Opaline

by WhiteSails

Opaline Chapter 5

Opaline descended the castle stairs, her hooves making a thudding sound that echoed through the castle halls. She glanced out the window, which stood only a few feet from her current position. A bright orange ray of light emanated from the frame, cascading down a bright orange rectangle on the ground. It was a beautiful, sunny day outside. Birds flew by the window as ponies below seemed to walk in every direction. She then turned her head back in front of her before continuing to her desired location.

"Good morning, princess," she said, pushing open the large doors of the dining hall.

Twilight lowered her book and turned to look at the unicorn. "Good morning to you too, Opaline," she said, raising a teacup to her mouth before drinking.

Opaline climbed onto the chair she always sat in every morning she had breakfast with the princess. A unicorn servant came over and hovered a tray of fresh fruits and pastries in front of her, and placed it down on the table. Twilight hovered over a few cubes of sugar on a spoon and gently stirred it in her cup. Opaline quickly became somewhat entranced by the light purple glow of magic coming from Twilight's horn.

"Opaline dear?" Twilight said, causing her student to quickly stop staring. "I have something a little different for you today," Twilight said in her usual calm tone of voice.

Opaline fixed her posture before responding with a startled "What?" at her name suddenly being called.

Twilight then continued, "As you know, me and my friends meet every moon, and I was hoping you could go to town and get some things for me."

Opaline responded only with a surprised "oh?"

"Fluttershy just loves yellow roses," and I've been unable to find some things here in Canterlot that happen to be in Ponyville. "Do you think you could do that for me?" Asked Twilight.

Opaline responded only by nodding her head. "Great!" said Twilight, now exhilarated. "Now finish your food. Well, I write a list for you. I don’t want you to miss the afternoon train." Twilight then quickly teleported in a quill and a piece of blank paper before she began to write out a list.

Opaline turned her head down to the ground. She closed her eyes and then ground her teeth in annoyance. She then looked back and looked at Twilight. "Why can't you just do it?" She then responded.

Twilight stopped mid-sentence and looked at Opaline with a slight look of confusion on her face. "I have a tight schedule today. "Why do you ask?" She then questioned.

Opaline paused, relaxing her body, and only responded back with, "I don’t know."

Twilight then gave her student a quick smile before she went back to finishing the list. Opaline smiled back at Twilight before, turning her head away from the princess making sure that she wouldn’t see her expression turn into one of disappointment.

Opaline hopped off the train as it rolled into the station and onto the wooden floorboards. They emitted an audible creek from the sudden shift in weight. She looked up to the sky and saw a pair of pegasi flying high above her. She watched as they swirled and spun gracefully in the air. Opaline felt a fit of slight jealousy towards them. Watching them freely flaunt their abilities, well she still stayed there, held back by her limitations. Ponies all around her walked either alone, in pairs, or in small groups as the town emanated with the sounds of busy day-to-day life. Opaline then hopped off the train platform and onto the small path in front of the stairs. Before she retrieved Twilight's note from her saddlebag, before reading it aloud to herself.

"a bouquet of yellow roses."

"Half a dozen muffins."

"a new set of quills."

Opaline lowered the paper before she got onto a bench and next to her and looked at the list again. She then turned, placing her hoof in her bag, and fished out the small sack of bits that Twilight had given her. As she held the bits in one hoof and the list in the other, she suddenly felt something emerge from the surface inside her. It was a feeling she had never truly felt before: the feeling of unexpected anger. Soon, negative thoughts quickly began to flood her mind.

It seemed rather strange to her that Twilight needed, out of all ponies, her pupil to do something as mundane as go shopping for items she could easily get herself. She then paused. Did Twilight simply not see a good use for her anymore? She thought.

Opaline then shook her head at the sudden idea, quickly reminding herself that she was the personal student of Twilight Sparkle and that if Twilight tasked her to do something, it must be of the utmost importance. But the thoughts once again continued. What could be so special about being an errand pony? Yes, it was the princess who tasked her specifically with this errand, but why wasn’t Twilight spending her time teaching her student about something she was interested in, like hopefully learning to finally use magic? Opaline then shivered at a new thought that suddenly popped into her head.

Was she really so bad at being her student that Twilight felt some kind of pity, making her feel as though she had to give Opaline something to do that would make her feel actually useful? Did Twilight simply see no use in teaching Opaline because she knew she couldn't help her and felt as though she needed to give her student mundane tasks in the hopes that she would remain happy and forget about her lack of magic?

She placed her hoof on her forehead. Surely, she was just overthinking this. It was only a simple task that needed to be done because Twilight was busy and she needed the next best pony she could trust, which just so happened to be her personal student. But still, Opaline thought it did seem a little odd.

Opaline brushed her hoof back towards her mane, feeling the braids around her ears as she looked at the massive clock tower on one of the buildings in town. She still had a few hours before she was expected back in Canterlot. Opaline then got off the bench, putting away the list and bag of bits. She then started walking forward, looking at the various buildings that lined the streets of the town.

She eventually found herself in the Ponyville marketplace, where the smells of various baked goods and spices filled her nose. A pair of young fillies ran past her playing a game that only they would know the rules to. The market was a buzzing hive of life. Hot rays from the sun beamed down from the sky as she continued forward. Eventually, she made her way to a flower store tucked between other buildings and vendors of the marketplace. The store itself was covered in many different assortments of colorful flowers and plants, all wrapped in bows and dotted all over the front entrance as well as inside. She then walked into the store and up to the front counter, where an earth pony stallion was standing.

"Good afternoon, what can I do you for?" asked the shopkeeper in a joyful tone.

Opaline turned and reached into her bag, retrieving the list. She lifted it up to her face and squinted her eyes at the beautifully written cursive.

"Can I get one bouquet of yellow roses, please?" she asked, pulling the list away from her face.

"Sure thing!" said the stallion, who then turned around and walked to the back behind the counter.

As the stallion fumbled around out of Opaline's field of view, she quickly became bored, putting her head down and tapping her hoof against the floorboards of the store. As she stood there tapping her hoof against the ground, she heard a noise that suddenly became audible in her ear. She could identify it as some kind of conversation between two ponies. but quickly she noticed that the volume seemed far louder than a normal conversation. Her sudden curiosity took hold of her, and she turned around, peering out the store's window. She saw that the sounds were coming from two ponies on the other side of the street, who was leaning over their stands and pointing at each other. She swiftly concluded that they were arguing. But about what? she wondered.

Perhaps it was some kind of miscommunication? Or was it that one pony wanted to do something the other didn't? Or maybe just maybe the two ponies were friends, and they were having a friendship problem. Just like the one's Twilight and her friends would have been tasked to solve in the oh-so-many adventures they had. Usually, when a problem like that presented itself, it manifested by glowing on the cutie mark of a pony's flank. But Opaline didn't see any kind of glow coming from her cutie mark as she didn't have one. But still, maybe a situation like this could be a good thing. Maybe this was an opportunity she could use to prove herself to Twilight. Twilight would be most definitely delighted at the idea that Opaline solved a problem between what she hoped were two good friends.

The shopkeeper then came back to the front counter. "I'm terribly sorry, miss, but it looks like we have run out of yellow roses."

Opaline continued to stare out the window, not paying much attention to the shopkeeper's sudden return.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" inquired the earth pony curiously.

"Yeah, yeah." is all Opaline responded with, as now she devoted all her attention to the two ponies that were arguing right outside the shop. "Anything that’s yellow," she said, not taking her eyes away from the argument.

The stallion then quickly bent down behind the front counter and retrieved a bouquet of yellow flowers before typing on the nearby cash register to ring her up. "That will be 2 bits, please." the storekeeper said in the same enthusiastic tone as before.

Opaline retrieved the bag of bits from her saddlebag and placed two on the counter, pushing them toward the shopkeeper. After the purchase, she said a quick 'Thank you' to the storekeeper before she closed the door of the flower shop behind her. Now that she was on the street corner, she had a much better view of the two ponies. She walked closer, she could see it was a unicorn stallion and a pegasus mare. She watched as they pointed their hooves and exchanged heated words. She began to cringe at the fact that they had been arguing for so long, and decided now was the time to intervene.

"Um, excuse me." I hate to interrupt, but I just find it a little unfortunate that an argument like this is happening. "Do you care to tell me how it started?" Opaline said shyly, walking in front of them.

The two ponies quickly stopped their bickering and looked down at the young unicorn in front of them.

"Go away, filly!" "This does not concern you!" The unicorn stallion growled at her.

Opaline then stood for a moment before she mustered up some courage and spoke to them once again.

"Oh, but I believe it does; you see, I am the personal student of Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Opaline then placed her hoof on her chest and raised her head as if she were some sort of royal advisor. She then spoke again, making sure that she looked at both ponies while still maintaining her posture. "And I believe I can help solve this argument. So please, tell me why two friends like you would be arguing?"

The two ponies gave Opaline a somewhat surprised look, almost offended that she even suggested the idea of the two of them being friends in the first place.

The pegasus gawked at her before she spoke. "We aren't friends!"

Opaline lowered her hoof back down to the ground. The sudden realization that the two ponies were not friends caused her to get somewhat disappointed, as now she would be unable to tell Twilight that she had solved a friendship problem like she originally hoped.

"Oh," Opaline said in a bland tone. "Well, could you at least tell me how this all started then?" She asked the two ponies.

The pegasus then blared out. "This pony here has been stealing my customers!" She then raised her hoof and pointed toward the unicorn stallion that had been arguing with her.

"I have not!" the stallion said, clapping back.

Opaline watched as the ponies started vigorously arguing once more. She intervened once again before the argument could become any more heated.

"Do you mind telling me why you think he has been stealing your customers?" When Opaline questioned her, she then found herself speaking in the same tone of voice that Twilight always spoke in. Perhaps, in some kind of subconscious effort to calm the two ponies down.

"Every time a pony comes over, they always seem to pay no interest to my products and go straight to him!" The Pegasus yelled before slamming her hoof down in anger.

"It's not my fault that ponies like my products more than yours!" The unicorn replied back.

The Pegasus vendor glared at the unicorn visibly shaking in anger.

Opaline then looked at the name of the stand being run by the Pegasus. It read, "Cloud Wind’s sky-high baked goods!" She then turned her head to the unicorn's stand and read its name, "Duke Starstreaks Fresh Cakes and Pastries."

Opaline lifted her head up and turned her attention to the unicorn. "Do you think this is true?" She asked.

The unicorn replied, folding his arms and smirking. "Like I said, kid, it's not my fault if my products are more popular than hers." He said in a smug tone of voice.

"So, you believe that he is stealing your customers?" Opaline said, then turned her head to the Pegasus.

"Yes!" the Pegasus replied quickly in confidence.

Opaline then took a second, placing her hoof on her chin, she suddenly remembered the sight she had seen earlier of the two pegasi flying in the sky above her. This caused her to become angry once again. She had felt as though The Pegasi were trying to show they were above unicorns, and now this particular pegasus in front of her was trying to prove themselves better than what she saw as a fellow hardworking unicorn.

She then spoke, placing her hoof down and looking at the winged pony. "If it's such a problem, why don’t you just give up?"

The pegasus suddenly recoiled in astonishment at the statement. "Wh--what?" she said in a state of shock and disbelief.

Opaline looked the Pegasus right in the eyes and spoke again. "I mean, if Mister Duke here is simply outperforming you at your craft, maybe I suggest you try somewhere else?" She then trotted over to the stand belonging to the unicorn and tapped her hoof on its wooden surface, before speaking directly to the Pegasus once more.

"And besides, this unicorn used his gift of magic to make his products, and I don’t see you having the ability of unicorn magic," Opaline said, raising her hoof and pointing towards her own horn in an attempt to illustrate her point.

The Pegasus stood baffled at what she was hearing. She then fanned up her wings in a defensive manner and exclaimed. "B...but I thought you were the student of Twilight Sparkle! "Why in Celestia’s sake would you just tell me to give up? What would she think about what you're saying?"

Opaline thought about the pony's question for a moment before quickly replying. "Well, since this isn't what I would consider being a 'friendship problem', it wouldn’t really even fall under her jurisdiction." Opaline then turned her head back to the unicorn vendor and spoke. "Can I get half a dozen muffins, please?" The unicorn unraveled his arms and looked in surprise before responding to Opaline. "Uhm, sure thing, kid."

The unicorn then hovered over a box of muffins to Opaline. Opaline then paid for the muffins, placing a few bits on the counter. She then turned back to look at the pegasus.

"You see miss wind. "This unicorn has clearly honed his craft more effectively than you. "And I believe that he deserves recognition for his talents," Opaline said, placing her arm on the counter of the unicorn's stand.

The unicorn vendor then chimed in. "Uh, yeah, she's right! There aren't many unicorns that are bakers around here. It's almost always either earth ponies or pegasi!" He said eagerly. "The fact is that I work very hard, Cloud Wind. I put in countless hours in order to perfect my pastries, and it's about time that I finally get some more recognition and respect for everything I do." He stated boldly as the pegasus tried to think of something to say in response to what she was being told.

Opaline then pointed her hoof out at the Pegasus before speaking. "And clearly you need to understand that he's doing better because he's a pony with actual REAL magic."

She then grabbed the box of muffins, thanking the unicorn before walking away. To Opaline, the solution had seemed rather simple. The argument had clearly started because both ponies were selling the same kind of items. But the fact that the unicorn had outperformed the Pegasus vendor, at least in her mind, showed that the unicorn was much more skilled in his craft. And therefore was the better pony to buy from. Opaline felt a strange confidence in what she had just done; sure, she might have come off as a little harsh, but in her mind, she was simply speaking the honest truth. After all, she was always reminded by Applejack, the element bearer of honesty herself, that being truthful to other ponies around you was one of the most important elements in understanding Twilight Sparkle's teachings. She had also felt like this ever since the reign of Twilight Sparkle that the significance of unicorns had been somewhat brushed aside by the other two pony tribes and the other miscellaneous creatures within Equestria. To her, all she did was use the most logical and reasonable way of solving the problem.

As Opaline walked away, she failed to notice what was going on behind her at the spot where the two ponies had been arguing. The pegasus pony got up from her stand, she wiped away tears, before quickly getting up and flying away. And the unicorn vendor stood still, pondering what he had just heard.

Comments

[Gipercrafter]

When will the new chapter be released?