When they finally got back to the dance floor, they weren’t prepared for what they saw, not even Misty. Ponies were gathered around a group of ponies that Misty didn’t recognize, but based on the gasp that came out of Zipp’s mouth, she’d say that she did. She sees Sunny and Hitch excited as well and wonders why. She taps on Zipp’s arm, getting the Pegasus’ attention,
“Sorry, but I’m confused. Who are those ponies?” She asks and Zipp looks shocked then seems to think about something before deciding to explain.
“Sorry, I keep forgetting that you didn’t grow up the same way as us. But the group of Pegasi is my all-time favorite band: Electric Blue. The Pegasus that's colored like a ruby is Ruby Jubilee, Pipp's favorite singer. The three female Earth Ponies are Sunny and Hitch's favorite singer group: The Dreamlands. But I had no idea mom invited them too! Oh my god, I almost wanna walk right up to her and thank her. Almost.” Zipp says humorously as she nudges Misty, causing both of them to laugh before joining their friends just in time for Queen Haven to introduce the special guests. Each one earns applause and gives their own special greeting.
“We wanna thank you all for coming and we'd like to thank Queen Haven for presenting us and honoring us with this glorious opportunity.” Ruby Jubilee says, causing all the other singers to agree and everyone to applaud Queen Haven, who nods her head in acknowledgement with a smile on her face.
“We also want to give our thanks to Sunny Starscout and her friends for looking out for Equestria all these years.” Minty, the lead singer of the Dreamlands says, causing the crowd's attention to suddenly be on Sunny and the others. For a second, they all get nervous, thinking that they think the worst of them now… but then almost everyone claps and they sigh in relief.
“We know things haven’t been easy for you these past couple of days, but that’s ok. We know you’ll pull through.” Snuzzle, the second singer for the Dreamlands, says before the last singer, Blue Belle, speaks up.
“You always do, and this will be no different.” She says and everyone agrees, bringing smiles to the Mane 5's faces.
“Thank you so much everyone… We promise that we’ll do our best to defend Equestria from whatever threats dare to get in its way.” Sunny says, putting one hand over her heart to emphasize her promise. “Hoof to Heart.” She says and all her friends do the same thing.
“Hoof to heart!” They all say and everyone claps in response. Haven and Alphabittle smile at this before Haven walks forward and spreads her wings while addressing the crowd.
“And with that, let the festivities begin!” She says before Jazz and Rocky, who Vi had brought with her, change up the music to something that all the singers requested… and it was one of Pipp and Violet's most popular songs. Once it starts playing, all the singers add their own lyrics to it as everyone dances. The Mane 5 all start dancing along with Solaris and Sky Blazer. Misty smiles and decides to sit out since she doesn’t have a partner this time. For a second, it just seems… so easy for her to forget what she’s supposed to be doing… to forget all the violence and bloodshed that’s transpired and is going to transpire… but she doesn’t allow herself that for too long.
She sighs and checks to see if anyone's watching her then pulls out her alicorn mirror and when she opens it, she immediately sees Opaline on the other side. She frowns and gives the others one more look then looks back at the irritated looking alicorn.
“Tell Nightshade that I’m ready to begin the plan.” She requests and Opaline nods before Misty closes the mirror and just waits. She soon sees Nightshade through the skylight, looking down at her. Misty gives her a nod, causing her to nod in return before jumping up and delivering a powerful blast downwards, causing the skylight to explode, the shockwave making all the windows shatter. Nightshade drops in, disguised as Misty in her armor and mask and almost immediately, guards are attacking her but she’s too fast and skilled for them, injuring all of them and taking one hostage and using Misty's blade to bind them.
She looks at Misty and her horn glows, causing Misty’s throat to do the same before her own throat does it too and so do her eyes. This confuses Misty… until she hears Nightshade speak using Misty’s voice or at least how it sounds when she’s wearing her mask while under the influence of the spell.
“I doubt I have to explain why I’m here.” She says and Misty is shocked and amazed. Nightshade can’t just copy appearances, she can also copy voices? That’s amazing… or at least it would be if Nightshade wasn’t using it for bad.
“Let me guess. You want Sparky? Not happening.” Sunny says, glaring at her… meanwhile her Alicorn empathy was trying to tell her something, but she didn’t know what.
“No? That’s fine, I’ll just shred this guard to pieces and broil him alive while I do!” She shouts as the blades on the whip start to glow and she looks like she’s about to pull it and literally chop up the guard while cooking him alive. She gives Misty a glare as a subtle signal to hurry up and do something so she can avoid killing someone, for Misty's sake.
“Wait wait wait!” Misty shouts, drawing the attention of everyone in the room to her. “Hitch, give Sparky to me…” She says and Hitch hesitates and Zipp is about to protest and question what she’s doing until she speaks up. “Please… trust me.” Misty pleads and Hitch looks between her and Sparky before slowly giving him to her. She gently takes him and he looks confused as she slowly walks into the middle of the room with him. “You want him?” She asks, getting a nod from Nightshade.
“You’ve gotta catch me first!” She says before bolting straight for the doors, causing Nightshade to try and blast her but Izzy freezes her hand then jumps towards her and kicks her back, making her let go of the whip. Pipp and Zipp quickly untie the guard but just as they do, Nightshade uses magic to pull the whip to her then turn it into its blade form and block an ice blast from Izzy.
“You’re not getting Misty or Sparky!” Izzy shouts angrily, her eyes glowing a bright blueish-white. The others notice that she now has a glowing blue snowflake marking on her shoulder, another on her head where her horn was, and one more on her chest, right where her heart is. They look amazed, as they’ve never seen this happen to her before. Nightshade eventually maneuvers around the blast before they can box her in and sends a wave of fire towards them all, putting the crowd in danger in the process.
Luckily, Sunny makes a shield and blocks it off from everyone and everything, but that gives Nightshade an opening to swing the blade around herself, making a wall of flame that blocks her from anyone’s view. Sunny growls in anger and jumps through the shield, lunging through the flames and slamming her fist down hard, only to hit the ground instead of her since… she’s gone. Damnit… well, at least she didn’t really hurt anyone… too badly. And at least the shockwave from her punch extinguished the flames.
“Is everyone ok?” Sunny asks as she drops the shield, earning nods from everyone. “Good… wait, Misty!” Sunny shouts as she realizes that Misty was all alone… and she had Sparky! They had to find her fast! They all run out after swift apologies to Queen Haven and everyone else and they begin the search for Misty… they just hoped this pony wouldn’t hurt her too much and that she could keep her distracted and hang on to Sparky until they got there.
“Please be ok… both of you.” Sunny says as she continues running and looking around for them with the others. “We’re coming…”
Misty continues running as far as she can from the party which leads her outside the castle and down into the rest of Zephyr Heights. She takes a moment to rest against a building but as soon as she does, she hears something and looks down an alleyway to see glowing purple eyes staring back. Nightshade slowly walks out of the alleyway and signs to Misty that they bought it.
“Ok, good. Now I’m gonna give you Sparky, but before I do, there’s something you need to do first.” Misty says and when Nightshade tilts her head in confusion, she sighs before looking her dead in the eyes. “You have to make it look like you were forced to take him from me… which means you have to hurt me… badly.” Misty says and Nightshade seems hesitant but also impressed that Misty was committed enough to the mission to willingly get beaten, possibly within an inch of her life.
“How badly?” Nightshade asks and Misty thinks about it before looking down at Sparky, who didn’t seem aggressive or angry, just confused and scared. She then looks at the castle then looks at Nightshade.
“Badly enough to make it believable that I tried to defend him… and you almost killed me because of it. Meaning cuts, burns, bruises, maybe one stab wound.” Misty says hesitantly, looking down at her blade in Nightshade's hands, causing her to look down at it too then back at her. “Don’t worry, I can take it.” She says and Nightshade just stands there for a bit before stabbing Misty in the shoulder with the blade, making her scream in pain. Nightshade then yanks it out and punches her in the face, knocking her down to her own right side.
Misty drops Sparky in the process and Nightshade uses magic to make sure he stays there until she’s done. She then proceeds to beat Misty senseless, not liking any part of it, but knowing it’s what has to be done. Meanwhile, Sparky was actually trying to break out to help Misty. He didn’t know this was a trick and how could he? He was a baby dragon… but seeing someone that his pony friends also see as a friend get hurt by a bully like this armored unicorn… made him mad. He starts glowing green and growing in size but Nightshade sees this before she can deliver another blow to a half-conscious Misty.
She silently sighs in annoyance before using her magic to modify the barrier trapping Sparky, and before long… he starts falling asleep due to the sleeping spell she added. She keeps it up until he’s unconscious then turns her attention back to Misty. Misty slightly sits up and looks at herself then up at Nightshade.
“Good… but still not enough.” Misty says and Nightshade goes wide-eyed and starts signing frantically.
“Are you serious?! Anymore and I could kill you!” She says but Misty just gives her a small smile.
“I’m stronger than you know…” She says, quoting what Nightshade had told her in the bathroom at the castle, causing her to go even more wide-eyed… before slowly nodding and signing once again.
“Yes… indeed you are.” She says before taking the blade back out and calling on the flame magic within it. “I’m sorry for this Misty. I underestimated you. And I think Opaline has too.” She signs and Misty chuckles a bit.
“It’s ok… and feel free to tell Opaline that.” She says before they both hear someone calling out for Misty and recognize it to be Pipp. They must be close. “Oh no… whatever you’re gonna do, do it fast.” Misty urges and Nightshade frowns a bit, seeing Pipp notice them and start flying down as fast as she can. She charges the blade with more magic and gets ready to unleash it.
Pipp tries to hurry, but halfway there, she starts feeling dizzy and out of breath… and she can feel her heart beating very fast. She holds her chest as it starts to become painful. She looks ahead and sees the blade being swung between Nightshade and Misty, unleashing a wave of magic that causes an explosion.
“Misty!!!” Pipp screams before landing and falling over, coughing a bit and trying to catch her breath. What’s wrong with her…? Because of whatever this was, she wasn’t fast enough to save Misty… She looks to where they were and sees that Nightshade is gone… along with Sparky. She frowns and looks down, starting to hate herself and whatever the hell was doing this to her. The sad part is… this isn’t the first time it’s happened… ever since Zipp zapped her back to life, she hasn’t been as physically active and agile as she used to be. Her stamina wasn’t the same and whenever she started to push herself, she could feel her heartbeat speeding up drastically… almost to the point where she thinks it’ll explode.
She was also more sloppy in combat now. Her movements and footwork were off, her hits didn’t pack as much power, her aim was a bit off, and her weapons felt a bit heavier to her now, making it difficult for her to stay perfect or quickly recover when fighting. She punches the ground, letting out a sad scream… until she hears something and looks towards where the sound came from, seeing a trembling lump on the ground. She goes wide-eyed when she realizes… it’s Misty.
“Misty!” She shouts as she crawls forward and grabs onto the limp body of the mare, gently and slowly laying her down on her lap. Misty has a lot of pretty bad injuries… but she’s alive. “J-Just stay with me Misty. Help will be here soon.” Pipp says and just as she says that, Zipp lands right by her out of nowhere and crouches down next to her.
“Oh my god… is she still-“ Zipp starts to ask before just deciding to check Misty's pulse. Sunny and the others soon get there and see the state their friend was in. They also see that Sparky's gone…
They all frown, feeling shame, guilt, and anger alike. Zipp, while looking for any clues that might lead them to where Sparky was taken, discovers something… strange… but they could discuss it later. Right now, they needed to get Misty to a hospital… and fast.
Zephyr Heights Hospital
It had been a few hours since Misty was “attacked” and no one had any idea where Sparky had been taken. Misty should be happy but… she had seen the look Sparky had on his face while trying to get out. He was scared but… he was trying to help Misty more than himself… and her fri-… Those ponies… had been worried about her and carefully but quickly rushed her to this hospital. It… it didn’t feel right… Misty didn’t deserve this kind of care. She deserved absolute hell for the things she’s done… so why… why couldn’t she tell them the truth? It was the right thing to do… but she was too much of a coward.
Misty wanted to make things right… but it was too late for that now… the plan was nearly complete. She slowly opens her eyes and the first thing she feels is pain. She hears voices but… they’re faint, however she recognizes them as those ponies. She squints her eyes to see what’s going on, while staying as still as possible to avoid drawing attention to herself.
“I’m telling you, something doesn’t add up. We’ve seen alicorns die from the magic in that blade, but somehow Misty survived it? No, she wouldn’t have survived it unless whoever that was wanted her to survive it.” Zipp says, sounding very frustrated and Misty absolutely hates that Zipp is so close to the truth! It’s very nerve wracking and this mission is stressful enough!
“I think that was a diversion. I don’t know how, but what I do know is that when we got there, there was a huge burn mark on the ground from the explosion. Misty should’ve been killed by it, but she wasn’t. Pipp said Misty was right in front of that unicorn, more than close enough for a point blank shot. But instead of hitting Misty, she hit the ground.” Zipp says and Misty almost gasps and widens her eyes, realizing where she went wrong and it’s at that point where she wishes that she had magic at the time to make a shield and make things seem a bit less suspicious.
“Ok, but maybe she thought that would be enough to kill her Zipp, or maybe she wanted to keep her alive as a message and a warning to us. Either way, you saw how serious her injuries were, yet you think this was a trick, why?” Sunny asks and Hitch and Izzy agree, and Misty notices that Pipp isn’t with them. Weird. But she could ask when she was ready.
“Yeah, why are you so hellbent on making Misty look like our enemy when she’s not?” Izzy asks, sounding annoyed and looking just as much.
“Because there’s so much that doesn’t add up! I don’t wanna believe she’s our enemy, but I have to make sure… for all our sakes…” Zipp says forcefully before frowning and storming out (No pun intended). A few seconds after she leaves, Misty slowly opens her eyes more and groans in pain.
“Ow… did anyone get the license plate of the truck that hit me?” Misty asks jokingly, causing the three remaining ponies to laugh a bit… and it actually feels good to see and make them smile. “Hey guys… where’s Zipp and Pipp?” She asks and they all look at each other then back at Misty before answering.
“Zipp's taking some time to… cool off and Pipp is getting a checkup for something that happened to her earlier.” Hitch explains and Misty nods in understanding before sighing. She notices that Hitch looks so worried and sad… and she actually feels so bad for him.
“I’m so sorry guys… I’m sorry Hitch… I… I couldn’t protect Sparky from her. I’m… I’m pathetic… this is all my fault…” Misty says, actually feeling bad for letting Nightshade take Sparky but still having to lie. She covers her eyes with her arm that didn’t have IV fluids being put in it, pretending to try and avoid crying… although she did feel like she was on the verge of it right about now. She feels a gentle hand on her shoulder and sees Sunny and Izzy smiling down at her on one side and Hitch on the other.
“We’re sure you did your best Misty. We'll get him back together and stop these guys, but until then, you should stay with us.” Sunny says, and Misty looks shocked and like she’s about to protest, but Sunny wasn’t having it. “Misty, you’re a target now. If they find out you survived, they might try something against you. We need to keep you safe. We already failed once, we’re not taking that chance again.” Sunny says firmly and Misty sighs and nods, giving her a faint smile, causing her to smile back.
“Then it’s decided, once you’re all healed up and able to be checked out, we’ll come get you and you’ll stay in the Crystal Brighthouse with us.” Hitch says and everyone agrees. Izzy squeals and hugs Misty, making her groan in pain as she feels a few of her bones creak and ache. Hearing this, Izzy leans back with a sheepish smile and apologizes before giving Misty a… more tame hug. Wouldn’t wanna snap her friend in two, now would she?
Three Days Later
Misty was finally out of the hospital and happy for it too. The food was terrible and she actually lost a bit of muscle while in there… no problem. She could easily get that back. Most of her injuries were all healed up, however she was advised to take it easy because of the stab wound on her shoulder and the few cuts, bruises and burns she still had. She would be sore for about two more days but aside from that, she shouldn’t expect any other issues. She’s walking to the Brighthouse with two bags that she had been provided by Ragnar. One had regular clothes inside… and the other had her armor, mask, and blade inside.
Honestly… Misty was starting to really really hate even having that stuff with her. It just served as a painful reminder of who she really was… and the terrible things she’s done… the terrible things she’s going to do. What Misty wasn’t expecting was for some of the ponies and other creatures from Twilight Sparkle's time to be in Maretime Bay, along with some of her friends and allies. Meanwhile, the Mane 5 were all talking to the princesses, Discord, Artemis, Thunderbird, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie.
“So you’re saying you might know a few potential locations where this… Opaline could be located?” Sunny asks, gaining a nod from Celestia.
“Mhm, and thanks to the blade provided by your friend, Zipp Storm, that was at the crime scene in Canterlogic, it’ll make it so much easier to locate her.” She says and Sunny nods and sighs in relief.
“Thank hoofness… this nightmare might finally be over soon.” Sunny says tiredly, wiping her hand over her face and sighing. “By the way, how’s Twilight?” She asks and they all manage to smile, making her once again feel relief.
“She pulled through. She’s almost fully healed but she’ll need a bit more time to fully recover… but she’s been asking about you ever since she woke up Sunny. She’s worried about you and frankly… so are we.” Sunset says and Sunny frowns and looks down.
“She shouldn’t worry about me… she’s got enough to deal with. I’ll only drag her down… seems like that’s what I’ve been doing a lot lately…” Sunny says, crossing her arms. Everyone frowns and looks at each other then back at her before Starlight and Artemis step forward.
“Sunny… being a leader, especially to a whole community isn’t ever going to be an easy job. Everyone will always be looking to you for an answer or a solution. You may not always make decisions that they’ll be happy with, but as long as it gets the job done, you should be pleased with yourself.” Artemis says before Thunderbird steps forward.
“Every decision you’ve made has been to protect those around you, to protect the entire world, even before you became an alicorn. Being an alicorn didn’t change you or make you into a hero. It just… made it easier to be one… to be like your idols.” Thunderbird says as he puts a hand on Sunny's shoulder, making her look up at the two.
“Just like another great pony we all know. And I think we can all agree that she would be proud of you… and so would your parents Sunny.” Starlight says, causing everyone else to agree and Sunny slowly starts to tear up before using her magic to pull everyone into a huge group hug, thanking them tearfully. Meanwhile Misty smiles at the scene from outside… before remembering that Zipp is so close to helping them ruin everything… She slowly and quietly closes the door then walks around the Brighthouse and takes out her alicorn mirror. Once Opaline answers, she explains what’s happening and Opaline… looks very very angry and intimidating afterwards.
“That Zipp pony is smart, too smart for her own good… Misty, there’s been a change of plans. I need something powerful enough to harness the baby dragon's dragonfire. ALL of it at one time. But it’s taking longer than expected… if they find us before then, the plan is ruined. So… I’m sending Stormcutter and Nightshade to steal that blade back after everyone leaves… but your mission… is to kill Zipp Storm before she finds our location or figures out the truth about you. And that goes for any witnesses… anyone sees you, kill them as well.” Opaline says… and Misty’s blood runs cold. She goes wide-eyed at the command and feels the spell trying to take over and force her to comply, but she shakes her head, not wanting to go through with it.
“Opaline… I-I can’t. T-There has to be another way. I can’t just kill Zipp or anyone who sees me.” Misty says and Opaline raises a threatening eyebrow, her voice turning very impatient and venomous.
“And why ever not? You have the spell, so you don’t have to do anything, you just have to let it work.” Opaline says forcefully but Misty shakes her head.
“But you don’t know the effect it has on me every time it forces me to kill or hurt someone. I can’t… I can’t do it anymore. Opaline, please don’t make me.” Misty pleads, desperately hoping that Opaline wouldn’t force her to kill her friend… or anyone else. Opaline closes her eyes and is silent for a bit before she opens them and they’re both glowing.
“You picked a bad time to regrow a conscience my dear Misty… When you told me more about how that spell was effecting you, I made a few… modifications without you being aware… both to the spell… and the mirror.” Opaline says before the purple crystal next to the alicorn shape on the mirror starts glowing and it unleashes a stream of magic into her head and she grunts in pain and holds her head, dropping the mirror as she feels the spell getting stronger… As it does, she finds it getting harder and harder to resist and stay awake.
“No… Opaline… this is wrong!” Misty just barely manages to get out as she tries crawling towards the mirror to destroy it and stop whatever it’s doing to her… but she runs out of strength and slowly starts to black out. “I thought… you… cared about me…” Misty barely says before her head lowers onto the ground and her eyes close. Opaline frowns and looks down, closing her eyes, breathing in and out, then opening them. She looks through the mirror again and sees Misty slowly getting up and when Misty looks at her, her eyes are glowing purple.
“Now Misty… you know your mission… don’t fail me.” Opaline says before closing the mirror from her side and sighing afterwards. “I wish you didn’t force me to do that… damnit, why did you make me do it Misty?” Opaline asks herself before holding her head, getting a headache as memories of her and a younger Misty come to the forefront of her mind… but she forces them to the back of it. She couldn’t get sentimental after all this time, she had a goal… and she’d be damned if one unicorn without a cutie mark was going to get in the way of that.
Meanwhile, Misty grabs the mirror then grabs her blade out of the bag containing her armor and hides it before putting the bag in a nearby bush. She then walks to the front of the Brighthouse, stops the glow in her eyes, then knocks. When she’s allowed in, she pretends to be happy, accepting hugs, meeting the older ponies and Discord, and she places her normal bag upstairs as Izzy and Pipp help her get settled.
Meanwhile, the Alicorn empathy in all the present Alicorns had been going off the whole time and they don’t know why. Unbeknownst to them, Misty currently has one mission and one mission only, one that wouldn’t be easy…
She was going to kill Zipp Storm… and anyone who got in her way.