to Pipp once she comes back down to earth." Zipp spoke to Sunny, passing her Pipp's phone before taking off to the skies.
"Where are you going?" Sunny asked, her question falling on deaf ears as the white pegasus disappeared over the rooftops.
"Well, wherever she's going, she better not go too far, she might get lost." Dazzle looked at Sunny, concern in her voice.
"Are you kidding? With how tall the palace is, she'll find her way back, easy peasy." Izzy giggled, holding a hoof to her mouth.
"Hey, Where's Zipp going?" Pipp asked as she gently landed back on the ground.
"Beats us..." Sunny shrugged, passing back Pipp's phone to the pink pegasus, "But it sounded like she got into an argument with whoever was on your phone." Sunny crossed her hooves.
"Oh... Yikes..." Pipp frowned, remembering that her mother had called her, "Zipp must have caught my phone and talked to her..." She gulped harshly.
"Pipp? What's going on?" Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Well, Mom may have finally got rid of an old pegasus law that would have married me off to some random duke..." Pipp rubbed the back of her head, "Zipp was kinda a supporter of that law..."
"I see..." Sunny rubbed her chin, "Wouldn't surprise me if Zipp's gone off to go calm down or something, she'll be back, I'm sure of it." She shrugged, "Banana?" She held a banana to Pipp's face.
"What was all that about?" Shooting asked, looking up at the sky as Zipp flew overhead and over the rooftops, holding out her hoof as her sword flew back towards her, melting back into her armour plating.
"I don't know. The youth of this time are an oddity to me." Opaline shrugged, her armour clinking around with every subtle movement of her body.
*25 Years Ago*
"Fascinating..." Argyle muttered to himself as he inspected the teal crystal with a magnifying glass, sketching the intricate detailing into his journal, "It's flawless for being nearly 2000 years old." He added.
"It's been in the family for generations." Haven spoke softly, "Aww, she's a little angel." She giggled as a now wide-awake Stellar tried grabbing at her wings, "She's very playful for only being a few days old." She smiled
Opaline held back a giggle as she watched her daughter play with the royal pegasus, "Be thankful she has no teeth yet, she's gonna be a biter for sure." She spoke as Stellar nibbled playfully on Haven’s wing with her gums.
"She'll be the first of a new generation of ponies to grow up with magic in a few hours." Haven smiled, dangling her hooves in front of Stellar's nose. The tiny foal babbled as she tried to grab the large hoof in front of her.
Zoom snickered as Zephyr finished showering.
"What are you snickering about?" Zephyr asked, shaking water from his ear.
"Oh nothing." Zoom held in her laugh, "Just that someone might be expecting the pitter-patter of little hooves on the floor soon." She snickered into her hoof as she gestured towards Haven playing with the foal.
"No, nuh uh." Zephyr rolled his eyes as he shook his head, "The King would have my head if he found out what I and Haven did..." He sighed, "But, I must admit, she does seem to love that foal..." He felt his heart beating in his chest as his mind drifted to one of Haven playing with their potential future foal.
"You so wish she was playing with your foal, do ya?" Zoom nudged Zephyr's wing, holding in her laughter.
"Yeah... Yeah..." Zephyr rubbed the back of his head, "But it'll never work between us..." He sighed, shaking his head as he and Zoom rejoined Haven.
Zoom quickly sat down by the fireplace, holding her hooves close to the flames as Zephyr sat down on the floor next to the couch, resting his head on the side arms.
"How was your little shower?" He heard Haven whisper, the mare placing her head next to his as Opaline scooped Stellar into her hooves.
"Right lil fussy, time to get you fed." Opaline giggled, gently booping her daughter's tiny nose as she trotted towards the door, "Argyle dear, I'm going to go feed madame here." She spoke up.
"Alright take your time, my Opal." Argyle said while he continued to examine the crystal.
"Such a big dork..." Opaline giggled to herself as she began to climb the stairs to her and Argyle's room.
"Hey? Are you listening?" Haven nudged Zephyr with her wing, shaking the stallion from his thoughts.
"Huh?" Zephyr spoke, suddenly alert as he rubbed his eye, "What did you say, Your Highness?" He added.
"I said." Haven held back a giggle, "How was your shower?" She repeated her question, nuzzling Zephyr's cheek with her muzzle, "You know, if you had asked, I would have joined you." She whispered into his ear.
Zephyr's face turned a deep red as he stuttered, "I-it was f-f-fine." He awkwardly rubbed his hoof against his leg, "I guess..." He avoided the Princess's gaze while trying to hide his blush at the same time.
"Just fine~? I could have made it better for you if you know what I mean." Haven spoke in a flirtatious tone, biting her lip seductively.
Before Zephyr could muster a response, a large knocking came from the large oak doors.
"Oh, that must be the unicorn!" Argyle spoke excitedly, placing the magnifying glass down on the table as he rose from his chair.
Argyle quickly trotted towards the oak doors as Opaline reached the bottom of the stairs, Stellar babbling happily in her hoof.
"Yeah, I'm looking for Argyle Sunshine?" A tail unicorn stallion spoke, pulling off a pair of sunglasses, slowly placing them into the pocket of the leather coat they were wearing.
"It's Starshine, actually." Argyle corrected, adjusting his glasses, "I am the pony who's been writing to you these past few months." He added.
"Eh, if you say so." The unicorn shrugged, "The name's Alphabittle Blossomforth." He held out his hoof, "But you can call me Alpha."
"It seems we have another guest, aye lil madame?" Opaline looked down at Stellar, the foal dribbling as she babbled.
"Woah. An Alicorn. I thought they were a myth." Alpha was surprised by the appearance of Opaline.
"Well, count yourself lucky, I am very much real." Opaline pouted slightly, "I am the last of my kind as far as I know." Opaline shook her head, "Anyway, would you like to come in, or would you prefer to stand out in the rain all day?" She continued, turning around on her heel. Without waiting for a second longer, Alphabittle went in and placed his jacket onto a hook as the rain continued to pour down.
*Present Day*
"You know, you don't look half bad with a ponytail." Shooting Star flashed a smug grin, "My mane is still prettier." She snickered as she gave it a quick flick.
"Eh, I originally tried going for the bun and ponytail approach like yours, but I didn't get on with it." Opaline chuckled in reply, placing her hoof on Shooting Star's shoulder, "But, I was thinking about adding some dye to my mane and tail, but I'm not too sure of colours to use." Opaline shrugged.
"Hmmm" Shooting Star thought, "Why not pastel blue and pink streaks? It'd be quite the combo." Shooting Star wiggled her eyebrows.
"Won't that be a bit... flashy?" Opalined looked at her mane nervously.
"Only if you go with fluorescent blue and pink." Shooting Star rolled her eyes, "But pastel colours will suit you more. Besides, your coat is already pretty bright anyway." She flashed a toothy grin as Opaline let out a low growling scowl.
"You lucky I'm trying to be a good pony, otherwise, I would vaporise you for that remark!" Opaline gnashed her teeth.
"I'd like to see you try, eggplant." Shooting Star patted Opaline's head as the alicorn scowled more.
"Oh ho ho ho. Are you challenging me?" Opaline grinned, "Want to make this 11 - 3?" She smirked.
"Remind me who the 11 is there." Shooting Star smugly grinned as Opaline scowled some more, "C'mon, let's go inside and get something nice and cold." The pegasus wiped sweat from her brow.
"Still not built for the summer heat, aye?" Opaline nudged Shooting Star as the pegasus removed the magic suppression ring from her horn.
"I uh... Shut up!" Shooting Star shouted, her face red with embarrassment as the suppression ring released with a click.
Sunny hummed as she trotted down one of the many, many palace halls at a steady pace. She looked around as she passed paintings, statues and stained glass windows.
"What dad wouldn't give to see this..." She sighed softly to herself, slowing her pace to a crawl as she pulled out her father's journal. She gently placed her hoof on one of the aged pages, the once crisp white pages. now aged into a faded brown, "If only you were here to see this dad..." A lone tear escaped her eyes, running down her cheek and splashing down onto the page.
A twinkling shimmer caught Sunny's attention out of the corner of her eye, the orange mare looked up to see a golden crown on a pedestal, a large purple gem cut into a six-pointed star sat embedded in the centre of the crown, Sunny opened her mouth, "Is that?"
"Twilight's crown, yes." Sunny nearly jumped out of her skin as a voice spoke behind her, "Oops. Didn't mean to scare ya."
"Oh!" Sunny held her chest tightly, "It's you Flurry Heart." She chuckled softly, " I didn't expect you there haha…" She laughed nervously as her father's journal skidded to a stop at Flurry's hooves.
The alicorn's horn shimmered a golden hue as she picked up the journal with her magic, "Huh, this is a traditionally made, Crystal Empire journal." Flurry mused with amazement in her voice, "How in the world do you own this?"
"It was in my father's possession for as long as I can remember." Sunny smiled nervously, "He used to buy these sorts of things from travelling merchants, so maybe he got it from one of them?" She shrugged slowly.
"Mhmm..." Flurry mumbled to herself as she quickly flipped through the pages of the journal, "I see your dad has quite a lot of research in this book." She added as she studied the journal from cover to cover, she paused when she came across old sketches of some crystals.
"I've- I've never seen that page before." Sunny spoke, flabbergasted as she looked at the same page as Flurry, "I knew my dad had the earth crystal in his possession, but I didn't know he had the other two at one point." Her eyes locked onto very detailed sketches of the Unicorn and Pegasi crystals.
"I think we better go ask both of our moms about this." Flurry suggested, quickly passing the journal back to Sunny, who quickly slid it back into her bag.
"I think you might be right here." Sunny replied, the pair quickly sprinting down the hallway, away from the crown.
Misty stared out of the large stained glass windows of the Crystal Brighthouse, down to the bay before the cliff. The summer sun slowly rose higher into the sky.
"Remember what I told you..." Dark Star's voice echoed around the unicorn's mind, "You have one week to get me those Crystals or I'll kill you. Don't fail me, Misty." The voice continued.
A tear escaped Misty's eye as she stared longingly out of the windows, her thoughts drifting onto her friends, and even to an extent, to Opaline, "What have I done?" Misty quietly sobbed to herself, she felt truly backed into a corner at that very moment. Ears fell flat against her head as she turned towards her phone and Opaline's diary sitting on her bed, "I want out. Would she even want to help me after what I told her..." Misty thought to herself.
End of Chapter Thirty Four.