My Little Pony: Dark Star

by WestRail642fan

Chapter #33: The Arcane Star

Chapter Thirty Three.
The Arcane Star.

*present day*

Misty stared at the worn pages, her mind overloaded with information, struggling to process it all.

"She... She lied about everything... Twilight never stole her magic... There was no shield keeping her out of Equestria!" She shouted as she tried to prevent herself from losing her cool, slamming her hoof on the hardwood desk, only to quickly regret that when her hoof began to throb in pain, "She's not even a fire alicorn..." She winced in pain, rubbing her sore hoof, "She demanded I get her those blasted crystals! And she had one in her possession?!" She spoke through gritted teeth.

The mouse watched Misty ranting to herself, it shook its head and let out a sigh as it did a small facepalm with its tiny paw as the unicorn began to cry to herself. Unable to accept the fact she had been fed lies all this time, "She probably didn't even find me as a foal as she told me, probably stole me from my real parents..." She sobbed into her hooves.

The mouse quickly scurried over to the open diary, flicking the pages over to the most recent entry, before squeaking as loudly as it could muster while tapping the paper. Misty looked up from her hooves with bloodshot eyes, "You want me to keep reading?" She asked, her throat sore from crying. The mouse simply nodded in response, "OK?" Misty wiped one of her eyes, "But please, no more lies from Opaline, OK?" She added, pulling the diary back towards her.

---

Shooting Star panted as her hooves touched down on the top floor of the bell tower, she was thankful that tonight wasn't windy. She glanced down the side of the tower, gulping harshly from the sheer couple hundred-foot drop below.

"Mom really needs to install a railing up here." Shooting Star nervously spoke to herself, "Somepony could fall if they're not careful, heh... heh..." She added, her face a pale white from the thought.

"Go away, Lillian." Opaline spoke coldly, the alicorn sitting on the edge of the tower, her tail and hind hooves dangling over the side.

"Yeah, no. Not gonna happen." Shooting Star replied bluntly, trotting over towards the alicorn, "I made a promise, now get your sorry butt off of the floor, missy." She added smugly.

"I said. FUCK OFF!" Opaline snapped, charging at Shooting Star, her horn crackling as she snarled at the pegasus, muzzles a few inches from eachother.

Shooting Star simply raised an eyebrow, unamused by Opaline, "Boop~" She chuckled, pressing her hoof to Opaline's snout.

"Urgh!" Opaline screamed in frustration, snapping her head around and blasting a powerful beam of magic into the night sky. The beam crackled in the cold air like thunder as it disappeared into the horizon. Opaline's horn smoked as she exhaled harshly, "What do you want?" She spoke with gritted teeth, keeping her back towards the pegasus whom she once called a friend.

"Sunny. She needs you." Shooting Star answered, quickly explaining what happened after Opaline had left the bar, "She kept asking for you." She added.

"Stellar can fend for herself, She's lasted 25 years without me, she doesn't need me." She replied, staring into the distant crystal city below the palace. She sniffled, tears forming in her eyes, "I missed so much of her life, and it's all my fault." Opaline looked at Shooting Star out of the corner of her eye.

"What are you talking about?" Shooting Star tilted her head, placing a hoof on Opaline's shoulder.

"I was the reason why Dark Star was draining magic from our world. She captured me and used me to unlock the secrets of the immortality of alicorns like Celestia and Luna. She... She was draining magic to do it." Opaline choked on her words, "It's because of me that your mother had to create the crystals. It's because of me that our empire, once again, was lost to time."

"You can't blame yourself for any of that!" Shooting Star replied, trying to comfort Alicorn, who was nearly as tall as she was.

"I was the one who used those crystals on Dark Star. She was going to kill the guardians of them. I had to do something!" Opaline began to weep, "I was the one who stripped Equestria of its magic for 2000 years!" She cried, "And it is because of me that Dark Star has returned. I failed to ensure that she was actually dead!" She screamed through her tears.

"Opaline." Shooting Star placed her hooves on Opaline's cheeks, "Listen to me. If she hadn't captured you, it would have been somepony else, like me. She would've drained magic for her experiments regardless. You can't blame yourself for the actions of a mare like her." She pressed her forehead against Opaline's, "We, all of us, are going to find a way to defeat her for good, you can trust me on that." She added with a tone of determination.

"But... But I was the reason that she came back... I... I gave Argyle one of the crystals to help him bring back magic. He and Stellar had to go into hiding because Dark Star probed his find and found the location of our home." Opaline spoke between her squished cheeks.

"Hey! No buts, missey. You mustn't blame yourself for any of this. Besides, if anyone is to blame, it's me for not patrolling with you the day you were captured." Shooting Star replied, looking into Opaline's blue eyes, "Gods how I missed staring into those big eyes of yours..." She smiled softly, making Opaline blush.

"Oh stop it..." Opaline groaned in embarrassment, "Besides, yours are just as big as mine." She replied.

"Yes, but yours are super sparkly, unlike me, I just have my dad's boring eyes." Shooting Star sighed.

"Hey now, your father's eyes are gorgeous..." Opaline bit her lip before realising what she had just spoken out loud.

"Ha! I knew it!" Shooting Star smirked, wiggling her eyebrows, "You had a crush on my dad!" She shooking Opaline vigorously

"It was just a schoolgirl crush I swear!" Opaline replied, trying her best to deflect.

"Heh... Whatever you say." Shooting Star snickered.

"Hey! I seem to recall you had a crush on both my mom and dad." Opaline replied deadpan, Shooting Star froze.

"Oh, low blow." Shooting Star spoke before tackling Opaline.

"Hey! Watch the hair!" Opaline screamed as the pair began roughhousing. Opaline quickly found herself pinned to the floor, Shooting Star effortlessly sitting on her back.

"Looks like I win again. What's that now, 10 - 1 to me?" Shooting Star grinned victoriously.

"11 -1 actually, and no fair, you pegasus are as flexible as ferrets." Opaline groaned, lifting her head up to try and look at the pegasus so effortlessly pinning her down.

"Nah, you're just too fat, you need exercise." Shooting Star giggled.

"Excuse me?! I'll have you know, I've had a child and raised another, I'm entitled to be a little chubby." Opaline seethed at the remark with an angry look on her face.

"Whatever you say, muffin top." The pink pegasus snickered.

"If you weren't my best friend, I'd destroy you by now." Opaline grumbled, steam visibly escaping her ears.

"You don't have the guts to kill me." Shooting Star chuckled, ruffling up Opaline's mane.

"Hey! I told you to watch the hair!" Opalime fumed as the pegasus ruffled her mane until it was as messy as if she had woken up from her slumber, "I hate you..." She grumbled.

"Heh, love you too." Shooting Star giggled, nuzzling her chin on Opaline's head.

The alicorn let out a huff before sighing, "It's good to be home..." She smiled softly to herself, a warm feeling filled her chest as her gaze turned towards the vast city below, the crystal buildings shimmering in the moonlight.

"So. Tell me about this Argyle you and Sunny keep talking about." Shooting Star grinned, "Sounds like he well and truly stole your heart." She chuckled.

"You... Could say that." Opaline rolled her eyes, trying to hide her blush, "You see, about three hundred years ago, I stumbled across an old Equestria army outpost tower and I called it my home. I guess the locals became weary of venturing near it after that. They, funnily enough, started to call me the Purple Devil. Anyway, about 26 years ago, this blue earth pony stallion rocked up at my door, asking if I was the Purple Devil. He introduces himself as Argyle Starshine, he had heard about the legend of the Purple Devil within the woods outside of Maritime Bay, his home town, and wanted to see if the stories were true." Opaline smiled to herself, "You should have seen the look on his face when I told him I was the infamous Purple Devil, he was like a foal in a candy store." She chuckled to himself.

"Heh, from the way you describe him, he sounded like a stallion version of Twilight Sparkle." Shooting Star snickered, "Maybe even a great descendant of her, but I doubt that..." The pegasus trailed off.

"Anyway..." Opaline grumbled at the idea, "He began to ask me all these questions, like who am I, where did I come from, how old am I. I literally had to shove a ball of paper from his notepad in his mouth to get him to stop." Opaline giggled at the memory as they all began to return to her mind, "This kept up for days until I finally cracked and invited him into my home for some tea. There, we got to talking, he was a somewhat rich stallion, his father owned a factory, called something like Canterlot Industries, I don't know." Opaline shrugged, "After that point, he started to bring me old spell books he would find at flea markets whenever he could..." She paused, looking down at her hooves.

"Awww, he was totally smitten with you." Shooting Star teased, jabbing Opaline's neck.

"Yeah..." Opaline sighed lovingly, "I even went to Maretime Bay to visit him, uninvited mind you, and at 2 am..." She chuckled nervously, "I, eventually, became pregnant with Stellar, It was only then that I told him about the crystals, I had even found one, the Earth Pony Crystal, as they call it now. He almost instantly set to work finding the other two..." She trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Shooting Star asked, gently nudging Opaline's side.

"After Stellar was born... That was when it all went downhill. Argyle had actually managed to find the other two crystals... And their caretakers agreed to meet him. Princess Haven of Helicon City, she's the mother of Zipp and Pipp by the way, and Alphabittle Blossomforth." Opaline let out a frustrated sigh, "They all wanted to return magic to our world, they even ventured to Canterlot to reunite them, but..."

"But Dark Star returned..." Shooting Star spoke in frustration.

"Yes... She probed their minds and exploited their greatest fears... She... She found out the location of my home and she deemed Stellar to be a threat to her rule..." Opaline choked on her words, holding back tears, "He... He and Stellar had to go into hiding, for her safety, Dark Star knew who I was and where to find me, so it was safer for Argyle to be the one to take her, far less likely to be found as he was an earth pony like she was."

"Did you ever try to visit Stellar at all over the years?" Shooting Star asked, hugging Opaline tightly.

"No. The deal I made Argyle agree to before he had to go into hiding was that I was to never know where they went, for if Dark Star came for me, she would never know where to find Stellar or the Earth Pony Crystal. I guess Argyle took her to Maretime Bay since it's a fairly new settlement, not on any maps from Dark Star's time..."

"Opaline... I'm so sorry that you had to give up your child..." Shooting Star looked down, "I know what it must have been like for her to not grow up with a mother, even if I never had a father growing up either... But you can't blame yourself for any of the years you two lost. You weren't to know that Dark Star would still be hanging on to life." She soothed Opaline, "So, what ever happened to Argyle anyway? With the way you described him, surely he would have come here with you guys."

"Sadly, a few years ago, Argyle went missing. Stellar refuses to tell me about it, but from what Hitch and that Sprout pony say, it sounded like he went off trying to find something and never came home." Opaline looked down, tears welling up in her eyes, "All they ever found was his glasses and his journal." She sobbed, walls finally breaking, "I had promised him that I would come find him and Stellar once Dark Star was defeated!" She screamed into her hooves.

"Hey. You can't blame yourself for any of this, remember?" Shooting Star frowned, hugging Opaline tighter.

"But I should! If I hadn't used those blasted crystals, none of this would have happened!" Opaline wailed, throwing Shooting Star off her back, "Argyle would still be alive right now!"

"Would he? Would anypony alive today still be alive if you hadn't decided to be brave and defeat Dark Star?" Shooting Star pointed her hoof at Opaline, "Look down at the city and tell me what you see." She raised an eyebrow.

"I see..." Opaline looked down at the city below, tears still in her eyes, "I see ponies going about their daily lives, I see trains leaving and entering the city..." She added.

"Exactly! They may not know it yet, but every single pony down there." Shooting Star spoke, placing her hoof under Opaline's chin, "Every single pony alive in the world today, including your daughter, owes you their very lives. Never forget the fact they are all alive today thanks to you." She added softly, nuzzling Opaline's cheek.

Opaline blushed at the affection afforded to her by her old friend, "Thank you, Lillian..." She smiled to herself, placing her hoof on Shooting Star's, "You have no idea how good it was to finally get this all out. I could never unload this all on Misty..." She sighed.

"Who's Misty, Aye? Is she a lover?" Shooting Star smirked, giggling like a schoolgirl.

"What? No! She's practically my second daughter." Opaline rebutted, visibly disgusted by the idea of Misty being a lover, "I found her as a foal 18 years ago, she was barely bigger than my hoof, so tiny... Her parents were killed in an attack by some bandits, I ran afoul of them while looking for some berries. Misty was the only survivor. I couldn't just leave her there to die, even if I'm a big bad alicorn." She added, looking down at her large hooves.

"You? Big bad? Nuh-uh." Shooting Star shook her head, "You are a big softy." She poked Opaline's back.

"You dare call the great Opaline Arcana a big softy!" Opaline put on a deep booming voice, "You will understand the power of the Fire Alicorn!" She added, cackling like a witch before coughing, "You did not see nor hear that!" She scowled as she coughed and wheezed.

"If you say so." Shooting Star giggled to herself, "Your secret is safe with me." She winked, "But can I ask where the whole 'Fire Alicorn' thing came from?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Oh... That was something I thought up on the spot when Misty was 5 years old." Opaline nervously smiled, "She asked me why I had wings, so I quickly made up a story about myself being an elemental alicorn from the island of Skyros and that I personally knew Celestia and Luna as foals. Sure it was a lie, but hey, it was better than telling her the truth." Opaline looked down at her wings, sighing as she spread her feathers, "Misty was simply too young to learn the truth of how I came to be an alicorn..."

"Were you ever going to tell her the truth?" Shooting Star asked, gently stroking Opaline's mane.

"I was simply waiting for the right moment to tell her..." Opaline replied softly, "Part of me feels guilty for not telling her, but to be completely honest, I've treated her so horribly the last 10 years, wouldn't be surprised if she refused to believe me if I did..." She looked down, trying to avoid Shooting Star's eyes.

"Opaline... What do you mean..." Shooting Star frowned.

"I failed in my duties as her caretaker, as her mother even. Instead of giving her all the love and attention she needed, I coldly pushed her away and made her do my bidding, all for the promise of a cutie mark." Opaline felt her throat tighten at the false promises she made to Misty, "A promise I had no realistic way of ever fulfilling. No amount of magic can make a cutie mark appear, but the way she got so excited about finally getting one after I promised to help her get one, I couldn't tell her that truth either..." Opaline looked down blankly, "I withheld any affection I had for her all because I selfishly believed loving her would make me feel like I'm replacing my beloved Stellar..." She added, her mind flashing all the moments in the last 10 years when she repressed any love she had for Misty in moments when Misty had proven herself, even when she had gotten her the small sample of dragonfire in a jar.

"Opaline... I..." Shooting Star stuttered.

"I... I even hit her across the face when she wouldn't hand over Sparkly... What kind of mother hits their own child. Blood or not?!" Opaline scorned herself for her own actions against Misty.

"A mother who fell from her path but has found it once more..." Shooting Star nuzzled Opaline's face, "You're clearly repenting your actions, and that is the first step to redemption." She booped Alicorn's snout, "So stop beating yourself up for all of your past mistakes, that’s all in the past. Let's focus on the future, I'm sure you got something you want to do right?" She added, quickly rising to her hooves, "Now c'mon, your daughter needs you." She flapped her wings.

"I'm coming." Opaline flapped her wings, "Woah, this really is high up..." She thought to herself before she followed Shooting Star. The pair gently gliding to the ground.

---

"You should get some rest." Cadenza spoke softly, gently stroking Sunny's head, "The burning has stopped, thankfully..." She added as the orange mare shifted down on the couch until they were lying on it, "I'll be back to check on you soon." The light pink alicorn added as she gently stood up off the couch.

"How is she?" Izzy asked eagerly as Cadenza gently closed the door behind her as she exited the room.

"She's ok for now..." Cadenza sighed, "Dark Star's left her mind for the time being, but I'm afraid she'll come back..." She spoke in a worried tone, "Only Luna could permanently banish something like Dark Star from Sunny's mind... But Luna's no longer with us..."

"Is there... Is there anything we can do to help Sunny?" Zipp asked, leaning forward.

"The only thing you can do now is to let her rest for the night, in fact, all of you should go and get some rest," Cadenza answered softly.

"Did she ask for any of us?" Zipp asked once more.

"No." Cadenza shook her head, "She kept asking for her mother." She added.

"Oh. I see." Zipp gritted her teeth in frustration, clearly annoyed.

"I'M HERE!" They heard a voice call down from one of the many palace hallways. All eyes focused on the end of the hallway as Opaline and Shooting Star came skidding around the corner, quickly flapping their wings to slow themselves down as they slid to a stop in front of Cadenza.

"How is my daughter?" Opaline asked in a worried tone, "Take me to her." She pleaded.

"She's in there..." Cadenza spoke in a hushed tone, opening the door for Opaline, "She needs some major rest, however..." The pink alicorn replied as Opaline quietly entered the room.

The door closed with a dull click as Opaline sat down on the edge of the couch. She gently placed her hoof on Sunny's cheek, brushing some of her mane away from the orange pony's eye as they slept. The purple alicorn let out a sigh before leaning over and gently kissing the orange pony's forehead, causing him to stir in her sleep.

Opaline looked upwards at her reflection in the window before looking down at her shoulder-length bangs that hung at each side of her neck, "I think... I think it's time for a change of look..." She mused to herself, lifting one of the bangs up with a hoof, "Let's see if I remember this spell correctly." She mused as her horn sparkled to life. Focusing on the magic flowing around her, Opaline opened her eyes in amazement as a small crystalline dagger now lay at her hooves.

"Perfect..." Opaline grinned proudly as she picked the dagger off of the floor with her magic. With a quick slash, one of her curly bangs fell to the floor. Her magic uncurled her mane wrapped around the base of her ears. Upon the thought, the dagger shifted into the shape of a manebrush. The alicorn gently brushed away at her mane and before long, her mane was now tied into a bun with a long flowing ponytail resting over her shoulder, "Not bad..." She mused to herself as she looked at her reflection. She placed the brush down on the floor and watched as the crystal object melted back down into the crystal flooring.

Opaline glared over at Sunny and smiled softly before laying down on the floor, using her magic to turn out the lights, "Goodnight, Stellar..."

End of Chapter Thirty Three.

Comments

[Misty Arcana]

"Sadly, a few years ago, Argyle went missing. Stellar refuses to tell me about it, but from what Hitch and that Sprout pony say, it sounded like he went off trying to find something and never came home." Opaline looked down, tears welling up in her eyes, "All they ever found was his glasses and his journal." She sobbed, walls finally breaking, "I had promised him that I would come find him and Stellar once Dark Star was defeated!" She screamed into her hooves.

Oh... Poor Opaline. I hope Argyle lives and Opaline meets him once more