//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Present - Guilt // Story: Purpose // by Admiral Producer //------------------------------// “Misty?” Misty snapped to attention upon hearing her name called. She opened her eyes and looked around the room until her gaze settled upon Jazz Hooves hovering over her with a concerned expression on her face. She didn’t know how long she had been daydreaming about the event that changed her life forever, but she knew that she had to have been out for a long time. She was in Mane Melody getting her mane done. and her remaining friends were waiting for her in their own lounge chairs. They were both staring at her as well and equally as concerned for her, that much she could tell. It had been two weeks since Sunny had betrayed the ponies of Equestria and joined the side of Opaline and everypony since then had been on edge. Fillies no longer played in the streets, earth ponies no longer practiced their magic. Unicorns stopped carrying groceries or helping out with construction. The pegasi no longer flew through the skies, creating beautiful weather for their grounded brethren to enjoy and savor. It was as if life itself had ceased to exist. For many, it felt like faster than when they had gotten their proper way of living back, it had been taken away from them in the most cruel manner possible. Just when they had gotten used to having magic back in their lives, it was stolen from them once again without warning by somepony they once trusted. It wasn’t fair, yet there was nothing they could do. They hadn’t seen the signs, the warnings. They never paid her any mind, nor respected her in any capacity. They never showed her any love or given her any sort of positive acknowledgment. Instead, they saw fit to demean her for years and even resorted to beating her up when all she wanted was to share her passions with them. She had given everything for them and they gave her nothing in return. It was only a matter of time before she snapped and turned on them. Yet that didn’t make the betrayal any less painful, nor any less devastating. It had come out of nowhere and Sunny had taken everything from them. As a result, the ponies began to blame each other for causing the event and it ended in the earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns all deciding to split off once again and return to a life of isolation. It was an expected outcome, but one that rendered over two years of progress completely null and void. All because they had pushed a mare too far. Following magic being destroyed, all of the unicorns and pegasi had fled back to their hometowns, no longer trusting one another. It was a mass exodus that Hitch had the uncomfortable job of witnessing and it was made clear that the other tribes would never trust a pony not from their ranks again. They had seen what happened when one mare was given control of the hearts of many, and they weren’t about to be fooled into believing that unity was possible ever again. Many months worth of progress was undone in an instant. The shops were closed, the curriculum changed. Earth pony magic was no longer celebrated and practiced. Traditions and customs were no longer shared between the towns and all travel was banned at the central level. The ponies embraced an isolationist mindset once again, and it was like Sunny had never come and fixed anything. And the worst part was that Misty blamed herself for all of it. She knew that she should’ve paid more attention to Sunny and been there for her when the others wouldn’t, yet she had been too distracted with finding out the truth about the past to realize what was going on until it was too late. She never forgave herself for letting the earth pony turn, and she vowed that she would never ever do so. After all, it was because of her that Zipp was now crippled and stuck in a coma with Pipp watching over her constantly. She didn’t help when she was supposed to. She chose to flee and let the two sisters be beaten up by the angry mob of ponies. Now, Zipp was on life support and the doctors weren’t giving any favorable updates. Although she had officially lost count of how many times that she had gone through the blaming game in her head, she still did it. For some reason, shaming herself in this manner felt right. It was what she was used to. Whenever she had failed on one of her missions, she would always receive the full extent of Opaline’s wrath. It was always her fault. She was never allowed to protest or complain. She was never allowed to argue with Opaline and whenever she did, she would either be beaten or grounded for hours without any food or water. In that time, she had become used to blaming herself for everything that went wrong. As a result, that was how it stayed. Friendship was still something that she was struggling with as it didn’t come naturally to her. She had always been used to keeping secrets from everyone. It was only when Zipp had given her a good shake at the Manesquerade Ball that she had come clean about not having a cutie mark, yet she didn’t reveal anything else about herself. How could she? For months, she had dreaded that inevitable day that Sunny and the other ponies found about her and once that day came, she did not expect to be given a second chance. However, in spite of kidnapping and potentially killing one of their own, they did give her another chance and that was something she still didn’t understand. Why did they still trust her? She had repaid their generosity by failing to save the only pony who brought them all together in the first place. She vowed that she would never forgive herself for it. For all she was concerned, she deserved to rot in the deepest and darkest dungeons. She deserved to be beaten up and stabbed to death with a knife. She didn’t deserve to live. She couldn’t do anything right. She couldn’t save anypony she loved. She was nothing but a failure who was somehow allowed to exist by the powers that be. In her mind, she deserved to be shamed and scolded relentlessly for what happened. She didn’t understand why her friends weren’t mad at her more. What was their problem? Why didn’t they despise her for letting their closest friend fall to the dark side, as well as condemning one of their other friends to death? It was these questions that constantly plagued her and kept her up all night, even in spite of her trying to make them go away. In an effort to get her to feel better, Hitch and Izzy had taken her to Mane Melody earlier in the morning to get a new makeover. Jazz had been about ready to close up shop for good, but fortunately, Hitch had managed to persuade her to stay open for them at least. Nopony was in any good spirits and Misty had drifted off during the procedure, lost in her endless grief and trauma. “W-what happened?” Misty inquired curiously, now fully aware and cognizant of where she was and what she was doing here. “You’ve been off in your own world for about 40 minutes,” Jazz explained. “Rocky and I got your mane done about 15 minutes ago and we’ve basically been waiting for you to come to ever since. Check it out!” She held up a mirror to the unicorn’s face. Misty stared at her reflection blankly. Her mane had been spray painted with red and purple dye, a sharp contrast to her usual colors. Instead of pale and ordinary, her hair was now more bright and flamboyant. She did think the new style was beautiful, but she didn’t know how to express her thoughts into words, so she simply thanked Jazz and walked over to her friends. “Now that’s what I call a glow up!” Izzy complimented. “You look amazing!” “I gotta second that,” Hitch agreed. “Jazz has really outdone herself this time. And this is without Pipp around for ideas.” “It looks…fine enough, I guess,” Misty stated flatly. “I don’t know, it doesn’t really make me feel any different. I’m still the same pony I was when I let magic die.” Izzy and Hitch’s faces fell at that and looked at each other with bewilderment. It was clear that they were counting on this mane makeover to finally be the thing to cheer her up. “Ooookay…” Izzy said awkwardly. “Soooo…what else do you wanna do?” “Go home.” Misty answered bitterly. When her friends opened their mouths to protest, she cut them off. “Guys, please. I didn’t agree to this at all and you’re dragging me across town for nothing. I just want to be there for Pipp. You know, before I’m responsible for another friend falling to Opaline’s manipulations. We’re going home.” Hitch sighed with exasperation. “Misty, this trip was for you!! I spent my hard-earned money on paying for that-“ He facehoofed. “Ugh, fine. Have it your way.” He stood up and began walking towards the salon doors. “Let’s go, Izzy.” Izzy stood up and walked beside Misty. “Misty, I-I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you. You’re not in the right headspace to do this sort of stuff.” “Don’t bother.” Misty snapped back. “You already helped plenty.” Upon the other unicorn looking down in sadness, she instantly felt regret for what she had just said. “Izzy, I’m sorry, I-“ “It’s okay…” Izzy looked back at her, eyes brimming with tears. “This was just my way of trying to distract myself as well. I don’t know, I just wanted us to have fun in the midst of all this.” “How can we have fun with Maretime Bay in total chaos?!” Misty demanded. “Look around! Everything is gone because of me!! I don’t need to see more of what I ruined!” “I-I know, I-Forget it, just know I’m sorry for pushing you.” “It’s alright. I’m sorry for snapping at you. You didn’t deserve that.” Izzy didn’t respond to that and Misty began to worry that she might’ve hurt her feelings beyond repair. The two walked in silence behind Hitch through the streets of the desolate neighborhood for several minutes. It was said that even the most peaceful of nights could be deceiving, for no matter how comforting that the light of the full Moon may seem at certain times, something sinister always lurked in the areas where its embrace did not reach. It was the darkness that they feared, the shadows of phantoms that once lived. The night was home to these poor wandering souls and many tales had been regaled about their existence. For generations, ponies had always been taught from an early age to fear the nighttime and never go out during it due to fear of kidnapping and murder. Not a single foal dared to disobey orders from their parents and risk their lives. Who would blame them? They knew better. In a time of uncertainty, nothing could be trusted and superstition was at an all time high. The once bustling suburban town of Maretime Bay was eerily and abnormally quiet this time of night, the only discernible sound present being the gentle breeze that blew softly through the empty and desolate streets. There were no owls hooting or crickets chirping, nor any lighthearted casual chatter from ponies heading home late from work. The lampposts had all been switched off and not a single one lit the dark alleyways. Smoothie cups and popcorn bags littered the sidewalks in every direction, having been left there without any thought to pick them up. They lay there in a haphazard mess, forgotten in a pitiful state, never to be picked up or thought about again. A discarded, torn up newspaper blew through the wind and landed on the dirty streets in a sprawled open manner, the main headline reading in bold letters: MAGIC GONE! EARTH-SHATTERING BETRAYAL FROM ACTIVIST RESIDENT SUNNY STARSCOUT LEAVES ALL PONIES ONCE AGAIN WITHOUT THEIR MAGICAL ABILITIES. Magic gone. Those words still rang true for everypony in town and was the main reason why things no longer felt the same. And many doubted that things ever would feel the same considering everything that had happened. Those newspapers and their dreadful headlines were nothing more than a painful reminder of everything that had been lost and would never get back. The Crystal Brighthouse still sat at the edge of town in all of its glory, though now a shell of its former self. It was no longer the centerpiece of all magic in Equestria, no longer the headquarters of friendship and harmony. The Unity Crystals were no longer safe and protected, powering the land through the combined powers of all three tribes. The rainbow prisbeam no longer shot out of the roof and blanketed the sky with its protective shield. In this decrepit state, it could’ve been mistaken for a normal lighthouse with a slightly different structure and no one would’ve been any the wiser. Since Sunny’s absence, nopony else had bothered to regularly tend to it. The paint on the walls were beginning to chip and the windows had been haphazardly left open. The stained glass displays were beginning to show their age and now looked much more faded than before. Nothing about this place screamed harmony or unity the way it used to. It just wasn’t the same. The three ponies walked up to the door and slowly creaked it open to reveal the inside and it wasn’t looking much better. The lights inside were flickering on and off and accumulating dust bunnies littered the corners. There was no activity to speak of happening in any of the main rooms, no cheerful voice greeting them and relaying her newest idea. What was once the vibrant, positive hub for the new protectors of Equestria was now a dirty drain shammed over with the blood of the innocent. Misty could feel her heart breaking the more she walked. This is what her actions caused. This was what her presence with these ponies had led to. They all would’ve been happy if it wasn’t for her. Why did she go back to them after stealing Sparky? Why did she let them house her? Bond with her? It was because of her that Maretime Bay was now a shell of its former self. She had let this all happen and she would never forgive herself. She walked upstairs past her friends, not even bothering to tell them where she was going. She was still angry at them for taking her across town and away from Pipp. The poor pop star pegasus was in a similar vulnerable position and at risk of falling to the dark side as well. Misty knew that couldn’t afford to be away from her too long and despite that, her friends had tried to put her above the pony who really needed it. Hadn’t they learned anything? Upon reaching the bedroom, Misty slammed the doors open and walked inside, skidding to a halt once she saw Pipp sobbing by her sister’s bedside. Zipp was hooked up to a recovery bed with a breathing tube on her mouth. Scars and cuts were all over her face and she had an IV in one of her hooves. Her eyes were closed and her mane was a disheveled mess. Misty still could not believe that this near-death patient was the same headstrong pegasus that had given her so much grief many months ago. She felt sick to her stomach and she didn’t know what to do. The old feeling of helplessness began engulfing her once more and she felt like dropping to her knees and crying as well. But she knew deep down that was not what Pipp needed at the moment. She needed a friend to be there for her. So she stepped up towards where the pegasus was and tapped her on the shoulder. Pipp turned, startled at the touch. “Stay back!! I have a-“ She calmed down upon seeing Misty. “Oh, Misty. It’s just you.” “I’m here, Pipp,” Misty assured her profusely. “I’ll always be here for you, I promise. Don’t ever forget that…” “Thanks…” Pipp thanked her. “You don’t need to assure me. I know you’ll do that.” She wiped her tears away. “How was the makeover? You look pretty fancy with that new hairdo. Sorry I couldn’t be there to see it.” “Don’t worry about it. You need to be here when Zipp wakes up.” “You mean if she does.” Pipp retorted bitterly, sighing. “Doctor Redcross came by earlier while you guys were away. He says that there’s a one in eight chance of her surviving her injuries. I’ll take what I can get at this point.” “I’m sorry to hear that. That’s…not a good ratio.” “You think?” “It looks like a shot in the dark. When’s the next checkup?” “Tomorrow. He said he wants to come by daily now. If she continues to slip…she…” Pipp’s eyes welled up with tears. “…he said that he’ll take her off life support. I tried to protest, but…he said it’s not worth prolonging her suffering like that.” Misty gasped. She felt tears of her own come and she let them stream down her cheeks. “I’m sorry…This is…this is all my fault, Pipp. I should’ve been there to stop the crowd from attacking you two. If I had just intervened-“ “No,” Pipp shook her head. “No, Misty. You couldn’t’ve done anything. We shouldn’t’ve even been there at the speech to begin with. It was a tense situation and the blame’s entirely on me for insisting on attending. Zipp tried to stop me.” “But I was the one who caused this situation to begin with!!” Misty cried. “What do you and the others not see?! If I’d just never shown up at your door, then Sunny would still be with you! Zipp would still be living her life! It’s because of me all this happened!!” “No it wasn’t,” Pipp replied firmly. “Sunny was going to be beaten up anyway. That witch Sugar Moonlight…I can’t believe I even idolized the Filly Four. They’re monsters. My point is, there was nothing you could’ve done. We should’ve been there for our friend when the town struck, not you. The blame is on us.” “But I still could’ve not stolen Sparky…” Misty said quietly, sighing deeply to herself. She walked over and stroked Zipp’s face gently. “The only reason why we’re in this mess to begin with is because I stole Sparky that night and let him get hurt. I took him when I had no reason to. I let Opaline twist my mind until I believed you all were the bad guys. I watched him be drained, all the life sucked out of him…” She shivered. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s dead.” “Let’s…try not to think about that.” “But it could be true!” Misty insisted. “All we’ve been doing is wasting our time with battle plan after battle plan and it’s because of that Sunny turned evil! If you guys just saved Sparky right after I took him, then we wouldn’t have to worry about anything. It’s because of my stupid recovery that you guys were set back! It’s because I couldn’t get over my past that we neglected Sunny! It’s because of my negligence that we couldn’t stop her from shattering the Crystals! Everything that’s ever happened…is my fault. You can’t deny it, Pipp.” Pipp looked crestfallen at that. “You couldn’t’ve known…what Opaline was planning.” “But I did…” Misty argued, a haunted look in her eyes. “I knew the whole time…but I just wasn’t entirely sure. But now I know. Looking back, it was obvious she was going to go after Sunny. After all, what was the point of me infiltrating the Filly Four many months back? What was the point of the compact mirror? The conversations? Sunny was never just the means to get her to the goal. Sunny was the goal. She wanted to control her from the very beginning. She wanted a true apprentice to rule alongside her. She never wanted a pathetic unicorn like me with nothing to offer, no cutie mark, no magic. No, what she really wanted from the start…” She trailed off, realizing at once the horrible truth that had been eluding her for quite some time. “…was?” prodded Pipp cautiously. “…was an alicorn.” Misty finished darkly. She could sense the air in the room grow colder around them at that last statement, the same atmosphere as the castle she grew up in. Thunder boomed outside and the wind began to blow stronger. It was almost as if Opaline was somehow watching them from afar. “No…” Pipp realized, her eyes going wide with horror. “If she could control the pony who brought back magic,” Misty explained, her body shaking all over from fear. “Then she could control all of Equestria and the lands beyond.” Meanwhile, Hitch and Izzy were sitting together in the kitchen room, waiting for Misty and Pipp to return from upstairs and give them an update on Zipp’s condition. They had waited patiently for about 45 minutes for either of the distressed ponies to come down the ramp to no avail and they were starting to get concerned. Finally, when no update came again, Hitch stood up from his chair and headed towards the front doors of the Brighthouse without wasting any time. He was fed up with waiting for the two of them and he had his own life to take care of. “Where are you going, Hitch?” Izzy asked curiously, noticing this action. “You know we can’t be out after a certain curfew. Opaline and Sunny will be hunting for us come midnight.” “I’m heading over to Grandma Figgy’s,” Hitch told her. When she tried to protest, he silenced her with a hoof. “Look, it’s the only thing I can do right now. I have to cool off. Misty really gave me a migraine back there.” “Are you mad at her for ordering us to head home?” inquired Izzy worriedly. “Yes, I am!” Hitch shouted furiously. “That ungrateful brat. We tried giving her some leisure time to help distract her from what happened with Sunny, and what does she say?!” He held up his hooves to use as air quotes. “‘Waaa, I didn’t agree to this at all! Take me home, waaa!’ Dammit!!” He slammed them on the ground right afterwards. “What does it take for her to be happy?! A trip to the Moon?!” Izzy flinched from the gesture. “Oh…well, go easy on her, Hitch. You know everything that’s happened so far has been rough on her. She just needs time to realize that Sunny’s turn wasn’t her fault.” Hitch scoffed. “Hmph, you think? We’ve given her weeks. How much longer do you want me to go easy on her before I have to tell her to stop being rude?!” Izzy stood up and walked over towards him. “She’s not like other ponies. She’s never had a normal life and from what I’ve seen, her emotions are…more raw than most. She doesn’t have the self-restraint that most of us do. Please don’t be hard on her. She’s had enough of that already.” “With the amount of times you defend her, I’m starting to think that you should be her mother or something.” Hitch spat before grabbing his sheriff’s badge off of one of his jackets on the coat hanger. “You have fun with her. I’m actually going to enjoy my life.” As he reached for the door handle, he was stopped by Izzy’s hoof on his shoulder. He glared at the concerned unicorn. “What do you want now?!” “You can’t tell Misty to get over her past,” Izzy stated sternly. “Considering that the entire reason Sunny turned evil to begin with was because you couldn’t get over yours. I know you’re blaming yourself for her fall as well.” Hitch flicked her hoof off of him. “Yeah? Well at least I’m not taking my anger out on my friends, the only ponies generous enough to give her A HOME TO BEGIN WITH!!” Izzy said nothing, only standing there with a look of disappointment. “You should tell her to watch her mouth. I could’ve very easily thrown her in prison for what she did to Sparky and I still can.” Hitch threatened. “I have the grounds to charge her.” “You wouldn’t do that. You know how I’d feel.” “I don’t care. At the end of the day, I’m the sheriff, not you.” With that, he stormed outside and slammed the doors in her face, making it clear that their conversation was effectively over. The Marestream flew at a rapid pace through the night sky in the direction of Grandma Figgy’s cottage. The engines let out a loud roaring sound as the airship traversed throughout the starry canvas it called its domain. In the two weeks following magic being destroyed, the Marestream had been outfitted to run on actual fuel instead of the lantern’s power and it now has an actual engine to go with it. This was to ensure that no matter what happened, they would always be able to travel between places on it. Hitch sat in the pilot’s seat with a couple of apple ciders in two opposite cup holders, which he periodically drank in order to numb his anger while listening to “Something In The Way” by Marevana. He had left the Brighthouse as just the thought of Misty’s attitude earlier infuriated him. He knew she was grieving, but how could she speak to them like that when all they were doing was something nice for her?! He and Izzy had gone out of their ways to bribe Jazz to keep Mane Melody open and this was how the unicorn repaid them. He knew that he shouldn’t blame her, but he had no one else to project his own insecurities onto. If he was to be honest with himself, Izzy was right. He had no right to tell Misty what she could or couldn’t do considering that he still could not get over his own personal demons. He just didn’t know what to do, and his mind was still fixated on how he inadvertently helped contribute to Sunny’s downfall by not trusting her. If he had just told her how much she was truly valued, then perhaps things could’ve been different and she still would’ve been around today. The problem was that he could never admit just how much he truly blamed himself for Sunny’s fall. Through his training to become sheriff of Maretime Bay, he learned that leaders weren’t meant to show emotions to others. Emotions weren’t for sharing. You had to be calm, stoic, emotionless. You had to carry out the position with grace and humility, never allow yourself to feel as that rendered you susceptible to the temptations of criminals. Yet he had broken that rule so many times with Sunny. He had let her off the hook so many times and it had resulted in her being right the whole time. So why couldn’t he do the same with Misty? Yes, she was acting quite nippy, but that didn’t mean that he had to be harsh to her back, especially when she didn’t deserve it. Here he was now, a broken down, drunken alcoholic mess listening to melodramatic music on the radio. He had used to be so much stronger and his classes as a colt had always warned him against drinking. He remembered swearing to the officer in charge of the lecture to never ever touch alcohol nor cider. But he had nothing else to help free him from the amount of pent-up anger and sadness he felt. He had no one to talk to, no one to confide in about his worries. He was truly a lone stallion trapped in a broken world. Sunny would know exactly what to say to me right about now. His grief over his childhood friend was consuming his entire being. He knew exactly how Misty felt, and he knew exactly what she was going through, if not more so. He knew what it was like to make mistakes and have to suffer the consequences for them. If only he could learn to open up to either of his friends about how he was feelings. Oh who was he kidding? He could never share his feelings with anypony in public. The town needed him now more than ever. The rest of his friends were either broken wrecks or near death. He had to be the leader that they desrved. He was their last hope for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. He could never tell them how terrified he truly was. After all, if he ever allowed himself to falter, then everypony else would surely follow suit. There was no escape for the sheriff. He was the final line of defense. He could never allow himself to be indecisive, nor to try and live a normal life. He’d seen where that had gotten him. But there was one pony he could be open with in private besides Sunny, and that was his Grandma Figgy. He took the cup of cider out of the cupholder and drank it whole, feeling the taste soothe his tastebuds. His mind relaxed and he focused on driving to his destination. The Marestream eventually arrived at a familiar cottage in the far outskirts of Maretime Bay. The wheels came down and it touched down on the tall grass. Hitch stepped out and stumbled to the door. The effects of the cider were beginning to kick in and his mind felt fuzzy. He rescued out with his hoof and knocked on the door. At first, there was no answer for about a minute. Then he heard the sound of the doorknob turning and door slowly opened to reveal none other than Grandma Figgy herself. “Oh my Hitchie!!” Grandma Figgy exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’ve come to see me!! What’s the occasion?” “Just need some rest, Grandma Figgy…” Hitch murmured. “And to lay off the booze.” He began to wobble and struggled to stay on his hooves. Grandma Figgy shook her head disapprovingly. “Have those D.A.R.E classes taught you nothing, dear?” She sighed. “Come inside, come inside. I’ll prepare some proper drinks.” Hitch came inside and got settled on the living room sofa while Grandma Figgy prepared glasses of water and tea. He knew the elder mare was disappointed in him, but what could he say? How could he explain how helpless he had been feeling? The truth was, he didn’t know how. Upon Grandma Figgy delivering a plate of hot tea, Hitch swallowed it up immediately, feeling the pure taste wash away the horrible after effects of the alcoholic cider in his system. His mind began to clear up and he felt a lot better. “Thanks, Grandma,” Hitch thanked him. “To tell you the truth…I haven’t been feeling like myself lately. Since magic died…we’ve all been a bit on edge.” “I know that, dear,” Grandma Figgy replied with concern in her voice. “But is that any reason to start resorting to alcoholism? You know what Officer Greenhorn said about that. If drugs make you want to take a lick-“ “-then they can also make you want to get sick.” Hitch finished. “I know, but…losing Sunny really hit me hard and to tell you the truth, I don’t know what I’m even doing. I’ve tried to put on a brave face and pretend like everything will be fine, but the more I try and bury my emotions, the more bridges I burn. And I can’t admit my insecurities. Not when the whole world could burn down at any moment.” “It’s hard being the pillar of a community,” Grandma Figgy told him. “Your father used to confide in me a lot about how hard being sheriff was. He always said that it was a struggle to mask your emotions in times of crisis, but you should never close yourself off from those closest to you.” “But what if being too close to them gets them hurt?” Hitch asked helplessly. “I let my concern for Sunny’s well-being drive her away. What if the same thing happens to Misty? Or Pipp because she’s grieving over whether Zipp will survive? I can’t let their emotions get to them, just as I can’t let my emotions get to me. Not now.” “Emotions are not the problem, Hitchie,” explained Grandma Figgy firmly. “It all comes down to how you manage them. Cutting yourself off from your feelings will not make things any better, nor will it help to run away from your problems like this. We’re all ponies and we all have our own insecurities. You can share them with me.” Hitch let out a deep sigh. “Every night…ever since magic was destroyed, I’ve been…tormented by those painful memories in my sleep. I can still see the hurt in Sunny’s eyes, the betrayal…the fever, the rage, the feeling of…powerlessness. It was exactly how she felt when Argyle died, yet instead of being there for her when she needed it this time, I neglected her to focus on Misty.” “You know Misty needed the support.” “Yes, but now we’re all on the brink of collapsing!” Hitch snapped, his eyes filled with terror. “Any one of us could be next! Opaline could be lurking around every corner now that she’s free! Who’s to say that she’s not watching us right now?!” “That’s ridiculous,” Grandma Figgy retorted. “She probably doesn’t care about us puny little ponies anyway now that she has what she wants.” “I can’t be too sure.” Hitch answered, looking out the window into the nothingness beyond. “I really can’t be sure of anything anymore…” CLAP!!!! Misty’s eyes snapped open upon hearing the sound of lightning striking the roof of the Brighthouse above her. She shot up in bed, throwing the covers off of her and ran to the window, thinking that Opaline had finally found them. She was prepared to wake Pipp up from her sleep, but she chose not to upon seeing nothing outside. She silently cursed herself for being scared of a small lightning strike and prepared to head back to bed when the doors to the bedroom opened and in walked a disheveled, exhausted looking Izzy. Her mane looked frazzled and she was sporting a sad expression on her face. Misty turned around to greet her. “Oh hi, Izzy. I…thought you were sleeping. Why are you up so late?” “Why are you?” was the dispirited craftsmare’s response. “I got scared by a lightning strike…” Misty admitted. “I know, it’s stupid. But…I’ve always been afraid of thunderstorms. Opaline told me once that they were a sign from the heavens that I wasn’t doing my job right. You’d be surprised as to what filly me could believe at that age.” “I can relate,” Izzy replied. “Back in Bridlewood, the elders call them jinxie storms, meaning that if it isn’t forecasted and it just happens on a whim, that means we got the gods angry and they cast some sort of curse on us. I honestly wouldn’t rule it out at this point.” Misty closed the window and walked over to her. “I see. Izzy, this may seem out of left field, but…do you remember your parents? Your real parents?” Izzy seemed confused. “What brought that up?” “I…” Misty was struggling for the right words to say. In reality, she was just intrigued to know more about her friend’s home life before moving to Maretime Bay. “I don’t know, was just…curious.” “Well,” Izzy explained. “I do remember a bit about my parents…it’s a bit fuzzy, but…their names were Star Collector and Moon Watcher. They were forced out of Bridlewood when I was very little. Mom was…revealed to be an earth pony and Alphabittle gave Dad an ultimatum. Either leave her or be…exiled from Bridlewood.” “Oh…” Misty couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could somepony try and break apart a couple who loved each other like that? It made her angry inside, but also sad for Izzy. “Then that evening,” Izzy continued, her eyes welling up with tears. “They told me the unfortunate news. They were going to leave me behind as they thought I would have a better future in town than on the run…I gave them one final hug before…Alphabittle set the village on them. I still remember seeing the pitchforks, the knives, and the anger of the crowd…That was the last time I ever saw them alive.” “I’m sorry…” “I grew up…never truly knowing them,” Izzy finished sadly. “But even as I grew older, I knew that I had lost two ponies that would’ve been there for me if circumstances were different. They never…got to see me grow into the pony I am now. That kind of loss cuts deep through the heart, even though you try and bury it under a mountain of smiles and laughs…” Misty reached out with her hoof and put it on Izzy’s shoulder. “Maybe…maybe it happened for a reason. Maybe fate…set you on that path so you could meet Sunny and the others and…help save the world. Sometimes when dealing with hard situations, I tend to think they happen…for a reason. You’re here now, you’re telling me this.” “It’s not worth it…” Izzy said, shaking her head. “I would’ve been better off a normal pony, never having to endure the evils of the world…but, all things considered, I suppose I wouldn’t’ve been as happy. But it doesn’t matter now, does it? My first friend ever is gone…” She looked down to the ground in sadness. “Why don’t…” Misty suggested. “Why don’t you sleep with me tonight? We’ll sleep together. That’ll make you feel better.” Izzy lifted her head up at that. “R-really? You’d…do that for me?” Misty nodded. “It’s the least I can do after…you know…snapping at you earlier today. You didn’t deserve that.” “You know I don’t blame you for that, Misty.” Izzy said softly. “It was Hitch and I’s fault for thinking you needed to get out. You just wanted to be there for Pipp, I get that. I just wish…that I could have that same chance…to travel back in time and tell Sunny just how much we love her.” “Maybe one day you’ll get that chance, Izzy. Don’t give up…” As the two unicorns climbed into bed, lightning struck once again and rain started to pour down onto the ground outside. This time however, Misty wasn’t afraid. She had somepony there to protect her, and she wasn’t afraid of any silly thunderstorm. It took a while, but after snuggling up back to back with Izzy, Misty’s eyes grew heavy and she yawned before falling into a deep sleep.