//------------------------------//
// From Morning to Night (Single Chapter) 
// Story: You Can Go Out Today, Misty 
// by DudyMooner 
//------------------------------//


You Can Go Out Today, Misty


By: DudyMooner


Another day was beginning in Equestria, the breeze was refreshing all the ponies, some still sleeping, others waking up, and others who had been awake since dawn, today was not a special day, it was just another normal day like the others.

Time has passed since the last battle between Sunny Starscout, an earth pony mare who can "dress up" as an alicorn, and Opaline Arcana, an alicorn mare, this time a pure one; Opaline wanted so much to have the magic of the dragons back in her horn, since she lost that magic many moons ago when Twilight Sparkle was still alive, so that day, her only ally, Misty, finally succeeded in getting the dragon and bringing it to Opaline, in the end becoming very powerful to other eyes, her wings even shining. However, somehow, Sunny and her friends appeared in her castle, rescuing the baby dragon called Sparky and even managed to trap Misty, and then the battle took place, with Opaline almost winning, trusting in herself that she would make it, but Sunny managed to win with her magic, unified with her friends, it was the union between them that won the game.

Three weeks passed, and while Sunny and her friends were having fun, enjoying themselves and even playing games, Opaline was thinking in a different way, she promised herself to make a new plan so that, at once, she could have all the power of Equestria, to rule everypony, like an Alicorn Queen, as she deserved.

Would her dream come true? By any chance, would she be the queen?

"Cof, cof!" it was Opaline's first cough that day, at dawn itself, she grunted after listening to the breeze and thinking for a while.

One of the Fire Alicorn's current problems was her cough, which used to come only when she gave her evil laugh, but now, it came many times during the day, and the bad thing, she didn't know the reason for it, she tried to search through some books in her library and still couldn't find a cure, this cough was too annoying for Opaline.

"Good morning to you too, Universe!" Opaline mocks, still keeping his hooves up, watching the landscapes around her with an annoyed look.

"That's a strange way of saying "good morning", don't you think?"

A male voice accompanied the alicorn mare, with a small bluish shadow on the ground and a spirit form that Opaline didn't care about much. As he arrived, Opaline put her front hoof to her brow.

"It's strange that you come and bother me right at dawn, don't you think?" Opaline complains.

"Gosh, that's rude. Anyway, what are you doing for today?" The voice asked.

"Find a cure for that damn cough, of course," Opaline replies, still watching the sun rise.

"Still on it!? Didn't I already tell you that-"

"Don't talk about that first thing in the morning, please," Opaline says lightly, turning her face to the shadow next to her with a serious look in her eyes.

"Alright, alright!" the voice said with a slight hint of anger, and then saw that Opaline needed to do something at that time, "I think it's time for breakfast!"

The alicorn was about to go back watching the dawn but realized that it was already time for breakfast. With another sigh, she left the view from the window and headed towards her kitchen, ignoring the blue shadow giggling in low volume, down the stairs and past the blue walls without much clarity, and before going down to the second floor, she looked to her right and saw a purple door with its golden stripes. It was Misty's room, or a second room, Opaline didn't care, there's so much space in the castle that she forgets there are many other rooms out there.

She slowly opened the door of her bedroom, and noticed that Misty was still asleep, even though the sun was still shining on the unicorn's face, Opaline rolled her eyes for a second and decided to wake her up, shouting loudly, "Wake up, Misty!"

The shout caused the unicorn mare to jump out of bed in surprise, almost reaching the ceiling, which made Opaline flash a sideways grin as she left Misty's room. She went back downstairs and then arrived in the kitchen, starting to make breakfast.

Minutes later, it was done, it was waffles with a cappuccino coffee, the smell was kind of good for a simple pony, Opaline took the two glasses and plates to the table, and probably expected Misty to show up too. Well, she showed up, still drowsy, almost sleeping.

"Uaah! Good morning, Opaline!" Misty said, showing a tiny smile.

"Morning, Misty," Opaline said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"So... What are you doing today?" Misty asked, eating a piece of her waffle right away.

"The same thing I've been doing for the last three weeks, trying to think of a new plan to put an end to Sunny Starscout and her friends!" Opaline replied, not wanting to get angry in the morning.

"Oh," Misty had promised not to do anything bad to her friends anymore, but seeing Opaline still trying to destroy them made her feel concerned.

Opaline and Misty continued their breakfast without speaking another word, the only sounds being the waffles and the cappuccino, as well as some birds talking and the surrounding nature. Almost an hour passed and the two finished, now in the main room, the alicorn just sat on her throne and began to think, looking up, while Misty just watched her friends on the projector, after seeing that they were going to the beach, she took a breath to ask Opaline something.

"Opaline? Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" Opaline was interrupted from her thoughts and then looked at Misty, still deep in thought. What would that question be?

"Can I...go out today?"

Opaline had been hearing this question for a long time, many times Misty wanted to leave the castle, but she usually refused, for the reason that it would be a waste of time in the poor girl's life, the only times she went out were just to be able to collect information, spy on Sunny and her friends, get the dragon fire, and also buy food, drink and other necessary things. The last time the alicorn heard this question was exactly three weeks ago, and of course she refused, but now today? Only today is that unicorn asking about it?

Opaline's reaction at the time was more thoughtful than before, and Misty just waited for an answer, even though she knew what it might be. A few seconds later, the alicorn took a deep breath and replied.

"Okay..."

"Of course, I expe- wait, what!?"

That's right, it seems Misty wasn't expecting an answer like that from her, which is why she decided to check if it was true.

"Is that what I heard, will you let me...out?"

"Yes. You can go out today, Misty," Opaline confirmed the answer she wanted, glancing at her corner, it certainly wasn't an answer the unicorn was expecting, but she cracked a smile on her face, she was very happy that she could finally go out with Opaline's permission.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Misty thanked her.

"Argh, just go before I change my mind," Opaline growled, with all that cheerfulness from Misty, she was irritated.

After that, Misty ran out the door, still shouting with joy, while the lonely alicorn went back to thinking, or not so lonely.

"Whoa, Opaline? I thought you weren't going to let her go, what made you think that?" The mysterious voice asked, with his shadow appearing at her side.

Indeed it was something unusual, the alicorn never wanted Misty to leave the castle for silly reasons, except when it was for her missions, but today was different, today she let her do whatever she wanted, Opaline didn't want to bother with that at the moment, but with something else.

"I just let her go out today because I have to sort out this damn cough," Opaline replied, with her eyes closed.

"Are you seriously not going to tell her the reason for your cough, Opaline?" The voice insisted.

"I still don't want to accept this, I'm still going to find this cure, and when I do, I'm going to plan my revenge on Sunny Starscout and I will win once and for all!" Opaline shouts, this time looking at the shadow next to her.

"If you say so... But are you sure you're okay?" The voice asked.

"Of course I'm okay, don't you see?" Opaline replies, showing a forced smile that soon turns into "Cof, cof, cof!" a cough, and then the alicorn gets angry.

"I don't think so."

"Argh!" Opaline leaves the throne and goes off somewhere, before she asked Misty not to disturb her, but as she was out today, it wasn't necessary to ask her, so Opaline just informs the voice present next to her, "I'm going to the library, and I hope that this time, I'll find that cure, without thinking otherwise."





Hours passed, and the library was a mess.

"No!"

The books were thrown around, Opaline wanted to find the right book, but it turned out to be the wrong ones.

"Not either!"

The mysterious voice remained silent, just watching the alicorn get frustrated and distraught, although she didn't admit that she was afraid, he could see on her face that her fear was growing as the books were thrown away.

"No! No! No!"

The books were ending, the library shelves were empty, there were still ten books left, counted by Opaline who began to try to calm down, still thinking that there was a book that at least had a cure for that damn cough, she sighed once more and continued to look.

"A beauty book? Neither."

"What? A game book, why do I have that? No."

"Another history book, argh, no."

Now there were only seven books left, Opaline paused for a moment to think, if she didn't find the right book, what would happen to her? She didn't want to believe the fate told to her by that mysterious voice, but she had to find it, and one part of her mind already wanted to give up, but the other remained strong enough to find it, so she decided to keep trying. After all, her kind is the strongest, as she always says.

"No!"

Six.

"Not either!"

Five.

"No!!"

Four books left.

The voice became more careful of Opaline now, seeing that she was getting very flustered, he decided not to say anything, he wanted to see the alicorn's reaction when those books were all done.

"No."

Three books left. Opaline still wouldn't give up, she wanted to continue.

"No.."

Two books left. The castle was getting colder, at least from the alicorn's point of view.

"No!!!"

Now only one book was left, all the other books were thrown in the library, Opaline was breathing desperately, she didn't want to think the opposite, she didn't want to lose to Sunny Starscout, she didn't want to lose to anypony else. The last book there was thicker than the others, it seemed to have a lot of stuff in it, then suddenly, Opaline activates her horn and levitates the book towards her, she sees the cover and it says "Magic of Equestria: Cures and Potions", she relieves herself a little when she sees the word she wanted so much: Cure.

Opening the book, she saw right away that it was written by somepony she hated a lot in the past, Star Swirl, the same one who made Celestia and Luna the rulers of Equestria, and left Opaline in the city of the alicorns, Skyros. Moving on, the book told a lot about cures from regular illnesses to the rarest ones, and basic potions to the most powerful ones, she quickly opened the cures page, the first being the regular ones, it wasn't that page, then comes the medium ones, it wasn't either, then comes the difficult ones, although it has some words related to what she wanted, it wasn't that page either, it was close, then comes the rarest cures, the last pages before the potions part.

"Come on, it must be on these pages, it must be!"

The first page talked about animal cures for diseases, which were almost never seen by the ponies, Opaline recognized a few, but ignored them and proceeded to the next one, the second page talked about curses made by somepony or somecreature, the alicorn was determined, thinking it might be a curse, but in the end, there was no cure that could help her, and then comes the last page, with natural events, Star Swirl emphasized that they have to be used in good faith, or if it is for extreme urgency, clearly she believed it was urgent. Then when she looked at the last lines, it was written: Immortality of an Alicorn.

Opaline opened her eyes more, attentive to every word this time, hoping that she could finally find the cure, she closed her eyes and sighed, opened them again and began to read.

"The immortality of an Alicorn is common, present within their life with the combination of the three pony species into one, life expectancy is not exact, some live until the first millennium, others continue until the third, however there are tales that there was an alicorn that lived until the fifth millennium. I'll tell you right now, readers, the immortality of an alicorn doesn't exist, there's no cure or potion for lifespan, no one has ever managed to do it, not even the best alicorns have, so for those of you who expect to live more than you already are, I'm sorry. The only symptom is the cough, which can get worse or stabilize, and there is no way of not having this cough. Remember, there is no way to live forever, one day you will have to-"

"No... It can't be... No! NO!"

No books left.

Opaline threw the book harder at one of the castle walls, the noise was very loud, she didn't want to read the last words for her own good, that fate was what she didn't, doesn't and would never want, the alicorn then looked at the floor and sat down, trying to find another way to get the cure. Then suddenly, the mysterious voice begins to speak.

"I told you, Opaline! There's no cure, there's no way, you know what your fate will be, you can't change it."

"I-I don't believe it, I..." Opaline tried desperately to find an answer, then she looked at the shadow on the ground and continued, "You... You know about the cure, huh!?"

"What? No! Opaline, the book says that there's nothing you can do!"

"But you know many things, you have to know about this cure, so tell me what it is, now!" Opaline ordered, but the voice grunted.

"I've told you already that there isn't! You have to accept this, there's no other choice," the voice still insisted that there was no cure, and it was true.

"How!? How can it not exist? I-I can't, I don't want to, I..."

"It's no use, Opaline. Alicorns don't live forever, you know that," the voice said comfortingly.

Opaline didn't want to be sad at that moment, but the tears almost flowed from her eyes, life for her was almost over, after all, if there wasn't at least a cure to solve this problem, then she would have to stay with this problem, but first, she asks the mysterious voice something.

"Do you know how much time I still have?"

"Hmm... Considering that your cough started a week ago, you still have about two weeks, or less," the voice answered.

"Oh, really? Cof, cof, cof. I really won't be able to get my revenge!?" Opaline asked, with a hoof on her brow.

"You can't, you have to enjoy your last days of life, Opaline."

"Excuse me, I have to do something upstairs."

"Uh?"

Opaline left the library, went up the stairs, and headed for the same place she had been earlier in the morning, she looked at the horizon, at Maretime Bay, at the surrounding nature, at the sea, at Equestria, her face was devastated, defeated, but she wasn't going to mourn, she was going to do something else, after closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she opened them and gazed at the sky, gleaming cold straight into the castle window, with the sun shining down on the city in the distance.

Opaline shouts to the world.





Meanwhile, Misty was with her friends: Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp and also Hitch. They were all walking along the beach, since it was an incredible day to take a dip in the sea or stay in the sun for a few hours, that's what Misty thought. Until they all heard a loud noise, it sounded like a shout.

“Did you hear that?” Sunny was the first to ask.

“Yes, I heard that!” All the others replied in the same way.

“What do you think it could be, Sunny?” Hitch asked, looking up at the sky.

“I don't know, but it seemed to be coming from that way,” Sunny raised her hoof and pointed in the direction of where it was... Opaline's castle.

“From there? In that forest?” Pipp asks, not looking at the castle but at the forest nearby.

“No, there!” Zipp corrects and points to where Sunny pointed.

"Oh, now I see!"

“Misty, do you know if anything has happened to Opaline in the past few days?” Sunny asks, looking at the unicorn mare.

“Actually, I don't know... She seems to be hiding something, but I don't know what.”





After that painful shout, Opaline didn't want to stay on her throne and decided to stay in her room for the rest of the day, to ponder, reflect, maybe whine, and drive herself crazy.

Before going to her room, she passed Misty's room, the unicorn mare who always asked for a cutie mark, Opaline only saw photos, some with the unicorn alone and others... with the ponies that the alicorn wanted so much to avenge, with Sunny and her friends, and it seemed that she had gotten a cutie mark, after all, on her flank now there was a butterfly, the animal, or insect that she liked the most, since filly. Time passed fast, but why should Opaline worry about that?

She didn't need her company, right? She was used to being on her own, why would she need another pony to stay with her? Right?

At that moment, Opaline could feel betrayed, she could punish that unicorn when she got back from her walk, she could remove her new cutie mark, but no, the only thing she was thinking about now was her fate, it was weird to be like this, being alone was already customary in the alicorn's life, but now with the fear of death? It was a feeling that Opaline was not going to get used to so easily.

Minutes later, the blue shadow emerged next to Opaline, it was that mysterious voice again.

“You know you don't have to be like this, right?”

Opaline turned her head the other side and faced the mysterious voice with a messy look on her face.

“Why don't you get out of here, you idiot.”

“Calm down, Opaline, I didn't come to argue with you,” the voice said.

“Then what are you here for?” Opaline asks, raising one of her eyebrows.

“To help you, you've been like this more than four hours, you can't stay like this until... well, you know,” the voice replied, seeing that the alicorn's face was devastated, and knowing that she couldn't stay there all the time.

"Yeah, great help you've given me, thank you very much, now I'm going to die and I won't even complete what I wanted to do many moons ago! Cof, cof!" Opaline cries out and coughs, and then turns away again.

“That's natural, Opaline, you're a pony too, remember? You have the wings of pegasi, the magic of unicorns and the strength of earth ponies, but even so, you're still a pony, a pony who just lives more than the others,” the voice explains to the alicorn.

“They always said in Skyros that alicorns were immortal, but I never thought that... was a lie,” Opaline said, recalling the times the residents of that floating city talked about immortality, the alicorn always heard the phrase “immortal” everywhere, but knowing now that it was a lie, she felt stupid, but she didn't want to express it to him like that, it was too humiliating, “Have you heard that too?”

“Yes, and a lot. The people of Skyros talked like that because they didn't live among other ponies, they were just alicorns, and some unicorns too, and besides, not even the leaders told them about it, and you were the only one who didn't know.”

“Because I would tell...” Opaline finishes, after lying on her side she returns to her normal position, looking up with small dark circles, now the alicorn understood why they were so discreet with her, even the leaders didn't trust her, “Now I don't know how to deal with it...”

“It's simple, just live, enjoy your last moments instead of suffering in this room, do the things you've always wanted to do that you've never done, and at least don't try to take over Equestria,” the voice answered Opaline's question.

“Perhaps that will work... Cof, cof.”

“And what about Misty? Are you going to tell her?” He asked, knowing that at some point the alicorn mare would have to tell her about her fate, something that could be very tough.

“I won't, if I have to “enjoy” life, she has to as well, after all, I can't stop her,” Opaline replies, caring about Misty's well-being, since the alicorn is going to have her last moments.

“If you say so, but hey? How about going out for a while?” the voice asked cheerfully, already taking its shadow to the bedroom door.

“Okay,” Opaline rolls her eyes for a second and gets up to leave the room, stretches a little and then heads for the stairs, before stopping at Misty's bedroom door, reflecting to herself everything they've been through together, and wondering what the end of all this would be like, but she just says, with a long sigh, “Enjoy your life, Misty."

Descending the stairs and leaving the castle, the alicorn arrives in what they call a garden, although there were no plants, statues, sculptures, it was just the nature around, even if there was a little gloomy air in the front with some rays, from behind the castle there was clarity, the sun was leaving and the night was coming, she remembers that the unicorn would be here soon, but she didn't care, she just wanted to feel the soft air coming from the winds, and enjoy at least a little of life, since she can't do much.

Opaline breathes and then closes her eyes, staying outside the castle for at least an hour and a half.





Hours passed, it was now early evening, the moon was glowing now, even more so since it was a full moon, Opaline knew that Misty would be here at that time, so she went inside the castle and sat on the throne, staring at the castle door.

“I just want to see what she's gonna say this time,” Opaline thinks, knowing that Misty could make up another story about how her day went, since the alicorn knew she was with her new friends.

A few seconds later, hooves were heard behind the door, the unicorn had arrived, when the door opened, Opaline noticed that she was happy and satisfied, and a little wet, Misty was startled to see that Opaline was seated on her throne looking at her.

“Opaline! There you are!”

“You just came back now, Misty? I wonder what took you so long?” Opaline pretended to be in doubt, lifting a hoof to her chin.

“Oh, the delay, of course, is because... because... because I overslept on the beach! Yeah!” Misty makes up an excuse, although she doesn't think it's very convincing.

“I see...” Opaline raised her eyebrow slightly, making Misty a bit afraid, she could tell it was a lie, but she just wanted to believe it so there would be no more doubts, “And how was your day?”

“It was great! I had a lot of fun, I went to the sea, I enjoyed the sun, amazing!” Misty replied with a totally cheery face, but she wanted to ask Opaline something, “And yours? How was it?"

“My day?” She didn't want to hesitate in replying, nor did she want to show it to the unicorn, but she made up a lie to get over it, “Nothing much, I still haven't found a perfect plan to finish off Sunny Starscout and her friends, I'll try again, tomorrow. Cof, cof!”

“Opaline, are you okay?” Misty asks, raising an eyebrow in doubt, she heard a shout coming from the alicorn's castle and now hears a cough coming from her.

Opaline reacted in surprise, she didn't want Misty to know what had been said in the afternoon, so she just shrugged and continued lying.

“Of course I'm okay, Misty! Don't you see?” This time, Opaline says without coming up with a cough to show the truth, the unicorn is still in doubt but nods in assent.

“Alright... Anyway, thank you so much for letting me out today!” Misty said, slowly going to give the alicorn a hug as a thanks, but she realized right away.

“Yeah, yeah, and no hugging, okay?” Opaline put up a hoof to stop the hug, the unicorn obeyed and turned back. After that, the alicorn was going up the stairs, leaving Misty in doubt.

“Where are you going?”

Opaline stops and then looks at Misty, hiding the concern in her mouth and on her face.

“To my room, I'm not eating tonight.”

“Ah...” Misty understood and then headed for the kitchen, but first there was something Opaline was going to say.

"And Misty."

"Hmm?"

“You... You can leave anytime, alright?” Opaline awkwardly flashes a smile and then heads upstairs, trying to control herself so she doesn't tell everything to Misty.

In the meantime, the unicorn mare started to get puzzled, why did all of a sudden Opaline let her out anytime she wanted? It made no sense, was the alicorn finally changing? Misty wasn't going to find out very soon, as she thought.

But for sure, she found it very weird, very weird...





"Cof, cof, cof, argh!"

It was already the next day, the sun was shining as brightly as ever, and Opaline woke up bothered by her new daily cough, or counted cough, since she won't be alive anymore. She realized that she'd woken up later today, which made her feel a bit relieved since she wasn't going to play the actress and pretend once again to avoid worrying poor Misty.

But then, what was she going to do today and in the following days?

Well, she had an idea in mind, it wasn't something so awesome and wild, but at least it wouldn't be so boring.

“Good morning again, Universe...” Opaline looked out of her bedroom window, this time speaking more calmly.

It was another sunny day, but it was much hotter than yesterday, fortunately the castle eased with its gloom and without many openings, the temperature inside was still normal than outside, today would not be a day that Opaline would like to go out.

“Good morning, Opaline!” A shadow emerged from the ground and the voice said, in an animated tone that the alicorn had found odd, but she only rolled her eyes instead of asking.

“Yeah, good morning to you too.”

“So? What are you doing today?” the voice asks.

Opaline just points for the voice to follow her, and then he follows, passing through the halls and down the stairs, the two of them returning once again to the library, still a mess after that day.

“Why are we back here?”

“Just watch.”

Opaline placed her front hoof on a wall in the library, where a glow instantly appeared and a door was heard opening, several beams of energy were launched towards the wall, and in the end, it really was a door, the mysterious voice didn't believe that the alicorn would have a secret area. And in that area there were some surprising things.

“You have Twilight's files! Why did you keep them?” the voice asks.

“I was planning to use them for something helpful, but... I forgot about them over time,” Opaline said with a nod, those files were from the time when Twilight was not yet the ruler of Equestria, but just a princess of friendship and Celestia's former pupil, they had been kept by her when she moved to Canterlot again, “I think you know what I'm going to do.”

“Yes, you're going to use them to react and pass the time, interesting...” the voice understood what Opaline was going to do, ”And where's your television?”

“In the living room, hidden in another of the buttons I have in the castle,” Opaline replies, already heading towards the mentioned place with the files.

They both headed for the living room, with the mysterious voice trying to find the button; the castle was darkest in that part, so it was difficult to find. The alicorn didn't have a problem with this, the darkness is already something familiar in her life. Opaline looked at the left wall and opened a hole using her horn with some magic, inside there were two buttons, one light green and the other orchid-colored, she pressed the second button and then appeared a rectangular screen with a white control.

“Let me guess, from Twilight too?” He asks, and Opaline just nods.

“Twilight Sparkle kept a lot of files in Canterlot after she moved to rule Equestria, she managed to have a lot of adventures by herself, in the end it must have done some good in her life,” Opaline comments, rolling her eyes at the last sentence.

She turns on the television, showing a black screen with a sign of the object and a star mark, similar to the cutie mark of the princess of friendship, which makes Opaline grunt a little, but she ignored it.

“Well, I'll let you watch your ‘cartoon’, bye bye!” the mysterious voice left the scene, with its blue shadow disappearing from the ground, Opaline was alone once again and now staring at the television.

A few days watching Twilight wouldn't hurt, right?

“Let's watch this.”





“Nightmare Moon, hmm...” Opaline commented, realizing that it was Princess Luna corrupted by dark magic. “I knew it would happen one day, Celestia was always the most popular in that blasted orphanage, Luna was just influenced and that's why she abandoned me too, I don't blame her.”





“Discord was a great villain, too bad he was corrupted by that foolish magic of friendship, pathetic. Although I love his humor, hehe, but hold on,” Opaline turns to the next episode and sees Twilight looking gloomy, ”Twilight crazy!? Let's see!”





"This day has been just perfect, the kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small... Everypony I'll soon control, every stallion, mare, and foal, who says a girl can't really have it all!" Opaline sang as she saw a changeling queen on the screen, Chrysalis, the alicorn laughed along for a second but then stopped, “Damn, it's good to see a queen like me, Chrysalis was a great villain, even the plan was incredible, I wish I could have met her...”





“So that's how the poor thing became an alicorn, by doing something for that bearded old pony, and that's probably why Celestia gave her the throne, she was too lazy to rule any longer. And why is there only thirteen episodes? Wasn't it supposed to be twenty-six like the others? Well, she must have hidden it, or it was pretty lame at the time...”





“Oh, please! Tirek almost defeated her for a second, and in the blink of an eye, Twilight and her friends get a colored mane, and Discord could be punished, no?” Opaline complained a bit, watching the final scenes of the time Lord Tirek broke out of Tartarus' prison and tried to take over Equestria once again, and in the end Twilight won and got a new castle to also call her new home, since the old tree house was destroyed.

“Um, Opaline, you also didn't want to try to use that tree of yours to-”

“Shut up!” Opaline hissed and silenced the mysterious voice.





“I swear, I never thought Equestria could be completely destroyed because of time travel, that unicorn is really powerful, too bad she fell into Twilight's claws, or rather hooves, damn her."





“The fall of a queen and the rise of a king, another perfect plan falling apart, and Chrysalis losing her own throne, I feel sorry for her,” Opaline remarked, looking down for a second.

“She refused friendship even after everything, she is really strong and tough, and then she took the path of revenge.”

“I agree, she's really strong.”





“Star Swirl, that bastard... I really wish I could have finished him off at once, but never mind.”

“Honestly, I don't like him very much either,” the mysterious voice admitted, with a tinge of anger that Opaline didn't know what it was.

“Really?” Opaline asks.

“Of course he made all those potions, cures and blah blah blah, but one of his features that really bothered me was his ignorance, only Twilight could take that out of him, at least a bit.”





“No wonder that even fillies can be evil at that certain age, I waited until I reached adulthood to attack Skyros,” Opaline watches the final scene of the episode and then turns to the mysterious voice next to her.

“She reminds me of somepony...”

“Who?” Opaline asks.

“Nothing, forget it.”





“Uh, Opaline?”

Opaline was staring at the television, where the last images were being played, the last friendship problem, where Twilight Sparkle and her friends were already older, and also the princess had already got a pupil, but nevertheless, she saw that all of this was before she attacked all of Equestria causing another revolt and the ponies to separate, just like in the old days, with the other villains it hadn't worked out but when it was with her, everything had been concluded as planned, the alicorn was a little bewildered now, why did it only work out with her but not the others? Was it Twilight's rule that had made the ponies even weaker? Or was it fate that wanted this?

“Opaline?” the mysterious voice repeated, moving into the alicorn mare's stare, making her stop trying to find an answer, she blinked about ten times before he continued, “Are you alright?”

“To be honest, I don't know. I know Twilight is gone and so are Celestia and Luna, but I don't understand why just friendship didn't work for me,” Opaline said, with a deep sigh at the end, and strangely her body was shivering, as if she regretted something she had done and was being chastised.

“Well, it's no wonder Twilight said that friendship is a hard thing to navigate," the mysterious voice repeats a line the princess had said.

“I know she said that, but at the time the ponies weren't united yet, everyone was separated, and making friends was something really complicated for me since forever, I was excluded, ignored, miserable, and portrayed as a dark pony, even Celestia treated me badly when I was a child. But when I saw how much has changed in Twilight's rule, friendship seems to have become more...easy,” Opaline continued to say, looking up with half-tired eyes, her face beginning to look sad and her body still shivering.

“That's an interesting evolution, after the ponies united, even their friendship evolved, but do you think Celestia and Luna evolved too?” the voice asked.

“When I arrived to kill them, in the house where the two were living after passing the throne, they begged me not to do it and that the price to pay would be very high, I was surprised that they wouldn't try to attack me and I asked why they hadn't tried and were just begging to spare their lives, Celestia answered me that... a big mistake she had made was to have humiliated me in front of several ponies, that she was only a filly and didn't know how much difficulty life could bring, and as expected, she extended her hoof to me and wanted me to finally be her friend and she would show me what true friendship was, she would answer me a question of years that had never been answered, I hesitated for a moment but the rage rose in my head and you know what happened. So, to answer your question, they've evolved, but there are things that haven't.”

After Opaline had replied to the question, she picked up the remote control and turned off the television, since the whole Twilight Sparkle saga was over, since the beginning a week and a half had passed, in that time she had barely seen Misty, who always went out to have fun with her friends, it wasn't a headache for the alicorn, her cough was getting stronger and more visible, of course she always asked in the evening hours if Opaline was okay, and she always replied the same thing: “Yes”. By the calculations of the mysterious voice, there were only three days left of her life, and Opaline was satisfied to see what Twilight had been through before she became the ruler of Equestria, it wasn't as if she had anything else to do, many villains being defeated, many events, many things.

It was already evening, Opaline wasn't going to have dinner, she just headed straight to her room and fell asleep.





A few hours ago:

Misty was walking in the city, the day was pleasant and once again she had gone out with her friends, in the morning she went to Zephyr Heights to visit Pipp and Zipp's mother, Queen Haven, and then returned to Maretime Bay to buy some things for her friends' house, she didn't want to admit it but she was very thoughtful, Opaline had been acting out of the ordinary these last few days, with a strong cough, a forced smile, and above all, she was in a good mood. It would be good if Misty wasn't so mistreated by the alicorn anymore, but it was still weird, extremely weird.

Clearly, one of her friends had already started to notice this and decided to ask her.

“Misty?” it was Sunny, raising an eyebrow at her, Misty noticed.

"Yes?"

“Why are you so... thoughtful today?” Sunny asks.

“Oh, it's nothing, you can rest assured!” Misty reassures her friend, who is still suspicious.

“Absolutely not, I know there's something wrong, Misty, you can tell me,” Sunny says, putting a hoof on Misty's shoulder.

“I can't, right?” Sunny answers Misty nodding, she couldn't lie to her new friends any longer so she tells the truth, “Okay, actually I was thinking about Opaline.”

"Opaline? What about her?" Sunny asks.

“I've seen that she's been acting out of sorts these last few days, she's not being so harsh on me, which I might think is nice but...it's still weird, and I don't know what's happened to her. Besides, she's been coughing a lot these days and always says it's nothing,” Misty explains, with a worried look on her face.

Suddenly, they both turned in the direction of the castle, and saw something odd in the sky, a sunbeam coming through one of the windows, something Misty hadn't seen since she was a little filly, even thunder wasn't visible in the sky, and the castle seemed to be brighter than ever. They looked at each other again and Sunny said.

“I believe you, Misty, there's something weird coming from Opaline, and you don't know what it is either, look at the landscape, the sun usually shone on the edge of the beach, but now it seems to have gone there.”

“Do you already have something in mind about what it would be?” Misty asks.

“I don't think Opaline already knows about our friendship and is plotting something, even with a cough? I really don't know what it could be, and you?”

“Me neither...”

They both took one final look and then heard a chilling shriek coming from ahead of them.

“Hey! Are you going to stand there?” Pipp had shouted, taking their concentration away.

“We'll think about it later, shall we?” Sunny asks.

"Yeah," Misty replies, clapping her hooves with the earth pony mare.





It wasn't morning yet, but still Opaline woke up, she walked over to the same window and watched the moon lower for a new dawn, she had to agree, watching the sunrise was something amazing, except for the fact that it was Celestia herself who was doing it, her old enemy, probably the Princess of Friendship had cast some spell that made the sun and moon work naturally.

Okay, okay, Opaline didn't want to remember those two again.

She was feeling strange that day, her body seemed to be more lively than usual, something odd for somepony on the brink of death, but it was just happening, her eyes were glowing radiantly as she looked up at the sunlight in the sky, and her mane was turning lighter colors, in addition to a light blue gradient. Could it be a sign of her future destiny? There's no way of knowing for now, it had to wait.

A milder wind entered inside the castle, blowing in a very relaxing way, and the sun was already covering the entire sky, the alicorn took a calming breath and just stood there, watching.

“Good morning, Universe,” Opaline said, in a surprisingly calm manner, “I wonder what I can do today?”

There weren't many ideas in the alicorn's mind, after she had watched the entire saga, she tried to think of something before going to sleep, but it didn't work very well as she ended up falling asleep just from thinking too much, and at that moment there was still no idea.

Then something popped into her thoughts, she realized that she hadn't talked to Misty much in the last few days, this could make her suspect that it's some plan to take over Equestria and then tell her friends or just make her worry, both options count in the end. Well then, how about a trip somewhere?

Yeah, it was a great idea, and maybe a good place to visit would be...

“Oh, yes... Ponyville...”

Opaline immediately thought of the city where Twilight Sparkle made a great history, the glorious “Capital of Friendship” wasn't called that for nothing, and it wasn't abandoned for nothing either, after the alicorn caused a stir and all the pony kinds split up, the city turned from the forest, from the animals, from the nature. Opaline saw all at once how much a city can change if there's no one living in it. How was it now?

That's what she was going to find out today. This time, not alone.

“Good morning, Opaline!” the mysterious voice again appears on the right side of the alicorn.

“Good morning, by the way, I never asked you this but...what's your name anyway?” Opaline asks, still looking at the landscape.

“That's true, well... my name is Charles Starshine, it's a pleasure!” the mysterious voice, a.k.a. Charles, replied.

“I don't think I need the ‘pleasure’ part.”

Charles noticed that Opaline was staring at the landscape, a sign that she was thinking about something or had an idea in her mind.

“So... what are you doing today?”

“Let's just say I'm going to visit a place I haven't seen for a long time. And no, it's not Skyros,” Opaline explains, already replying to another question Charles might have asked.

“And I suppose you'll be taking Misty with you?” Charles asks, which makes Opaline nod, “Do you think she'll still doubt your cough?”

“Cof, cof, cof! I guess so.”

“Well, I'll let you get ready for the trip, have fun! Bye!” and in the blink of an eye, the shadow was gone.

Opaline wasted no time and began heading towards Misty's room, and when she got there, she saw that the “sleeping beauty” was still asleep, slightly strangely raising her eyebrows. And for a simple snore coming from her, a classic shout comes too.

"WAKE UP, MISTY!!!!"





Nothing like a normal morning for Opaline, and rather confusing for Misty, who didn't understand anything that was going on. First she was woken up by a familiar shout and then the alicorn mare said they would be going somewhere together, that last word sent a shiver through her at the time.

Had Opaline discovered what Misty did and would she be punished? That was what she was going to see today. They were already leaving the castle and walking towards a forest she had never seen before, and it wasn't like the city of the unicorns, it was different. Misty wanted her doubts answered.

“Opaline, w-where are we going?”

“In a place that I haven't seen for many moons, I think you'll like it,” Opaline answers, showing a little smile.

“But... I don't understand, why are we going to this so-called place?” Misty asks, still puzzled.

“What a silly question Misty, we're just going to enjoy the day and that's all!” Opaline chuckled in a way that Misty had never seen before, it seemed genuine, “And you wouldn't have any other commitments, would you?”

“Of course not, hahaha!” Misty chuckles too, but nervously. This answer couldn't answer everything that was on her mind, so she continues, “I just thought that you were making your plan to get revenge on Sunny.”

“Oh, I'll do that later, what I want now is to enjoy a day with a clear mind, without so much headache, you know?” Opaline lies, in a convincing way that makes Misty believe it.

“Alright...”

There was no more talk for the rest of the trip. They both passed through diverse natural landscapes, waterfalls that even had different colors, creatures that hadn't been spotted for several moons, which even scared Misty a little. A lot of things have changed since the ponies moved away to build their own cities, and there were some lost remains along the way, which made Opaline very curious.

Imagine finding a lost artifact in the middle of nowhere?

But anyway, they were almost at their destination, it had been about half an hour since they left Maretime Bay, Misty was getting tired while Opaline was trying to find a way to cross the forest.

“Are we there yet?”

“Yes, Misty. We just have to go through this current here,“ Opaline points out, it wasn't that strong but it still could take them to somewhere more unknown, "Odd, I've never seen that part before...”

“I think it's better to jump to the other side, can you do it?” Misty asks, with a hoof on her chin.

“I'll try,” and so she said, Opaline measured the distance and ran, in the end taking a high jump trying to use her wings as a support, and it worked, she made it to the other side, now it was only the unicorn, “Now it's you, Misty!”

“Are you sure, Opaline? I mean, this is dangerous,” Misty said, not having the courage in her mind.

“It's worth a shot, right? Besides, I'm here to hold you, go on.”

Misty then took a deep breath and prepared to jump, doing the same thing as Opaline, measuring the distance, arranging her hooves and so she ran, jumped high and closed her eyes at the time, then felt the sensation of solid ground on the ground, she managed to jump too.

“Very well, now let's continue.”

They continued on the path, passing over a hill and then coming to a road. Right away, Opaline recognized this place. It was her first step into Ponyville, and the first step in the ponies' disunity. Misty just followed the alicorn, without saying anything else.

Despite this, in front of them there was a strong glow from the sun that aroused their curiosity: how could an abandoned city have this? Well, it seems that a hint of harmony can still be found there.

The moment Opaline reached the top of the hill, she was stunned by the landscape she saw, and Misty had the same reaction.

“Wow.”

Here was the abandoned city of Ponyville, a city where a grand story was once written, where Twilight Sparkle learned about the Magic of Friendship, and yet the city appeared to have a living soul, or many, living there, though there was no one. Opaline spotted that Twilight's former castle still remained in the same place, being the one that glowed the brightest compared to the others, there were some houses that nature had incorporated into it by turning it into a kind of tree or a large bush, and somehow there was also a lake, which was incredibly clean and clear, like the ones she had seen in Skyros and some seaside towns that had a beach in Equestria.

Meanwhile, Misty was impressed by this landscape, she had never seen anything like it from what she could remember, everything looked so beautiful, but it was all empty.

“Opaline, what city is this?”

Misty's question took Opaline's mind off the landscape, so she replied.

“This is Ponyville, a city that I personally called the Capital of Friendship. It was here that Twilight Sparkle was sent by Celestia to learn what was friendship, and also defeat Nightmare Moon who was the corrupted version of Luna, in the end it worked and then she became an alicorn, a princess, a princess of friendship, defeated many villains, in short, she made history here. Everything she accomplished happened here,” Opaline explains, eventually showing a certain jealousy that Misty didn't notice.

“Gee... But then, what happened for all of this to suddenly become... bush?” Misty asks.

“After Twilight moved to Canterlot, I should say about twenty years later, Equestria became a kingdom with a lot of creatures besides ponies, since friendship and unity helped with that, Ponyville was the main center of that, because there,” Opaline points to a building next to the castle, “was the School of Friendship, the place where friendship between creatures prevailed very much. However, there always has to be a weakness in that, and that's exactly the same thing that certain three other villains did when they tried to rule Equestria, and that's what I did: cut everyone's unity.”

“So that's how it all happened...” Misty realized, recalling the stories Sunny and Opaline had once told her, now everything was connected.

“Yeah, this is where the whole mess started, then it reached several towns until it reached Canterlot, and as incredible as it seems, Twilight couldn't stop the riot, not even with the help of her friends. I guess I was the death of the other creatures, or their migration,” Opaline was still gazing at the city, with a slightly guilty look.

“Better not talk like that, but anyway, why did you bring me here?”

Opaline was trying to find an answer that didn't tell the truth and that didn't contain so many lies, after all, she still didn't want to talk about that topic.

“Two reasons, the first is for you to know a little more about the history of Equestria, and the second is that I...just wanted to spend some time with you...” Opaline answered, trying to control herself and keep a firm stance.

Misty was shocked, this answer stirred her mind a bit, she had never imagined that one day she would see Opaline like that, was she not so evil anymore?

“Are you serious? I mean, you want to spend time with me? I wasn't expecting that from you...”

“I know it must be weird for you, Misty, but I'll explain later, okay?” Opaline postpones her answer, increasing Misty's suspicion, but she manages to get out of the mood, “How about we go and take a closer look, hmm?”

Although Misty suspected something, she couldn't do anything about it, her friends weren't there, Opaline was, but spending time with her wouldn't be so bad, right? Perhaps it was a rare moment that she would never see again.

“Okay, let's go.”

Some more time passed, and in that time, they both visited some parts of the glowing city, the castle, seen up close, still had its crystals but there was also grass on the roofs and along the edges, inside there were some more lost books, Twilight's old room, and the main one, the throne room, which was also the location of the Friendship Map, which wasn't in the best condition, the loss of magic and the mold meant that they couldn't see much. After the castle they went on to see other places in Ponyville, such as the houses of Twilight's friends, the school next to the castle, reliefs that have spread, and the Everfree Forest, the same one that scared many people in the past no longer has that title, the forest now doesn't have so many trees and looks like a valley, and in addition, the city now has a big lake.

Misty realized that she liked this place, it looked like a historical monument lost in a vast field, and she imagined Sunny and her friends visiting with her too and having a reaction from each, but she didn't mind Opaline's presence too much, she was calm and there were no problems or shouts, something surprising. On the alicorn's side, she also liked it, even though she herself had encouraged the ponies to separate and then move to another town, she would never know what the nature could provide.

As the time passed, it was about four in the afternoon, and the two decided that they would leave, but first Misty wanted to hear what Opaline wanted to say back there, reminding her.

"Opaline..."

“Yes, Misty?” Opaline turns back and sees a dubious Misty, it seems the time has come.

“You promised that you'd explain to me why you're so... weird.”

“Actually, I didn't promise, but... I'll explain anyway.”

Yeah, Opaline didn't promise, but she wasn't going to take advantage of that just now, after all, Misty has to know the truth, or half of it.

“I gave up trying to take down Equestria,” this was true, and Opaline said it plainly.

“W-what!? You...g-gave up!?” Misty yells, taken aback by the alicorn's words, and it looks like it wasn't a lie or a falsehood, it was real, “I don't understand, why do you, all of a sudden, give up on your purpose? Didn't you want to take over all of Equestria? Didn't you want to have everypony at your command?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But I figured out that I would never be able to conquer Equestria this way, I have limited magic, I don't have any artifacts that can work, and then, I decided that I wouldn't try anymore. And that's why I left you free to do anything,” Opaline explains, looking at the landscape again.

“And what will you do now?” Misty asks.

“I'm just going to... live,” Opaline said, displaying the truth and hiding the lie, despite this being the second-to-last day of her life, she was just going to live.

Misty didn't want to say anything more, half-satisfied with the answers, and she knew she had to tell Sunny when she got home.

In the end, they both return home at the same time as they went to Ponyville, with the conclusion that the city was still special after so many years. When they get back to the castle, Misty informs Opaline of something.

“Opaline, I... have to go there to do something I forgot.”

“Well...” Opaline looks at the sun not yet setting, “Go on then, there's still time before evening.”

Misty runs as fast as she can, without showing a desperate look. She runs past the ponies who stare at her in confusion, and let's just say she's also done a bit of parkour to get to her friends' house.

She knocks on the door three times, loudly.

And by coincidence, look who came to the door.

"Misty?"

“Sunny?” Misty concluded, ”Sunny! Sunny, I'm so glad you're here!”

“I say the same, I didn't see you today, what happened?” Sunny asks, already looking worried.

“I'll explain later, but can I come in? It's just that I have to tell you some things, and I think you'll want to know...”

“Alright, come in.”

And so, Sunny directed her hoof at the door for Misty to enter, they both went in and then closed the door.

In the meantime, in Opaline's castle, she herself could be having dinner right now, but she decided to go upstairs and headed to the window, seeing the sun setting for one last time in her eyes, the countdown was about to start, the winds were getting colder, seeming to be a sign for her.

“Twenty-four hours, huh?” Opaline ponders, looking right at the moon coming into the sky, “I think I'm gonna make it...”

There was very little time left now, time was passing swiftly for the alicorn, she was going to feel her body in a way that she has never seen, but other alicorns have. Would she really be the last alicorn? Sunny was still new in this field, and not yet a pure alicorn, imagine all this pressure coming at her?

But despite this, she doesn't have the one thing that Sunny has, friendship, and with friendship, she can do all that is good. Good...

“I think I'm gonna make it... Cof, cof!”





Today was already unusual, the sun was rising in a different color, if it was red it would be a sign of an eclipse or an effect made by a creature, if it was blue it would be something to do with the moon, but oddly enough, the sun was pink. It was a mixture of pink and magenta, and the sky remained blue with shades of yellow around the sun, some stars were appearing too, but they weren't supposed to be visible since it was daytime.

For the pony cities, this was a rarity, something they have never seen, and of course they would very soon post it on their social media and they would all be talking about it.

And even as one hour passed, the sun stayed the same color, and only one pony wasn't surprised. Opaline herself.

She knew what it meant, and she just looked at it with a neutral face, without showing any emotional feeling, all of this was something she had already seen, re-seen, and seen many times, and for some reason, that sun only returned today because of her.

“Opaline!” a female voice shouted from behind, it seemed that the “little filly” had woken up.

“Misty, you don't have to shout like crazy, what is wrong?”

“Can't you see!?” Misty points at the sun, which doesn't impress the alicorn, “The sun is different today, isn't that a sign of an attack, apocalypse or the end of the world?”

“Hmm... I guess not, it looks prettier today,“ Opaline replies, mocking a little the confused unicorn's look, "Better not worry too much about it, are you going out today?"

“Yes, yes, I'm going out today, I'm going to meet my friends!”

“Friends, hmm...” at that moment, Misty's face turned cold as Opaline spoke suspiciously, “And who are these new friends, Misty?”

“T-They're just ponies I met there, yeah! That's it!”

“Hahahaha, just kidding, Misty! You can go and check what's going on, they may or not have found out, go and look,” Opaline reassures the poor pony.

And so, Misty starts to leave where the alicorn was, confusion was already too much on her mind, it was better to get some air to relax anyway.

“Bye, Opaline!”

“So long, Misty.”

She rushed off and was no longer seen in the alicorn's eyes, who then looked back at that pink sun, incredible as it may seem, the landscape was more beautiful than the sun Celestia could offer, it was something amazing and unique, but history also tells of other colors seen in the sun, such as the dark blue that came from the moon, the green of nature which somehow came up, the white that was a special day that she didn't remember, but there was in Skyros. Yeah, the city of alicorns was fantastic, it's just a shame that her childhood was disturbed. What could have changed?

It didn't matter anymore, it was the last day anyway.

“Good morning, Opaline,” Charles said.

"Good morning."

“Look there, the pink sun. I remember seeing it before, and if it's there now, that means...” Charles realized, he too had already seen it before, and he couldn't believe that this sun was coming back just today.

“Yeah, and I didn't expect it either, I thought that it would never come back,” Opaline said.

After a brief silence, the two of them were now watching the residents of the nearby city shouting because they think something bad might be coming, and even after all these years they still have the same habit, but now with a sun?

In the end, they both shared a laugh.

Meanwhile, outside the castle, Misty was running without wanting to be panicked to see how her friends were, she could hear the screams of many ponies, their fright, escaping to stay in covered places, but even covered they were scared, they probably believed there was going to be an acid rain or something, even the city was a bit messy because of it. Anyway, after a while, a shout was heard from the distance.

“Misty!!!” the familiar voice was from Sunny, who came alongside the others, looking like they didn't understand anything that was happening, “Are you okay?”

“Oh... Yeah! And you?” Misty asks.

“Yes, we are, but we don't know what's going on with the other ponies!” Sunny shouts, showing her nervousness.

“Calm down, Sunny. Anyway, today's sunrise was weird and this pink sun appeared here, and we don't know the motive, reason or circumstance of this event,” Zipp explains, putting a hoof on Sunny's shoulder.

“I see...”

“Do you know something, Misty?” Hitch asks.

“Maybe, but I don't know if it would help,” Misty said, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Of course you can, Misty. Tell us about it!” Izzy said.

Regardless of what Opaline said, Misty still doubted that she would be of any help, but she had a suspicion that the alicorn knew something about it.

“Well, Opaline looked at it too and I guess she knows what it's all about, she even told me to not worry,” Misty explains.

All of them, except Misty, were thinking even more about it, not as much as Sunny, who suspected that it was an ancient spell, a bizarre curse, Opaline's villainy, an invisible poison, something she'd never even seen, there were so many options that she herself was impressed by it.

“Guys, let's see if we can find anything in our house?” Sunny asks, ending the others' thoughts.

“Yes,” said the others together.

And then they all started sprinting towards the brighthouse, while still watching the ponies scream like crazy.

Returning to a view from afar, Opaline was still looking at the landscape, she didn't know why she was still there, but she was. Perhaps it was a natural movement. And Charles was still there too, already a bit tired of looking at the ponies rushing around the city.

“Opaline, why the hay are you still here?” he asks.

“Honestly, I'm not sure, all I know is that my body wanted to stay here and look at the view for longer. It must be the Universe,” Opaline replies, scoffing a little.

The so-called Universe brings a strong wind to Opaline's face in response, which makes Charles hold his laughter, but he holds it.

“Anyway, I'm leaving now, but first, I need to do something...”

And just what was Opaline going to do? Simple, sing.

“Here it comes..."


[Opaline]


This day will be really perfect
One kind of day of I would never dream at all

Everypony will be glad
No chance that they'll be sad
And I, Arcana, will be realized






“Ahhhhh, has anypony found something?” Zipp complains.

A few more hours passed, it was already afternoon and the pink sun was still shining on the city of Maretime Bay, the landscape in the sky now had a new color around the sun, purple. And neither of the girls could find an answer about this event. Simply put, they were exhausted.

Sunny and Misty were looking in a part of the house together, slightly away from the others, and then they started talking.

“So, how's Opaline doing?”

“Oh, her? She's alright, except for the thing that happened yesterday,” Misty replies, showing concern.

“But the only thing you said yesterday was that Opaline wasn't going to attack Equestria anymore, is there anything else?” Sunny asks.

“Well, yes, do you know why I didn't show up yesterday?”

“Actually, no... And I even forgot to ask you,“ Sunny puts a hoof on her brow because of her forgetfulness, "But anyway, what's the reason?”

“It may seem weird, but Opaline wanted to come out and spend a day with me, I didn't know where she was going to take me and I was a bit afraid. It turned out to be in one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen,” Misty explains.

“Really? And what place was that?” Sunny asks, becoming curious.

"Ponyville."

All of a sudden, Sunny jumped up in a fright, many thoughts popped into her head and she tried to understand what Misty was saying. Could it be madness?

“P-Ponyville!? The place where Twilight Sparkle herself learned about friendship and became a princess!?”

“Exactly,” Misty replies, hearing the same statement that Opaline had said too.

“It's one of my dreams to visit that place, it must be incredible, marvelous, wonderful! How is the place now?”

“Do you really want me to give you spoilers? One day I'll take you there, I know the way,” Misty nuzzled Sunny.

"Thank you, Misty."

“Guuuuuuys! I found it!” Zipp shouted from the back of the room.

Everypony walked over to where the pegasus was, she was holding a large book that talked about some of the features of Equestria, which appeared to be from Zephyr Heights and for some reason was inside the brighthouse.

“Page 168, Chapter 11, Article: Natural Phenomena, and... it's here! Different Types of Sun, are phenomenon that happen when the sunlight comes into contact with any other natural thing, another being or by something rare, many ponies have seen this happen either in the common way or in the rare way, but it's a phenomenon that can occur every year at least for one time. For example, the green sun can come from contact with nature, the blue sun from contact with the moon, and there is the legend of the Pink Sun, which, in theory, describes the death of an important pony or royalty, its colors are portrayed in the sky and the cutie mark is rarely seen, usually the sun is given for the death of an alicorn, but there have been cases of unicorns and pegasi.”

Zipp read the excerpt from the book and then took a glass of water. All the others there were startled by the fact of the pink sun, and it looked like it was going to be another mission for them: to find out who was going to be killed today.

Sunny tried to connect the dots, if the sun appeared when a pony would be killed, Misty reported that Opaline had a big cough, and usually these are symptoms of some disease, and from what was noticed, and theoretically, the alicorn has been around for a long time, which means...

“Ponies, I think I know who will die today...”

“And who would that be?” Misty asks.

Gulping, Sunny prepared herself, with a deep sigh and blinking her eyes three times, she spoke.

“I think it's going to be Opaline.”

Once again, everyone else was surprised, no one knew exactly how old Opaline was, except Misty who had an idea of how long she had been alive, since the time Celestia and Luna were small, in other words, a long time ago, and it could be even longer if they imagined more. Sunny didn't react so much with surprise, but with worry, of course the alicorn was her archenemy now (or was), but still, she was a pony who had lived even before Twilight Sparkle. Misty, meanwhile, was more worried, despite having her new friends to help her, the alicorn still took care of her, and now seeing her pass away?

“A-Are you sure about this, Sunny?” Misty asks, trying to be just a little bit hopeful.

“I don't know, but there's a way to find out,” Sunny replies.

“How?” everypony else asks with curiosity.

“It's quite simple, we head to Opaline's castle just before the sun starts to go down, saying that we're going to spend the night there, and if Opaline says yes, we spy on her to see if there's any reaction, and if she doesn't, then Misty would have to let us know later, is that okay?” Sunny explains his plan, with them all nodding in agreement.

“Great, so we're going now?” Zipp asks.

“Not yet, let's just wait a little longer.”





The castle was having a strange sensation, which might have been another effect of the pink sun, the coloration both inside and outside the castle was slowly fading, and it was clear to see. The only thing Opaline was doing now was thinking about life, she didn't have much else to do and all she hoped for now was... Well, there's no need to say it again.

So many things have gone on in her life, and today is her last day, she remembers her childhood in Skyros, how terrible it was to see what happened in her life there, how she had no place to be an important pony, and even if she ruled Skyros for a little while, it wasn't enough, she could have become a hero, just like Celestia and Luna became, but was her life really fair? And to think that the redemption would never come...

“Opaline!” Charles suddenly shouts.

“What is it, Charles?” Opaline said, grunting slightly at him for interrupting her thoughts.

“I just have two more things I have to tell you.”

“Which are?” Opaline asks, raising an eyebrow.

“The first is that your da- oops, your 'lackey' is coming here...along with her friends.”

“What!? Cof, cof, cof!” Opaline exclaimed, caught off guard by the fact that Misty was going to take them, especially that Sunny Starscout, to the castle again. But she had to calm down, stand her ground and endure, it's not like they're going to fight forever, “Are they coming right now?”

“Yeah. And now can I say the other thing?”

"Yes."

“You just have about an hour and a half before the sun fully goes down, which means...” Charles explains, before being stopped.

“I know, I know, you don't have to keep reminding me.”

Yes, she didn't want to keep remembering it again and again, all these thoughts were getting fuzzy and strange by the moment, now they were all coming to the castle, the group of ponies who had restored magic to the entire Equestria, who had defeated her for the first, and perhaps only, time, and who had also made Misty have a brighter life for the future. An amazing life. A new life, in fact.

Silence prevailed for a while until he decided to talk again.

“You know, from the experience of the other alicorns I've met, you must be the only one who was so calm about it, even though you tried really hard and I kind of spoiled the ‘surprise’, normally they would have been so scared and upset.”

“Are you serious?” Opaline asks curiously.

“Of course, and even though you may think in a bad way, so that the others call you the ‘Queen of Mean’, what matters is that you tried to be good, but unfortunately, destiny isn't always what we want and it isn't what it seems to be, in short, life isn't a fantasy,” he said, giving some hope to the alicorn.

“That I agree with, haha,” Opaline scoffs a little.

“I guess that's it then, see you on the other side, Opaline Arcana!” Charles says his temporary goodbye.

“See you, you jerk.” Opaline does the same.

And so, the blue shadow that was next to her immediately disappeared, being lonely again, but not for long, because other ponies would soon fill her castle.

She simply leaves her room and then sits on her throne, for one last time, to greet them and leave them alone once and for all. Leaving all of Equestria in peace was something the former Opaline wouldn't like at all, but that's life.

All of a sudden, a loud noise came from the castle door, Misty came running in a way that Opaline found weird, and she looked terrified, did she know? No, there was no way.

“Misty? What happened?”

“Opaline, I'm so glad you're here!” Misty relieves herself, even giving a hug to the alicorn.

“Oh...” caught by surprise, she returns the hug a bit before Opaline continues, “And why are you hugging me?”

“Oh, my bad, natural force,” Misty apologizes, then returns to her former position.

“So, can you tell me what's the rush this time?” Opaline asks.

“Well, I...”

Misty was interrupted by the sound of the door opening again, with five more ponies entering the castle, and Opaline already knew who all of them were, the same ones who defeated her a month ago, and the same ones who were now protecting Equestria from any villain and evildoer who may appear, especially Sunny Starscout, the earth pony who had been transformed into an alicorn for a while. Normally, by her instinct, she would attack them all, however, she didn't need to do that anymore. The best thing was to stay calm and take deep breaths.

“So that was the rush? Interesting...”

“Hello Opaline...” Sunny was the first to speak from the group.

“Hello, Sunny Starscout, it's been a long time. What makes you and your little group come to my castle this time?” Opaline asks in a teasing tone, expecting Sunny to react with some courage.

“Well, Misty invited us to spend the night here,” Sunny replied, ignoring the alicorn's teasing.

“Oh really?” Opaline reacts falsely, glancing a little at Misty who was a bit agonized, “You didn't tell me that they were your friends, Misty.”

The aforementioned just stayed quiet, only listening to what Opaline was going to say, the alicorn thought about dismissing this idea at first, but it wasn't as if they were going to care about her later on, so she just let it go and accepted it.

“Okay, fine, you can come in, just don't make so much noise.”

“Thank you so much, Opaline!” Misty thanks her, and calls the others to come to her room.

After that, she heard nothing more, silence was in the air, and soon darkness would come, the pink sun that had been in the sky the entire day would become just an ordinary moon, but the pink glow would stay up there a little longer. The time was coming.

She made a final goodbye to her royal throne and headed to the other part of the living room, where she watched the entire Twilight saga, the television was still there, turned off, and which could serve as a mirror for the alicorn, after days she could see how much her body had changed, it was weaker, dull, the makeup of her eyes disappeared, but there was something else different, the addition of a new color to her mane, the pink color, and this was not written anywhere.

“But what is this?”

This was the only thing that instead of dulling the color, enhanced it, and this meant something, but what?

Opaline sat down softly on the couch, and now there were only a few minutes left before she would pass away, her coughing fit would soon start coming again, like every day at some time, and this was the last of many that came. Everything felt like the last thing in the world to her now, and some of it was unique. Who knows, maybe she'll do it again in the skies?

The colors of the castle were now gray, the day was quickly darkening, and so was her last cough.

“And here we- Cof, cof, cof!”

The echo of her coughs made a huge noise, and strangely the pink color in her mane brightened, along with her green stripe. And she understood that this day would be very different from the others, she had heard reports that the last days were always the most painful, and it certainly seemed to be true, even though it no longer mattered whether she was suffering or not.

Then suddenly, the echo changed to the sound of hooves, and certain ponies must have heard what happened.

“Oh no...” Opaline complains.

“Opaline!” Misty yells from the distance.

The unicorn was already spotted by Opaline, hurrying down the stairs and heading towards her, with Sunny and the others following.

“Misty? What are you doing here?” Opaline asks, making a surprised face.

“Opaline, are you okay?” Misty asks distressed.

The alicorn started to wonder once again if she had already discovered the truth, because on Misty's look, she was startled, as if some pony was going to die today. Maybe she had found out. Opaline would have to dodge the questions.

“I've told you a thousand times that I'm okay, Misty.”

“It doesn't look like that. Your mane is shining, the castle is turning gray, there's a pink sun in the sky, and you're coughing!” Misty said, shouting at the last part.

She had a point, this day was not common like the others and Opaline herself said it was no big deal, but there was certainly a meaning, and Misty had to know it before it was too late.

“I'm not coughing, you must be imagining things,” Opaline said, avoiding the truth and looking up. However... “Cof, cof, cof!”

Yeah, there was no way to hide it anymore, everyone else saw and heard, which made Misty shiver and Sunny a little more worried. That was very weird in the alicorn's eyes.

“Opaline, are you really okay?” Misty asks the same question again.

She gave up hiding the secret and decided to tell her at once what she had been keeping for weeks, there was nothing left to lose.

“Alright, I give up. Maybe in your eyesight I'm... not okay, but I'm still alive,” Opaline admits.

The alicorn didn't understand why they were still bothering, they shouldn't be concerned about a villain like her, so she decided to question them.

“Argh! Why do you have those faces, huh!? Why are you worrying about me?”

“Nopony should be treated with cruelty or hatred, I'm just worried about you,” Sunny answers, trying to put a hoof on Opaline.

“Wrong!” she pushes Sunny's hoof and continues, irritated, “You have to kill me, plague me, slaughter me, you should do it, even that annoying Twilight would do it. Cof, cof, cof!”

“That's not how she would do it, stop talking nonsense! Look at Misty's face!”

Opaline looked at Misty, tears coming out slowly from her face, and the alicorn was still in the sky of doubts, but she wanted to get her attention to stop crying for a bit.

“You can even hide the fact that you have new friends, Misty, but I'm good at hiding too.”

“Why did you hide this from me, Opaline... Why?” Misty asks, approaching her with her head lowered.

“I...” Opaline needed to find an answer that would reply to her questions, but the words didn't seem to leave her mouth, "I didn't want you to care about me anymore..."

This left the other ponies stunned, it was the first time they had ever heard Opaline say anything like this, and Misty raised her head to look deeply into the alicorn's eyes.

“Of course I care about you, Opaline. I know you've done a lot of bad things in the past and all, but I know there's good inside your heart. And besides, you saved me in that haunted forest, I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you...”

“You shouldn't care anymore about me, look what you have now: friends! Nopony, and I repeat, nopony wanted to be my true friend in the past, and even if generations change, it won't change a thing.”

“And did you give it a chance?”

Misty's question silenced Opaline, even though millennia had passed, she never gave the friendship another chance, and she always told herself that it wouldn't be worth trying once again, because it might turn out the same, but this wasn't true.

“No...”

“You see, if you just gave friendship a chance, you would see how much it's worth having somepony by your side.”

“Doesn't matter right now...” Opaline said, turning to look at the last rays of the sun before the sky went totally dark, “ Pretty soon I won't be here anymore, and I don't know what fate will bring me, but I have to say, you've changed me, Misty.”

"What?"

“I've been alone most of the time for two thousand years, and for some reason, you were the only one who really wanted to be my friend, even when I was so tough on you, and you kept me company until today...” Opaline confesses.

The aforementioned unicorn was in tears again, but they were tears of joy, of hope, because finally, after years, she was hearing something true and good from Opaline. Sunny cracked a smile as well.

“And Sunny, despite the fight we had, I hope you grow much more in the future, you don't have to be like Twilight, who was a princess, but be the protector of Equestria, the guardian of here, at least you would have a royal title like mine. And you can have the files that are here, maybe you'll like them.”

“T-Thank you,” Sunny compliments.

“And the others, take care too.”

The other ponies in the room just kept quiet, no longer suspicious of Opaline, they were going to follow Sunny in any case.

“Cof, cof, cof! And Misty...“ the alicorn pushed herself a bit more to keep saying, "I wish you have a great life without me, I lived for a long time without someone by my side, but you have friends who will always be there for you, I know you'll achieve many things in the future, and at least protect this castle, and lastly, be happy.”

“You have learned something about friendship!”

“Hehe, maybe I should thank the Universe later, or Twilight... Cof, cof, cof!” Opaline said, and that was her last cough, and her body began to weaken very fast, it was time.

The body system was stopping working, her mane would shine until the last minute, and the pink sun in the sky would soon disappear, a purple glow was visible in the sky by every pony, several stripes going from side to side, like a shooting star, a light show. Suddenly, a pale blue fire appears in the sky, representing the essence of Opaline, a Fire Alicorn, this fire surrounded the other green lights that flickered faster than the blink of an eye, and then a new eclipse had formed, the sun with the moon's brightness formed black lights that went straight to the castle, drawing the attention of the ponies there.

With her breathing now partially impaired, Opaline's last forces were in action.

“And finally, I...”

"Yes..."

It was something she would never have thought of saying one day, never even dared, but that would be the last thing she could do.

“I love you... child...”

One last smile was opened by Opaline before the black light went out of sight and a yellow light came towards her, meaning the last seconds of her life, her journey was going to be finished, and she wouldn't care if she had peace or torture in the end, what mattered now was this moment, and finally she said what Misty herself wanted to hear, the affection she wanted so much came after all these years.

“I love you too... mother.”

Misty hugged Opaline with all the will in the world, the feeling was good for the two ponies, Sunny let a tear run down her face at the sight of this beautiful scene, the others had mixed reactions, Zipp and Pipp were together, Izzy also had a few tears, and Hitch watched with a smile on his face. Just then the yellow light entered the castle and headed in Opaline's direction, she started to feel dizzy, her body still feeling paralyzed, but she managed to think of one last thing.

"And my last words would be: If my life wasn't missed, a good princess I would be, but in the end, we'll never know what our lives will be like. And finally, may Equestria be in good hooves..."

After a big wish, her eyes were watering and blinking, violet tears in fact, no one saw in the books, but this happened at the natural death of an alicorn, a surprising thing that was normal back then. She wouldn't be the last alicorn in the world, one day Sunny would become a full alicorn.

“Opaline? Opaline! OPALINE!”

Misty cried out, repeatedly, as if she had seen Opaline like this for the first time, it was a natural part of her body, being worried about somebody was her feelings in action, friendship in action. With each shout, the volume decreased, and the light vibrated through her body, like it was leading to some unknown place or teleportation, her heart beat weaker, and her body was going to be taking a break after so long.

Forced to close her eyes and unable to do anything else, she felt nothing. Her body had stopped definitively. And that was her end.





“Opaline, we never wanted to do this to you, really!”

“Oh yeah!? Nice story! You two lie like crazy, how am I supposed to trust you?”

“I know it was wrong in the past, but-”

“Shut up, Luna, you're still your sister's lackey after all these years.”

“Don't talk about her like that, that was also my mistake which I have fortunately fixed.”

“That's right, oh mighty Celestia, the peacemaker of the world, but the most evil as well.”

“Please, just listen to us, please!”

“Argh, fine! I'm listening...”

“I know I've made a lot of mistakes in the past, and that also includes you, I really didn't wanted to humiliate you, I wanted to feel bad for everything I did to you, Opaline, but when I was young, I didn't know what my life would be in the future, neither did Luna, and we both regret everything bad we did in Skyros.”

“Yeah, I even made friends with you at some point, but my sister didn't let me stay with you...”

“That's true...”

“And I wanted to fix it, in some way...”

“Ha! That's simple! Let me kill you two! It would be a wonderful revenge!”

“No, please! We don't have to go to violence, Opaline.”

“So what are you two suggesting, if you have one?”

“We wanted you... to be our friend.”

“Hahahahaha! I'm laughing to keep from crying! You!? Wanting friendship, Celestia!? How ironic, isn't it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I tried to be your friend before, remember!? You turned me down, saying you were too busy to have fun with ponies like me! And yet, you were having fun with the other alicorns! And I'm not even going to talk about Luna, who's already your emotional support.”

“Opaline, please! We don't want you to be alone for another eternity! If you could only see how great friendship is-”

“Stop being a hypocrite, Celestia. You're just saying that to make me your lackey, right?”

“Of course not! I just want you to live well, and I am sure you can learn about friendship from my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, she is the Princess of Friendship.”

“Oh, that's why you're here... You left the burden of the kingdom on her back, what a shame! And I thought you were stronger, but about friendship, I don't believe you!”

“We're begging you, we don't want to have another mess in our lives, we want peace, you want peace, your mind is saying it, you don't want to be alone anymore, and we want to help you.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“You just have to let us help you, Opaline. My sister and I will do everything we can to make sure you have a better life.”

“And we promise, me and Luna, that you will never suffer again, and please, accept our friendship, I want to fix one of the biggest mistakes of my life, and I know you want to be a new pony. Just extend your hoof.”