My Little Pony: Dark Star

by WestRail642fan

Chapter #31: In Her Head, Out of Her Mind

Chapter Thirty One.
In Her Head, Out of Her Mind.

Shooting Star flew as fast as her wings could go as she flew back to the palace with Sunny's friends following her back to the Royal palace, "We are almost there! Hold on!" The pegasus said with concern.

"I want my Mom..." Sunny sobbed through the pain, "I just want my mom..." She added, the fear in her voice tugging at Shooting Star's heartstrings.

"Once I get you to my mom, I'll go and find your mom, I promise." Shooting Star gently stroked Sunny, feeling her burning forehead.

---

Misty lay on the makeshift bed Izzy had made for her, staring at the ceiling as the evening sun dipped below the horizon. "What am I thinking of ditching Oplaine like that? Sure, she treated me like nothing, but she’s looked after me since I was a little foal." She said to herself, "No. Don't think like that Misty, you don't need her anymore." Her mind spoke back.

The blue unicorn rolled off the bed onto her hooves, she slowly trotted over to the window, staring out at the ocean that stretched off beyond the horizon, "If I'm going to be living here long-term... I must go and get the few belongings I had at..." She gulped, "Opaline's fortress."

Soon making her way down the ramps, Misty left the Brighthouse, trotting in the general direction of her former home. As she trotted up and over a small hill, unknown to her and the coastal town below, the prisbeam flickered.

---

Shooting Star gently stroked Sunny's mane. The orange earth pony lay on the couch whilst Flurry went to bring Cadenza.

"Don’t worry, my mom should be here soon." Shooting Star spoke in a caring tone, "She'll have an idea of what’s affecting you since she studied ancient magic before." She added.

"I feel... So hot... And weak..." Sunny said in a weak tone as she trembled with fear. "I want my mom..." She sobbed, trying her best to hold back tears.

"I know, I know..." Shooting Star spoke in a soothing tone as she continued to gently stroke Sunny's forehead, the burning slowly fading.

"She's in here!" Flurry's voice called out from the hallway. Cadenza rushed into the room with Flurry and quickly saw the orange mare on the couch in discomfort.

"What happened?" Cadenza asked, placing a hoof on Sunny's head, "Jeez, she’s burning up and it ain't a fever, what’s wrong with her?" She asked.

"She claimed that Dark Star was in her head." Shooting Star replied, wiping a tear from her blue eyes, "I don't know how much more I can help her..." She trembled

"Listen to me Lillian, you did the right thing bringing your friend here." Cadenza smiled softly, comforting her oldest daughter, "Now, go and get some rest..." She added.

"No, I can't... I promised Sunny I'd go and find her mom." Shooting Star stuttered, pacing around the couch.

"Ok, but take Flurry Heart with you." Cadenza insisted.

"Yes, mom..." Shooting Star replied, the mare quickly leaving the room, her sister following close behind.

Once outside the room, Shooting Star let out a long sigh, placing her hoof onto her face.

"You ok sis?" Flurry nudged Shooting Star's side, "Sunny is in safe hooves with Mom." She added in a soft, caring tone.

"I just don't know where to even begin to look for Opaline..." Shooting Star trailed off as she looked down at the floor sadly.

"Hmm..." Flurry tapped her hoof on the floor, thinking of an answer to give her sister, "I might not know for certain, but I might know where to start."

"Where?" Shooting Star replied.

"If I remember correctly. When she first started training, you took her to your happy place when she was having a panic attack, which if I remember, was the old bell tower at the top of the palace." Flurry grinned widely.

"Hmm, I guess It's a start..." Shooting Star rubbed her chin, "Ok, stay here and keep Sunny's friends in the loop." She added before running off down the hall.

"And where are you going?!" Flurry shouted down the hall.

"Gonna start somewhere!" Shooting Star yelled back before darting around a corner, Flurry rolled her eyes and she went back into the room where Sunny’s friends awaited.

---

Misty slowly trotted through the forest that surrounded her former home. After a few minutes of walking, she reached her home, jumping in fright as lightning struck the ground nearby.

"YIKES!" The mare let out a scream holding a hoof to her chest as her heart raced, her eyes locked onto the smouldering patch of grass near her hoof. Stumbling around, she found the door handle and quickly opened the door, slinking inside before more lightning struck.

Misty pulled out her phone, holding it up as the built-in flashlight lit up the dark hallway. Dust particles filled the cold air as lightning lit up the windows, rain starting to lash down outside. Letting out a gulp, Misty slowly trotted deeper into the old fortress.

Water pooled at Misty's hooves as she stood in the throne room, still trashed from the fight between Opaline and her new friends just over a week ago. Rainwater poured through the shattered stained glass window that once sat behind Opaline's throne and mirror pool. Each flash of lightning lit up the room, casting large shadows on the walls as Misty turned towards one of the doors that would lead her deeper into the bows of the fortress.

Shining the flashlight left to right as she went, Misty couldn't shake the feeling like she was being stalked, quicking turning to get the drop on a potential follower, Misty's eyes shrank as she saw a shadow dart back behind the corner she just turned down.

"What in Equestria is that?!" She screamed, running down the hall in pure, primal fear.

Misty ran into her old room, slamming the door and locking it behind her, panting heavily as she sat against it. A flash of lightning lit up the room as Misty slowly rose back to her hooves, the mare quickly looking around at the few belongings Opaline allowed her to keep.

Some of the items included a few books and items from her younger days. She went over and touched them, they were dusty, but, thankfully, not water damaged. Quickly removing the saddle bag Sunny and Pipp had made for her, she gathered up all her belongings, squeezing all the books into the bag.

"Right..." She spoke to herself, "How am I going to get you out?" She added, looking down at the medium size chest sitting on the bottommost shelf of the bookcase that sat against one of the bedroom walls. Misty pulled the chest off the shelf, it was too heavy for her to even attempt to carry on her back to the Brighthouse.

Tapping her hoof on her chin as she thought for ideas, "Well, there is that small wagon... But that means going back out there." She gulped, looking at the door, "Alright I can do this, I just need to quickly make my way to the wagon and back into my room." She said to herself.

With some hesitation, she slowly opened the door as it creaked gently, the creature seemed to be nowhere in sight, "Coast seems clear..." Misty said to herself as she slowly trotted back through the hallway, making sure to trot only on the carpet, her ears twitching as the sound of water splashing echoed down the dark hallway.

"Ugh, too dark, I need some light." She spoke to herself as she used her phone to illuminate the hallway as she continued down the dark hallway. Water continued to drip down from the cracked ceiling and upper walls. The wind howled as it blew in through cracked and shattered windows.

Lightning once again lit up the ruined throne room as Misty snuck through, towards where the wagon should be, she let out a sigh of relief when she locked eyes with the wagon under its protective tarp, by the entrance, just as she left it.

"Perfect... Now, I gotta get the chest and get out of here before... That thing comes back..." She spoke in a hushed tone as she quickly attached the wagon to herself and began heading back to her room.

---

"Right..." Cadenza gently placed her hoof on Sunny's cheek, "Let's see what is going on in your head." She spoke softly, her horn slowly emitting a cooling blue glow.

"I thought only Princess Luna could see the minds of ponies..." Sunny weakly replied.

"Who'd you think taught me this?" Cadenza giggled softly, reminiscing on days long past, "This shouldn't hurt a bit." She reassured the orange mare as white tendrils flowed from her horn, landing on Sunny's forehead.

Sunny soon felt sleep take hold of her, eyelids feeling heavy as they slowly fluttered shut, Cadenza slowly closed her eyes too, focusing solely on the orange pony's mind.

Cadenza found herself in a black void, ears filled with echoey voices. Her horn sparkled to life, lighting up the darkness surrounding her.

"Well, well. Cadenza." A voice cackled in the void.

"You!" Cadenza snapped, turning around to the source of the voice, "You are supposed to be dead!" She shouted.

"It'll take a lot to kill me, Cadenza." Dark Star snarled, stepping out into the light created by Cadenza's horn, "Those pesky crystals you created may have destroyed my physical form, but I can assure you, Cadenza. I always come back." The alicorn cackled shifting appearances between Shooting Star and Flurry Heart.

"Stop it!" Cadenza shouted, no, she demanded!

"You're no fun." Dark Star snarled, "I was expecting you to be the one to be entertained by me but, ugh! You're just as pathetic as this pony's mother." She shifted her form, effectively teleporting directly into Cadenza's face.

"You are not the mare I once knew." Cadenza spat on her words.

"No, I'm better than that pathetic filly." Dark Star glared, her nose pressed right up against Cadenza's.

"You. Won't. Win." Cadenza spoke through gritted teeth.

"HAHA! What makes you so sure?! You couldn't even defeat me when you had the chance!" Dark Star began to circle Cadenza, "So, praytell, what makes you think you can defeat me."

"Because, unlike you, I still hold out hope." Cadenza glared as the larger alicorn circled her like a shark, "Holding out on the hope that the Equestria I once knew will return, without you in it!" She snapped, blasting magic at Dark Star's face.

"Rude." Dark Star snickered in annoyance, "You're just like your two pathetic daughters, always gripping onto something that’s already lost." She added, flashing a grin of her sharp teeth.

Cadenza blasted magic once more at Dark Star, splitting her face in two, "Get out of Sunny's head you bitch." She spoke through gritted teeth.

"Urgh. Fine." Dark Star replied as her face reformed, "I have better things to do anyway." She added, slowly returning to the darkness, "But know this, Cadenza. Once I get what was rightfully stolen from me, I'll be coming for you, your daughters and that trinket you call a Crystal Heart." Her glowing eyes faded away.

"She's gone... For now..." Cadenza snorted as the cold and unwelcoming void shifted into a more welcoming room, "Sunny's mind is already settling." She smiled in relief.

Sunny's eyes slowly opened, the sharp pain in her head was quickly fading, "Is she... Is she gone?" She weakly asked Cadenza.

"For now..." Cadenza replied regretfully, "Sunny, I must know something." She added, sitting down next to Sunny, the orange mare slowly sitting up on the couch, "When you reunited the crystals, did you defeat Dark Star first?"

"No... When Izzy and I first reunited the crystals, nothing even happened, it was only later on that the crystals themselves reunited and gave us all magic back." Sunny quickly explained how magic returned to their world, "We had no idea Dark Star even existed until a few days ago when she started to invade my mind and play mind games with us." She added, "She told me that the magic that flows within me now was once hers." Her ears twitched.

"Flurry told me about your ability to become an alicorn at will..." Cadenza frowned, "Listen to me, Sunny. Your ability to do that, it's just not natural. Dark Star's magic is using you as a host."

"That... That is what my mom told me..." Sunny looked down, "The magic... It's getting stronger... I... I nearly killed a pony today because of it..." A lone tear escaped her eye.

"None of it is your fault." Cadenza hugged Sunny tightly, "Dark Star was a mare who went down a very dark path from the friend I once knew. I couldn't go through with destroying her..." Cadenza spoke softly, looking down at the floor.

---

Water lapped at the wagon wheels as Misty trotted towards her room, the water slowly flowing down the hall as it spilt over from the throne room. The unicorn's ears twitched at every sound as she turned the corner.

"I'm sure it was just a Raccoonicorn, heh heh..." She said nervously, the pitter-patter of feet ran past her as she slowly crept into her old room. Not wasting a second longer, she quickly placed the heavy chest into the wagon, "This would be so much easier if I had magic..." She grunted as she slid the chest across the wooden bed of the wagon, making room for more of her belongings. She hastily loaded the last of her belongings onto the wagon, quickly throwing a tarp over to shield them from the rain.

"Right, now let's get the hell out of her- AH!" Misty screamed as a shadow appeared outside her bedroom doorway. Her phone fell to the floor, the flashlight shining at the creature casting a shadow, "You?" The unicorn asked in surprise as she looked down at the creature, a pink magic mouse, the very same one Opaline once used to spy on the Brighthouse, "I thought Opaline poofed you." Misty added, leaning down at the mouse.

The mouse squeaked a reply, "I can't understand you..." Misty frowned, "Really wish Hitch could translate." She grumbled to herself. The mouse quickly grabbed Misty's phone in its mouth and ran off, "Hey! Give that back!" She shouted, quickly giving chase to the magical rodent.

"COME BACK HERE!" Misty screamed in frustration as she chased the mouse up a spiral staircase. She panted as she continued to chase the mouse as it ran down the dark hallway, towards a room Misty dare not step hoof in, "NO! DON'T GO IN THAT ROOM!" The unicorn skidded to a stop in front of the door as the mouse ran inside the room, "Opaline's room..." She gulped.

Misty paced around outside of the room, "What do I do, what do I do?" She panicked, fear taking hold of her, "Opaline will kill me if I enter her room." Her head filled with thoughts of what Opaline would do to her at that moment.

"But Opaline isn't here." Her mind answered back, "She won't be back here ever again, she said so herself." Her mind continued.

"But I don't want to get in trouble with Opaline, she was very clear. I was to never enter her room, under any circumstances." Misty retorted, "But my phone..." She pouted.

"What that old hag doesn't know, won't kill her." The voice echoed in Misty's head.

"Hey! Opaline is many things, but a hag is not one of them!" Misty slammed her hoof down in defence of the pony who was effectively her mother. Misty barged through the door with a new sense of determination taking hold of her, "Now! Give me back my... Phone..." Misty's words trailed off as she took in her surroundings.

Misty saw that Opaline's room was very clean and tidy, all the items were stacked neatly and all her potion books were arranged in neat order. Sat right up against the bed, was a foal’s crib, "A crib?" Misty tilted her head in confusion, slowly trotting over to the wooden crib, blowing away the dust, "Stellar Harmony... Who the heck is Stellar." Misty grabbed the dusty nametag on the crib, looking at the faded hoof-painted lettering.

The mouse watched Misty from the dressing table across the room. It continued to watch the unicorn as she looked around the room, every drawing she had ever made for Opaline was pinned to the wall on display, "She... She told me my drawings were terrible… I never expected her to have them pinned..." She mumbled softly, her eyes locked on the wall, tears trickling down her cheeks, "Why... Why would she be so horrible to me?..."

The mouse squeaked, pushing a book towards the edge of the dressing table. Misty turned towards the table, just as the book began to teeter on the edge. The unicorn lunged forwards as the book fell, catching it in her hooves. "Phew, Opaline would kill me if I let any of her books fall onto the floor..." She sighed in relief, the cover of the book flipped open to the first page, "This... This is a diary..." Misty looked at the writing, turning her gaze to the inside cover, "Opaline's diary!"

Misty hastily put the diary back on the dressing table, "Oh no... I'm so dead. She's gonna know I touched it!" She panicked, beginning to hyperventilate as she thought of the various ways Opaline will punish her for touching her things, "She'll for sure lock me in the dungeons..." She gulped, despite never seeing said dungeons, Opaline had told them they existed and were filled with the bones of her last hench mare who failed her. Another lie from Opaline perhaps, but Misty didn't want to run the risk of finding out if it was indeed true.

"Opaline Isn't here, Misty." A familiar voice entered Misty's thoughts.

"You..." Misty frowned, truth be told, she wasn't exactly in the mood to talk to another alicorn, "What do you want this time, Dark Star." She added in an annoyed tone.

"Ponies are so rude these days." Dark Star rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the shadows behind Misty, "I swear, you kidnap a pony and use her for experiments one time and suddenly, you're the monster."

"Uh, what." Misty stared blankly, blinking twice as she processed what Dark Star had just muttered.

"What." Dark Star muttered in a dead-panned voice, the dark alicorn focusing her gaze on the diary. Her horn crackled to life, emitting a sickly green hue as the book levitated off of the table, "Urgh, can't believe that that pathetic little alicorn uses a diary." Dark Star flicked through the entire diary in a matter of border, "Yawn, boring." She quickly threw the diary away, Misty barely catching it before it hit the window, "So this is Opaline's hideout." Dark Star cackled sadistically, "Can't say I'm impressed. It's just as pathetic as she is." She grumbled.

"Hey! Opaline isn't pathetic!" Misty interrupted, gently placing the diary down on Opaline's bed. Misty felt the air escape her lungs as a tightness wrapped around her neck.

"DO NOT TALK BACK TO YOUR FUTURE QUEEN, YOU LITTLE RUNT!" Dark Star bellowed, her eyes glowing red as she threw Misty against the wall.

"I'm sorry!" Misty quickly began to sob, begging Dark Star. The alicorn released her throat, Misty quickly fell to the floor in a heap.

"Good." Dark Star sternly spoke, her form shifting around as if it were a glitch, "I need those Crystals, Misty. I need them now!" The alicorn shouted at the smaller unicorn.

"But-but you told me if I wanted to help you, to contact you!" Misty trembled in fear.

"Well. I am no longer asking!" The alicorn screamed, "I'VE DONE MY WAITING! 2000 YEARS OF IT!" Her horn crackled in the air, lightning flashing outside the room, "YOU WILL GET ME THOSE CRYSTALS OR I'M POP YOUR HEAD LIKE A GRAPE!" She slammed her hoof down, cracking the stone floor, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

Misty shrouded in fear, "YES!" She screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I will get you the crystals!" She whimpered in fear, grovelling at Dark Star's hooves.

"Good. Now, you have one week, Misty. Do not fail me." Dark Star trotted away from the unicorn, "Unlike Opaline, I'm not so forgiving of failure." She glared at Misty out of the corner of her eye as she disappeared into the shadowy corner of the room.

Misty found her phone laying on the floor near the bed, she quickly grabbed it and flashed its light towards the corner, finding no pony there. The unicorn began to sob, curling up into a ball, "What am I going to do now?" She cried into her hooves, "Even Opaline was never as cruel as her..." She sniffled. She stopped when she felt something press against her back, turning around, she saw the mouse pushing Opaline's diary against her fur.

"Please stop, I'm in enough trouble already." She spoke softly, looking up with puffy red eyes, the mouse squeaked in reply, opening the diary and tapping on the page, "You, want me to read it?" She cocked her head as the mouse squeaked, nodding its head, "Ok?" Misty sniffled a little bit more, "It's not like today can get anyone worse." She sighed, scooping up the diary with both hooves.

End of Chapter Thirty One.

Comments

[Misty Arcana]

Wow. Very good.

[Misty Arcana]

When will the next chapter be uploaded?

[WestRail642fan]

11678049
to be honest and im not trying to be rude, but when its ready, since both me and my co-writer work full time and write after work. doesn't help we're in different timezones so we only have about 3 hours to write between when i finish work and when they have to go to sleep

[Misty Arcana]

11678172
OK.