The battle was over and the day was won. Opaline had been defeated, and the massive quantities of Cutie Marks she'd stolen were returned to their rightful owners. It was only thanks to the magic of everypony in Equestria combined that Sunny Starscout and her friends had managed to take her down. Alphabittle smiled warmly at the thought, as he poured another cup of tea for himself.
In the aftermath of the disaster, he'd immediately called Misty again to make sure she'd recovered her mark as well. Once she'd assured him that she was, in fact, fine, she and Sunny had done a quick livestream, informing everypony about Opaline, and how she wasn't going to come back to steal their Cutie Marks again. The relief felt by everypony was palpable in the air. Alphabittle had sent Misty a text, requesting that she visit him when she had the time, as his personal encounter with Opaline still hung heavy in his brain.
That was how Alphabittle found himself in the Crystal Tearoom, waiting for his lost and found daughter to come in. The conversation the two would have was more for his own peace of mind than anything, but he was still afraid. He hoped Misty wouldn't see his actions as digging too deep into her past. It was hard to believe that he still didn't know his own daughter that well. Sure, it was due to the fact that she'd been foalnapped for most of her life, but that didn't lessen the sting.
Alphabittle was pushed out of his thoughts by the jingling of the doorbell. Misty was using her magic to push open the door, and with another quick pulse, shoved it closed once again. She took a quick glance around the tearoom, before her eyes fell on her father. Alphabittle waved to her.
"Hey, Dad!" Misty cheered, trotting over to the counter. She parked herself in the chair directly in front of Alphabittle.
"You know, I don't mind if you don't call me that," he insisted. "If it's awkward for you, you can just call me Alphabittle."
Misty shook her head. "No, thank you. I've gotten used to it by now. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to you if I refused to call you Dad."
Alphabittle smiled a little. "If you're sure," he replied. "Do you want your usual?" He grabbed another tea cup using his magic.
"Yes, please!"
Alphabittle poured Misty her favorite tea, and passed it to her. Misty blew on it lightly before sipping.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Misty began, after putting down her tea. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, you're not sick, are you?!"
"No, nothing like that," Alphabittle insisted, shaking his head. "It's about..." He chewed his lip for a second, afraid of setting her off. "It's about Opaline."
He braced himself for Misty's reaction. While the bushy-maned unicorn's smile did drop, and her ears tilted forward a little, she didn't cry out. Her eyes didn't begin to water. Still, her expression gave Alphabittle pause.
"I understand it's an uncomfortable subject for you," he hurriedly added. "If you don't want to—"
"No, Dad, it's okay. You just surprised me, that's all. I didn't expect you'd want to talk about her."
Alphabittle took this as a sign to continue. "When she was going around stealing Cutie Marks, when she got to me, and told me her name, I recognized her from your story. I got so angry at her. I asked her what kind of monster she was, to take a filly from her home, wipe her memories, and basically use her as a slave. She told me...she told me it was her right. Because she deserved all the magic in Equestria, whatever method she used to gain it was morally correct. She said it was your destined purpose to serve her, as with all other ponies." He swallowed, trying to keep his emotions in check. "When I thought of you, having to live with that monster for so many moons, I..." He couldn't go on.
Misty frowned, reaching forward with one hoof to touch his. "It's okay, Dad. Sure, I know now that Opaline was a jerk, but it's not like anything she did to me was your fault."
"Yes, it was!" Alphabittle insisted. "I should've been watching you that night. I shouldn't have let you go out on your own. I should've...I...there's no excuse for you having to go through that. Having your foalhood stolen from you like that."
He couldn't hold it back any longer. A single tear dripped from his eye. It didn't escape Misty's notice, as she trotted around the counter and hugged him.
"I guess we should be grateful you didn't meet her before we found each other," she joked. "Otherwise, you would've doubled down on me doing stuff for fillies!"
Alphabittle released a small chuckle at the thought. He returned Misty's hug, before wiping his eyes.
"Do you remember," he began, "when we were at the Breezie Night Market? When you and the others were all turned into foals?" Misty nodded. "You wouldn't believe how tempted I was to leave you that way, just so we could have those times again. If I'd known then what I know now..." Alphabittle shivered. "Still, that wouldn't have been fair to you."
"Yeah, but you didn't do it," replied Misty. "That's what matters."
"True." Alphabittle hugged Misty one more time, and she went back around the counter. "I'm sorry about how you had to live with Opaline for all that time."
"It wasn't that bad," Misty insisted. "Sure, she was really bossy, and she always yelled at me when I made mistakes, and she told me I could only ever get a Cutie Mark if I worked for her, and nopony would ever like me except her, and..." She trailed off upon noticing the expression on Alphabittle's face. "I'm not really helping my case, am I?"
"No," replied Alphabittle. Still, the two laughed for a while, before the somber mood resettled over them. "At least you proved her wrong. Now you're friends with Izzy, Sunny and the others, and we have each other again."
"Yeah." Misty's frown returned to her face. "I wish she could've seen the value of friendship, too. When she took my Cutie Mark, I tried to talk to her. I told her about how I was able to earn my mark by making friends and helping them, and how she didn't have to be by herself all the time. I think part of her was lonely, and she tried to fill that by stealing magic. She wouldn't listen."
Alphabittle felt pride swell up inside him. "You did make an effort," he replied. "That has to count for something. Besides, after what she put you through, nopony would blame you if you considered her irredeemable."
"You have a point," said Misty, "but what if Sunny and the others made that decision about me? When I took Sparky, I hurt them. I could've ended up just like Opaline did."
That thought made Alphabittle shiver. "You're right. Good thing we don't have to worry about that happening."
Misty smiled. "Yeah. They're good ponies. And so am I."
The two continued their conversation, delving into topics such as Alphabittle's relationship with Queen Haven. For a few minutes, all was right with them.