Chapter Thirty Five.
Foal In Need.
*18 Years Ago*
Opaline looked down at her bed, laying before her was a tiny blue unicorn foal sound asleep. The cries of the tiny foal had tricked her body into producing milk for the first time in years, allowing her to settle the foal by feeding her. The alicorn knew this wouldn't work in the long run and that she'd need to get ahold of formula and other supplies from somewhere.
"What am I going to do with you?.." Opaline spoke softly, gently stroking the foal's face with her hoof, causing them to stir in their sleep. Opaline looked over at the blanket lying on the floor, gently picking it up as she spotted words printed on it, "Misty Blossomforth..." She read the words out aloud, "Why does that last name sound so... Familiar..." The alicorn quickly shook her head as Misty began to whimper.
"Ssh..." Opaline gently scooped up the blue unicorn, holding her to her chest, "Well, Misty... If you're going to be living with me long term, I'll need to get you supplies." She glanced up at a map on her desk, "And I think I know where to get them."
"Ok Misty, this'll keep your horn hidden, as well as keeping you warm." Opaline looked down at Misty, the foal lay in a sling against her chest, as she put on an oversized woollen hat onto the foal's head. From what Opaline remembered, Maretime Bay was quite chilly, even during summer. Opaline flicked up her hood and made sure her wings were concealed under her old tattered cloak, she ruffled up her mane to hide her horn for good measure. Opaline gulped nervously as she trotted down the hill, towards the town.
"Right, a grocery store should have everything we ne-" Opaline cut off before seeing the large crowd of ponies that swarmed the streets, "Oh you've got to be kidding." She frowned at what appeared to be some sort of fair, she turned around and glanced back up at the hill she trotted down, a lighthouse perched at the top. Her waypoint for getting home once she's found the store. "Here goes nothing..." She sighed, keeping her head down as she trotted towards the crowd.
Opaline held a hoof close to Misty, shielding the tiny foal from any bumps and shoves as the disguised alicorn weaved through the crowd, "Happy Maretime Bay Day!" She heard the ponies say as she passed them, she held her hood down, hoping none of them would notice her horn poking the top of the hood.
"You need any help, ma'am?" Opaline heard someone call out to her, she looked down to see a small yellow filly standing in front of her, a green bow in her pink mane.
"Well, hello there." Opaline knelt down to the filly, "What's your name?" She smiled
"I'm Posey Bloom!" The filly giggled, "You look like you're lost." She raised an eyebrow, "First time in Maretime Bay?" She added.
"Uh, Yes, yes it is my first time here. Say, you don't happen to know where I might find a grocery store that's open now, it seems like the entire town is here." She gestured to the crowd of ponies passing her by.
"Mhmm, just follow the streetcar tracks and you should see the grocery store on your right, just past the sheriff's office." Posey politely gestured towards the direction Opaline had been heading.
"Thank you Posey." Opaline gently ruffled Posey's mane, the filly giggling as Opaline stood back up and continued along the main street.
Opaline decided to sit down on a bench overlooking the beach, the hot summer sun beating down on her as she watched parents with their foals playing in the sand below. She let out a sigh before being shaken out of her thoughts by Misty fidgeting around in the sling, "Ok ok, let's go going, fussy baby..." Opaline smiled under her hood as she rose from the bench.
Opaline slowed her pace as Misty settled down, trotting along the street just fast enough to keep the foal asleep as she continued to weave in and out of the crowd, an orange filly ran out in front of her. The filly narrowly dodged Opaline as she ran past.
"I'm so sorry about her." A dishevelled-looking stallion apologised to the cloaked pony before running after the filly.
"Argyle?" Opaline blurted out loudly before covering her mouth, "He can't see me." She quickly darted down a nearby alley, taking cover behind a large dumpster.
The stallion stopped and turned around, only to find the cloaked figure gone, "Opaline?" He whispered under his breath, quickly trotted to where the figure once stood and looked around among the ponies trotting past in every direction.
Opaline peeked her head out from behind the dumpster, she looked at Argyle with pain in her heart as the stallion looked all around, "Daddy, what's wrong?" Opaline saw the orange filly running back over.
Argyle embraced the filly, "Nothing, Sunny Bunny." He nuzzled the filly gently before turning around, taking one last look before trotting away with the filly.
"My little Stellar... " Opaline softy spoke, a lone tear rolling down her cheek, "Look at how much you've grown... How much I've missed... All to keep you safe..." She wiped the tear from her cheek, sniffling, "I promise Stellar, I'll be back when I kill Dark Star..." She gritted her teeth at the very thought of the mare who had ruined her life.
Opaline looked down at the sling, Misty stared up at her, giggling softly, "One day, little Misty, you'll meet your big sister." Opaline spoke to the foal, determination in her voice as she made her decision, she'll keep Misty and raise her as her own, it's what Argyle would do if he were in Opaline's place right now.
Opaline looked in each direction before exiting the alley, cloak fluttering behind her as the sign for the grocery store came into view, "Nearly there." She spoke to Misty, looking down at the sling.
"What magic is this?" Opaline thought to herself as the doors opened automatically for her, mildly amused as she looked around the store. Her eyes scanned all the shelves she could see from the entrance, "Hmm, now to get you supplies, little Misty." Opaline gently placed Misty down into a shopping cart and started to push the cart forward.
Much to her relief, the store was practically a ghost town, no doubt everyone was outside at what she found out to be something called 'Maretime Bay Day'. The lack of ponies quickly allowed Opaline to gather all the supplies she needed for Misty. Pushing the now full cart towards the single checkout counter open, she felt the pouch of coins under her wing, "I'll pay you back for these Argyle..." She muttered under her breath as she stopped the cart by the counter.
"My my, Is she your firstborn?" The cashier spoke politely, smiling warmly, "I've never seen a pony buy this many foal supplies in all my 30 years working in retail." The cashier chuckled.
Opaline cautiously studied the cashier, a nametag on their chest read 'Carica Fig', "Uh, No, she isn't my firstborn, she just came as a surprise." Opaline chuckled nervously as she gently placed all the items onto the checkout for scanning. Misty, meanwhile, began to fidget around the cart, knocking off the hat concealing her horn, "Misty!" Opaline gasped in horror, quickly putting the hat back on to the foal, the cashier just chuckled.
"Never thought I'd see a unicorn foal in my life." Fig chucked, taking off her glasses and wiping them, "Let alone in my work of all places." She put her glasses back on.
"Please don't report us!" Opaline begged, holding her front hooves together and begging the cashier to not call the local law enforcement.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to call the Sheriff." Fig smiled reassuringly.
"You're- you're not?" Opaline stuttered in surprise.
"Of course not. Unlike most of the town, I never believed the trash they spout about unicorns being evil with brain-melting lasers." Fig chuckled softly as Misty let out a giggle.
"What about those of the horned and winged variety?" Opaline pulled down her hood and spread her wings, revealing her alicorn body.
"You're an alicorn?" Fig asked, slightly unnerved by Opaline's scared appearance, "I thought they were extinct..." She trailed off.
"I'm the last of my kind..." Opaline lied with a nervous grin, "All the other alicorns died out thousands of years ago..." She added, ears falling flat against her head as Fig slowly scanned each item.
"I'm sorry, dear." Fig spoke softly as she finished scanning the items and showed Opaline the total for all the shopping.
Opaline paid for the items and quickly left the store, hood up, Misty back in the sling and all the supplies on her back. The alicorn quickly galloped along the street, the crowd had dispersed as clouds slowly blocked out the sun. Her hooves skidded to a stop on the cobblestones, eyes locking with an old rusty wagon, "Hmm... I wonder..." Darting her eyes left and right, Opaline cautiously approached the wagon and saw it was covered in mud and rust like it had been left outside for weeks if not months.
"Surely, it won't be missed..." Opaline mused to herself as she inspected the wagon, tapping a wheel with her hoof, "Seems sound enough." She thought to herself as she loaded up the wagon with the supplies she was carrying on her back.
"Ready to go?" Opaline looked down at the sling where Misty slept, the foal snuggled up against her chest, seeking warmth from the wind, "I'll take that as a yes." She smiled. The alicorn gently strapped the wagon's harness to her waist and pulled forward, one wheel locked up. Opaline grumbled under her breath, kicking the wheel and releasing the brake.
Opaline neared the top of the hill, the lighthouse stood off to her right. She tried her hardest to avoid glancing up at the towering structure, far too many memories persisted there for her liking. She marched past the building, cresting the hill and began to downward slope towards the forest that marked the town boundary. She stopped and slowly turned towards the lighthouse, the sun being eclipsed by its silhouette.
"Farewell, Argyle... Wherever you are..." Opaline sighed, finally glancing up at the lighthouse, the wind fluttering her cloak and tail behind her, "Keep our daughter safe... I will be back for you..." She added, wiping a tear from her eye as she turned towards the forest and slowly crossed over the threshold and continued.
The forest was silent as Opaline slowly trotted down an ancient path. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped under her hooves, she picked up the pace as Misty began to whimper in the sling, "Sssh..." Opaline comforted the tiny foal, placing a hoof to her face, "It's ok... We're nearly home." She smiled down at Misty reassuringly as she waived the wagon around thick tree trunks.
She let out a small sigh of relief as her home came into view among the trees and shrubbery. Mud and briers clung to her cloak and legs as she pulled the wagon into the clearing where the old guard outpost stood, "We're home, Misty." She smiled as the foal giggled in reply as she removed her cloak.
Opaline parked the wagon just inside the structure, by the heavy oak doors and quickly unloaded it, moving all the items into the kitchen before sitting down on her chair in front of a raging fire. Misty cradled in her hooves, hungrily drinking from a bottle, Opaline reclined in the chair, resting her head on the back, a smile on her face as Misty drank the formula with little resistance.
"Welcome to the family, Misty Arcana." Opaline spoke softly, her eyes locking with a painting of her, Argyle and Stellar hanging above the fireplace as the flames danced slowly.
End of Chapter Thirty Five.