Misty laid on her mattress. She had a slight glimmering hope that she'd peacefully drift to sleep, unbothered by the blatantly important books staring her right down the snout. Say goodnight to Izzy, feel the warmth of friendship and forget her woes, drifting into a beautiful dream that would last until the nice morning. That was her vision of the night.
Alas, it was not her fate. She lay awake for a couple hours, tossing and turning. Before she finally realized she wouldn't get any shut eye. Her mind was still awake, she was tormented by sudden thoughts of worst case scenarios. Like looking in those books tomorrow, only to find that Opaline was actually the most powerful, and would someday escape, hunt her down and force her to serve. Or, that her new friends would discover her secrets and lies and shove her back into Opaline’s castle, never to be seen again. Punished for her deception and sins.
"Really...I'm trying…" She whispered, taking a deep huffing breath. Putting her hooves over her closed eyes and rolling onto her side. She talked to herself, trying to convince her psyche that she didn’t want to read them, she’d see them tomorrow, and that would be that.
She tried not to think that anything horrible would be revealed that she would rather not know. Or at least, not anything she couldn't deal with. With all that in mind, she was still desperate to know who Opaline really was. Who all the old figure heads were.
She lifted her hooves from her eyes and groaned. The covers were warm, warmer then they had any right to be.
Her caretaker was an alicorn. Opaline mentioned that she had BECOME an Alicorn, not been born one. An interesting distinction, judging on her horrid treatment of anypony who didn’t have as much power in her eyes. So, it was only logical to assume that she thought of herself as more powerful even before becoming an alicorn. Not to mention her obsession with fire, a topic Misty had debated before.
Would Misty find out why such a terrible pony had become such a powerful figure? Misty hoped she would, or at least, an inkling to lead her to the true answer. Her morbid curiosity could not be helped. It was a desire, one she couldn't resist.
She locked her eyes on the dark figure of Izzy. She wondered if she would wake up if she tried to get up. Misty squirmed in place, testing the awareness of her friend. She tossed the covers around, not in any meaningful way of course.
Misty, besides the Opaline mystery, Misty wanted to know about affairs outside of their scope, like dragons and creatures they didn’t know about before. Sunny did mention knowing of creatures outside whatever barrier had kept the two places separated until now. No doubt, beasts other than an alicorn would come looking through the "new" land. Sparky had shown up unannounced, so anything was possible.
She continued to debate her choices…Maybe she'd sneak down, just for a light stroll. Nothing serious. She looked at her pillow and clenched her jaw. The covers fell off her body, leaving only the cool air for her to shiver slightly in.
Slowly, but surely, she lifted her body from her mattress. Her heart raced and her gut went into a state of adrenaline and shock, almost like she was going to throw up. The feeling persisted, while sharply nailing her eyes to Izzy. Then, It was done, her hooves stabilized below her on the floor. She still was afraid of Izzy waking up, but fortunately, that didn’t happen. She successfully put the covers back where they were. She a suspicion that Izzy would wake up and tell her it was a bad idea, but that did not happen.
She quietly and slowly creeped over to the spiraling ramp that went all the way down to the main room. The ramp was not holding her back, but her memories were.
It reminded her of the cold nights that she'd climb up the hollow steps and creep slowly as she could towards Opaline's chamber. Of course, she was going down instead of up, but the dark night and creeping sickness in her gut was all the same. It wasn’t surprising to Misty, but it was still a drag, a stain on her psyche.
She stepped down with slow methodical steps. She knew only herself could hear her slow steps, but she was still worried that somepony else would. She jumped at small noises. Small things that couldn't have frightened her in daylight.
When Misty reached the bottom, she contemplated, how would she see the books in the dark? She couldn't use magic, so what would she use? If pegasi and earth ponies lived here, there were bound to be ways. She trotted over to the lower cupboards, low and behold, candles and a lighter. Misty carefully handled them, lighting one in the darkness.
It glowed and lit the large empty space. She smiled, reveling in her small victory. First, she took up the book named after Cadence, she remembered when she'd previously peeked into the first passage, the cultivator of love?
Once again, she opened it up to the first chapter
"Page 1
Cadence of the Crystal Kingdom, leader of crystal ponies and cultivator of the element of love.
Once, in the Crystal Kingdom, crystal ponies thrived and danced. The previous villain who'd locked them away had been banished, and peace was everyone's friend."
Misty read on, most pages were about lost traditions that were reignited and the birth of the baby princess who had both wings and horn. That in particular was an important detail, since both Cadence and her child were the same as Opaline. It was hard for Misty to believe such a foal bedtime story was actual history, but it was.
"After the Reign of Twilight began (refer to the Reign of Twilight series for more information) all was well. Equestria was well and Cadence loved her sister In law. So did Flurry love her Aunt. But there was evil brewing in the dark. A rotten unicorn allied herself with evils that were beyond comprehension. She elevated herself to alicorn status through dark means, and declared herself Queen of Fire."
Misty bit her lip, scared to read to the next line.
"The Dark coated alicorn gained a following, ponies with darkened souls pledged themselves willingly to the Queen and built her a hilltop castle. A following made purely of unicorns.
She declared war on the Queen of Love. She hated any who supported creatures that weren't ponies. She sucked dry the dragons and the kirin, taking their power for herself."
Misty was stunned, but less so then she thought. Opaline had apparently declared war on all of Equestria. With her temper, Misty supposed that it was possible.
"Luckily, Twilight Sparkle delegated magic usage, and locked those who might hurt Equestria out of the confines of the land.
Book written with help from editor Sunburst."
"That's it?" Misty was peeved, that couldn't be it. There were so many more questions. Opaline's powers, her followers, the war!? It just couldn't be! The passage was short, not telling of key details, why? It was evident that Opaline was important in history, it couldn't be all there was. It read out more like a night-time filly storybook then history.
Misty shoved the book to the side, causing a loud thump on the floor.
THUMP
She brought the candle closer to her reading area, what other books? Celestia and Luna? That could be promising, right? She remembered the short passage she'd read on the first page, rulers before Twilight, that was interesting. Also something about the sun and moon, she didn't quite remember. The Reign of Twilight as well, that must have something! She could find more, there had to more she would just-
"Misty?" A voice rang out behind her.
Her mouth went dry, she cursed herself inwardly. Her head turned, and there was Pipp, standing behind her with a steeled expression.
"Uh.." Misty blushed in embarrassment. In her folly, she had too much noise, such an idiot she was!
Pipp sighed "Misty, what are you doing up so late? And why are you being so loud?"
"Couldn't sleep." Misty said, that was technically true. Not a lie. Her ears pinned to her head, she eyed the books on the table.
"Ooookkkk, can you "not sleep" more quietly?" Pipp asked, lifting an eyebrow in annoyance. "Not all of us are rocks in bed like the others."
"O-of course…" Misty stammered.
Pipp groaned, "Can I ask you something?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Have you ever been avoided by someone?" She asked, Misty didn't know why Pipp was asking all of a sudden, but she wasn't in any position to decline.
"Uh..yeah I have."
"Then you know how much it sucks." Pipp walked over, standing next to Misty inquiring.
"Yes. It is pretty bad." Misty darted her eyes back and forth.
"I feel like every filly in town is avoiding me. I haven't even seen Peach in days." She dragged her hoof across her face.
"I'm sorry that's happening to you…Um, I think your videos are great… it must've been hard being avoided for a week." Misty smiled, genuine in her apology.
Pipp stared at Misty, hollow "…It was." She continued to stare, until she turned back, "You coming back to bed?" She asked.
Misty stood there, until replying "Yeah…" She walked back to the ramp and went up while Pipp flew up towards her room.
She bowed her head in defeat, so much information yet so many more questions. A strange predicament. Misty didn't plan on sneaking back down, she already had some read on the situation. Opaline had acquired her alicorn-hood from dark means, and was against the princess for siding with non-ponies. Also something about her followers being only unicorns. Strange.
She obtained all her influence from sheer power, forcing her body into an alicorn and taking the magic from both Dragons and Kirin to do so…whatever Kirin were… Opaline surely was a force to be reckoned with, she wondered how powerful Twilight had to be in order to imprison her and lock her out of Equestria.
Misty reached her bed, laying down, she felt closer to the truth, but also far away from definite answers. It surely didn't explain the loss of magical creatures and Sparky…
She laid her head on the pillow, it was dark, a fine time for sleeping.
●●●
Misty awoke from slumber. She could get used to Opaline not being there to yell at her in the morning. First thing she noticed was Izzy being missing from bed. This time, she wasn’t stressed about it. She hadn’t had any bad dreams that night. Though it her peace didn’t last long, because she heard a loud clang on the ground. Waking her up from her morning daze. She snapped her head up and the light stung her eyes.
Izzy stood a few feet away, cringing her face in a strained expression. It was quiet for a moment.
“Izzy?” Misty asked tentatively.
Izzy quickly stuffed some various items in a bag. “Hey Misty! Good morning!” She smiled, as though she wasn’t suspiciously holding that bag.
“What are you doing?” Misty eyed up the strange situation. Her intense worry began to set in.
Izzy looked at her, “Oh me? Well I was just getting some things ready. It’s a secret!” She trotted over to the closet, and chucked the bag in, making various noises. “Well, anyway, good morning again! Are you ready for today!” She excitedly exclaimed.
Misty tried to wave away her worry, “Yeah I'm ready for some book reading.” Misty groaned as she stretched her back when she got up. Misty expected to read a LOT of books today, so she prepared herself for the long haul.
Izzy chuckled, “Well…Something came up.” She trotted over.
“Huh? Then where is Sunny and the everypony else?” Misty asked.
Izzy took a hoof and placed it over Misty’s shoulder, "Ok, so…Sunny had to leave for a very good reason! Pipp told me she had some things to take care of, and Zipp is running some very important errands!"
Izzy shrugged, turning back to the ramp, “We can read those dusty books later. Are you ready for Fun Fun Fun!?” She deepened her smile.
Misty frowned, "What? Everypony just left and you won't even tell me why?" Misty shook her head, filled with confusion and questions.
Izzy looked guilty and tried to rectify the confusion "Sorry Misty… Uh I'll make it up to you? We can go into town, eat at a local restaurant and I'll pay for everything!" She lifted her hoof.
Misty felt a bit cheated, she knew that she of all ponies had no reason to complain, she'd been eating, sleeping and putzing around the place for days now. With no evidence to suggest that she would pay back any of their kindness. That small pang of guilt, however small, caused her to revert and accept the strange information.
Misty smiled a little, reminded of her friend's endless kindness, "Ok…"
"Great!!! Oh we'll have so much fun! With Hitch too! It'll be wonderful!" Izzy excitedly started prancing down the ramp, caught up with happiness. Misty hurried to follow.
"Don't worry about anything Misty, you'll be really happy! Especially afterwards, oh I just can't wait!"
Misty tried to enjoy Izzy’s enthusiasm. But this was all a lot for her to process right in the morning, especially when she was still groggy.
They both hurried down into the main room, which was peculiarly clean. It had been lived in last night, but now the tabletops were clear and the books were gone.
"Hey Izzy?" She meekly asked as they zipped past the room and stood at the door.
"Hm? What?" She asked with blank eyes as she creaked the door open.
"Where'd the books go?" She asked.
"Oh those! I put them away in the backroom, since everypony was busy." Izzy hurriedly exclaimed.
"Oh, uh, ok…" Misty was utterly confused. But went along with Izzy, she was all over the place all the time after all.
Izzy led the way, basically pushing her out the door with zero hesitancy. She smiled so wide that Misty thought her face was about to explode. Misty's stomach growled with hunger, she hadn't had any breakfast yet. As they passed the community garden, she stared at the fruits and vegetables with intense hunger. She bit her lip, lightly trotting next to Izzy.
"Izzy?" She meekly asked.
"Hm?" Izzy turned.
"You said something about Hitch earlier?" She tapped her hoof, barely remembering Izzy's words from her groggy morning memories.
"Yeah! Oh I nearly forgot, we're meeting Hitch for breakfast. It's going to be great. I know so." Izzy turned back, continuing her high speed trotting.
Misty was silent. She didn't know Hitch all that well, but he seemed like a good sheriff. Keeping everything clean and tidy. It was a respectable position.
She slowly turned her head back towards the Brighthouse, and gasped. She squinted her eyes, she thought she saw a light blur go into the house. Just before speaking once again Izzy pulled her forward.
"Come on! We're going to be late!" Izzy yelled.
"Wait, but-"
"Come on!"
They both walked up to the edge of Maretime Bay, taking in the usual bustle of ponies doing things. Running into various shops and doing different activities. It was never dull, somepony was always doing something strange or other.
Now, because of plant magic, the town was plagued by immature small ponies sprouting vines and giant orange apples and watermelon trees everywhere. They had somewhat of a discipline over adults. But the little ones grew strange concoctions all over the place.
"Look Misty, there it is! In allllll it's glory!" Izzy pointed to a meager building with plants covering it almost completely. Then there was a sign, held up by a vine, which read,
"Welcome to The Food Empire. You grow it, we cook it?" Misty read out the words with hesitancy. "What is this Izzy?"
"This is a brand new restaurant! Cool right? You can pick whatever food that you want if you are a unicorn or pegasus, or you can just grow it right here and they'll cook it!" Izzy hopped over to the place and ushered Misty in.
Misty stepped through the door, taking in the sight of plants, vines, and basically every plant growing in every direction. Ponies sat at tables made of plants. There was dirt in small patches which they grew plants in, and it was whisked away to the kitchen.
"Woah." Misty marveled at the shop, it was like nothing she'd ever seen.
"Did you know they made this place after Plant magic appeared? It was an old horseshoe shop, before they covered it with plants and opened the Food Empire." Izzy replied to Misty, who was still looking at the ceiling, where a few birds perched in the small trees that came out of the boards.
"It's so messy, how do they keep it to code?" Misty asked, it was confusing, dirt and animals and plants were everywhere, dominating everything.
"It's the best! Don't you think? Unicorns put a special spell making it possible!" She pointed at a table. "Look! It's Hitch! Come on!"
Misty broke her gaze, and looked to see Hitch sitting calmly at a table. He had a bird on his hoof, whom he was speaking to intently, like a conversation. They began to walk over, and she could hear the sounds of him and the bird.
"No, we're not having Dandelion qiwi salad." He frowned at the bird. "What? Well sure, you'll have it, but not me." He crossed his hooves.
Hitch stopped, noticing the both of them walking towards him. Izzy with a rapid and intense grin, and Misty with a confused and doubtful expression. He set the bird down, greeting them with a nod and a smile.
“Hey Hitch! Whatcha doing? Izzy happily stood in front of the table, taking into account the bird which was now standing on the table with ease.
“Trying to order, but someone over here is being picky.” He motioned to the bird, who tweeted angrily in response.
“Misty, go ahead and sit down, you can order anything!” Izzy excitedly ushered her to the table, which also had the plantlike chairs and decor.
Misty sat, the bird being right next to her, and it felt awkward.
“Here’s the menu.” Izzy handed her a bright orange piece of laminated paper, having all sorts of strange and unique combinations. She still didn’t understand many of them, like pineapple and dragonfruit, or Pear and Squash. But it was unique to Maretime Bay. Being the only place where so many strange combinations were frequently made. There would even come a time where mixed fruits would become boring and they would mix together the mixes to create even more strange creations. It seemed far off, but it could occur anytime.
Misty didn’t know whether or not the plants that were grown would go off into nature and become invasive species. She startled herself with the thought, she needed something else to focus on.
“So, uh Hitch, what do you like to do?” Misty asked because she didn’t know, Hitch didn’t seem to have hobbies like the others, Izzy had crafts, Sunny had smoothies and alicorn stuff. Zipp had flying and detective work and Pipp had socials. What did Hitch do in the meantime? Surely his sheriff job couldn’t be the only thing he was interested in.
He was silent, before answering, “Nobody ever asked me that…Well, I like dancing.” He tapped his hoof on his chin.
“Really?” Misty replied.
“Yes, I take lessons on the weekends. I’ve tried to start a group, but no one else has ever been interested. So I just do it in my spare time.” He looked down at the table.
Misty could relate, having no one else like your interests and push you away when you need them most. Hitch was a tough kind of pony, one who knew what he wanted, and pushed to be better all the time. It must’ve been hard, having no one appreciate what you do, and all the solutions you come up with everyday for the town. It was an isolated town, and it had no mayor, so the sheriff was basically the president, and the mayor, and the police, all in one.
“That’s a great hobby.” Misty smiled, and Izzy grinned as well.
Izzy clapped her hooves together. “Let's order.”
They all looked at their bright orange menus, seeing all the foods they could order. As well as the “make your own" section which cost at least twice as much. She cringed at the price, she didn’t want Izzy to pay for something so expensive. She decided blueberry-asparagus sounded interesting. She’d never had either before, so it would be a new experience.
Once they finished picking, they ordered their food.
“Kiwi-orange for me.” Hitch ordered, he’d also ordered it from Sunny’s smoothie cart, so Misty assumed he liked the flavor.
“Hmmm, I want Melon chips and Strawberry flowers!” Izzy answered, to the waitress, who marked it down on the clipboard. Misty didn’t even know that combination existed.
“Uh, Blueberry-asparagus please.” Misty replied.
The waitress pony, who was an Earth pony, chuckled at the choice. Misty didn't know what was so funny about it. "Alright, I'll be back in just a bit, enjoy." She walked off, and Misty felt a bit peeved.
There were strange chips that were on the table, they looked inedible. She didn't try to eat any of them.
"Hitch." Izzy smiled, "Are you going to ask her?" She picked up a chip, and threw it into her maw.
Hitch cleared his throat, and said "Yes.. alright, Misty?"
"Yes?" Her heart beated in her chest. Twisting her guts.
"Would you ever consider…Well, would you be my new deputy?" He asked, and his expression twisted into that of discomfort.
Misty didn't reply, she only mentally processed the information which was just laid into her brain.
"Misty?" Hitch asked, as Misty blinked her eyes in shock.
"Huh? Me? Your deputy? You can't be serious." Misty cringed at the suggestion, she was jumpier than anyone else, why would Hitch ever ask her such a thing was ridiculous to even comprehend.
Hitch fiddled his napkin, "I thought you'd need work after what happened to you, so I figured I'd offer."
Misty studied to see if he was serious, and she found that he was. Even still, Misty found it silly to ask, they didn't really even know each other, and she had previously proven herself to be jumpy.
"Are you sure? I'm not trained to do anything like that…" She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Hitch laughed, making the table shake with his bellowing voice, "Neither was Sprout."
Misty became annoyed at the concept, "We all know how that turned out…" She looked down, appalled at the mind numbing absence of clarity.
Hitch paused, "Misty, you aren't anything like Sprout. Plus, Sunny told me how powerful your magic is, if you trained, you could become a force to be reckoned with!" He spoke his hooves, essentially salivating at the idea of Misty using her magic.
Misty's mouth turned dry, sucking in terrible air. She was like Sprout, Hitch just had no idea of what horrible things she had done. Hitch didn't know anything about her, only that her magic could be a powerful asset to law enforcement.
"Did Sunny put you up to this?" Misty looked up solemnly from her spot.
"No!… well she mentioned something about your magic. But it was Izzy who recommended you become a deputy."
Misty jolted her head towards Izzy, who silently waited to be acknowledged. She smiled her warm fuzzy smile, taking in the conversation with ease. Misty was put off by how quickly she changed from her bubbly self, to her more serious demeanor.
"I did, I think it's a good idea." Izzy exclaimed.
"Why!? You were the one who opposed Zipp when she recommended me jobs!" Misty couldn't believe the absurdity of everyone in this town, it never ceased to amaze her.
"Sunny and Zipp made me realize something, you can never get back on your feet if we don't let you. Being Hitch’s deputy just makes sense. You can practice your magic, help Hitch, and get paid." Izzy concluded her thoughts, wrapping it up like a present for Misty to try and unfold.
"I-i don't know what to think…I wouldn't be fit for it…" Misty shook in opposition.
"Think about it." Hitch said.
Then the food came, "Alright party ponies, drinks are served!" They all took the food.
Hitch thoroughly enjoyed his plate of strange fruit. And Izzy chomped down on the food like it was candy. Misty set to try and eat her own food, she took a bite, and found that it wasn't particularly good. She smacked her lips together, trying to eat the stringy vegetable-berry. She finished in silence, regretting her choice. Still, it was better than whatever Opaline would've given her.
Izzy spoke up after they finished, "So Misty, what do you think of the Brighthouse?" Her eyes shone with curious sparkles.
"What do I think of it? Well, it's very nice. Why?"
"I don't know, you've been there for a few days now, I just wanted to know what you thought." She shrugged.
Misty licked her lips as she finished her food. She had no idea why Izzy was being so peculiar today. This whole time had been one long whirlwind of confusion. She really wished she could properly read social cues.
Soon enough, they were all leaving the restaurant.
Hitch smiled "Izzy, I'm going to do that extra important thing now, see you both later alright?"
Izzy suddenly widely accepted this explanation. "Yes! Yes! Great idea. You go do that." She turned to Misty, "Misty, let's go pick you out some supplies! Like a toothbrush, a blanket, maybe some clothes, everything you need!"
Misty understood the meaning, she did need some things, especially a toothbrush. But everything was off. She only went along with the charade to appease Izzy, what intents was she hiding? More importantly, what could possibly be so great that everyone had to run off except the both of them?
As they all exited the restaurant, Izzy waved to Hitch "Have a good time!" She yelled.
"I will!" He said as he trotted away.
"Let's go Misty, we're on a mission."
"To find a toothbrush?" Misty asked.
"To find a toothbrush." Izzy exclaimed as she nodded accordingly.
They trotted away, and eyed multiple stores before picking one to go into. Most of which Misty didn't even know existed. Misty noticed that there were not as many ponies around town than before. She could only guess why. All these coincidences were too much to believe that it wasn't suspicious. Not that they'd been very secretive about it.
They raced around the shops faster than she would've liked. Soon enough they had a pile of belongings in their hooves.
"Izzy?" Misty asked as they trotted along with the outrageous pile.
"Yes? We only have a few more shops to go." Izzy happily replied.
"I think I'm done shopping for today…These things are getting heavy…" Misty's eyes sagged before her, she supposed she should've gotten more sleep.
"Just a little longer? The next shop is just around this corner!"
"Izzy.."
"We can get you a phone case- or a lamp!"
"Izzy."
"The daylight is getting away from us! How are we supposed to-"
"IZZY!" Misty yelled. Causing Izzy to take pause.
Misty composed herself, "You are so nice thinking of all this for me, thank you so much. But I'm tired and this is getting heavy. We can get more stuff later… Please, let's go back now."
"W-well…They might not be…oh..nevermind. Yes, we can go back now." Izzy replied, as she turned around.
Misty sighed in relief, "Thank you."
"No problem Misty, we all want you to enjoy yourself as much as possible."
Misty smiled, she felt bad that she'd yelled at her friend. But today was getting quite ridiculous. She just hoped nothing too bad was waiting for her back at the Brighthouse.
As they started back to their home, Misty silently hoped that she'd never have to leave. It was all too good to give up.
Carrying all the things they had bought up the hill to the Brighthouse turned put to be quite miserable. But the strangest thing was that no one was around. When they got all the way up, the windows were all closed shut, tight and silent. No sunlight could possibly shine into the building like that.
Izzy seemed nervous, yet giddy with joy. It was quite surreal, Misty couldn’t help but feel that same sort of anxiety as when she would walk up the steps of Opaline’s castle, waiting to get a harsh scolding from her old mentor. Except this time, it wasn’t Opaline who gave her the sinking feeling of failure, but her own friends, who she could call home. It was less than pleasant, but she stood awkwardly in front of the building, not daring to go in.
“Misty? Are you coming in?” Izzy skeptically stared at the unicorn, snapping Misty out of it.
“Yes…I suppose I am.” She gulped, preparing herself, reassuring that it was a whole lot of nothing, even though she knew that wasn’t the case.
Izzy opened the door for her, and it was pitch black inside. Her heart pounded against her chest, which she was still holding a blanket and other assortments which she wasn’t sure she truly needed.
“Why is it so-” Misty stopped, interrupted by a bellowing cry throughout the entire room.
“SURPRISE!” the light turned on suddenly, and she backed away in surprise.
Pink and blue streamers, balloons, presents, and ponies who she both knew and didn't know. All there, waiting for her to come in. She dropped her belongings onto the ground. It made a loud plop when it dropped.
Izzy was beaming, and asked "Well? Do you like it?"
Misty was speechless.
It's cool, I like it! Don't forget to pop by to say happy birthday to me on Saturday, April 8.
11550088
Alright I will
11550187
Thanks
Poor Misty. She been abused so long that even when ponies are kind to her she can't help being suspicious.
Though she can rest assured knowing she'll be a better deputy then Sprout.