My Little Pony: Dark Star

by WestRail642fan

Chapter #37: The Promise

Chapter Thirty Seven.
The Promise.

"I want out. Would she even want to help me after what I told her..." Misty thought to herself, Dark Star's threatening words echoing around her mind, "If anything in this diary is true, it seems like Opaline hates Dark Star too..." She paced around in a circle, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask Opaline for help." She bit her lip in the decision.

Misty scooped up her cracked phone in her hoof and scrolled through the list of contacts, "Pipp will be the logical choice here, she's always on her phone." She tapped the screen with her horn, but as she began to ring Pipp, she found her phone being thrown from her hoof, shattering against the wall. The room began to feel cold and icy, the fur on her neck standing right up.

"Big mistake." A voice spoke behind Misty, sending an icy chill down her spine. The blue unicorn slowly turned around, gulping nervously as Dark Star towered over her, eyes practically blazing with fire, "You'll pay for your treachery, you little runt!" The towering Alicorn roared at the blue unicorn. Misty tried to run but found her hooves stuck to the floor like glue, she struggled to free herself, as her vision began to go black.

---

"What?" Sunny asked, stunned by Cadenza's words, as the air in the room felt heavy and oppressive, "No. No. You lie!" She felt Cadenza's hooves dig into the shoulders.

"Yeah... I'm with Sunny on this." Hitch raised his hoof, "Both Sunny and Me grew up listening to Argyle telling us stories about Twilight that he would find while researching ancient Equestria." The stallion quickly lowered his hoof, "If Twilight was this Dark Star, he would have told us." He added, looking towards Sunny.

"We dug through all of his research after that message and there was no mention of Dark Star whatsoever." Zipp spoke, pausing the video on her phone as she looked towards Opaline, "Unless, you hid the truth from him!" She shot an accusatory look at the alicorn.

"Me?!" Opaline retorted, pointing at herself, "Why on Harmony's green earth would I do such a thing?!" She stormed towards the white pegasus, the pair butting heads.

"Wouldn't it be the first time you've hidden the truth from ponies." Zipp spoke through gritted teeth as the two ponies glared at each other, "Like Misty, did you ever tell her the truth about how you found her?" She added, venom in her voice.

"How dare you!" Opaline growled in indignation, "How dare you stoop so low you little runt!" She snarled at Zipp as the two kept their heads pressed together.

"Knock it off the pair of you." Pipp squeezed herself between the two, forcing the two to part from each other.

"Damn it, it was just getting interesting too." A raspy, feminine voice spoke out.

The royal sisters froze in place, "Uh Zipp?" Pipp trembled, "Did that voice just come from-"

"My phone? Yes." Zipp cut off her sister, still frozen in fear. She slowly looked down towards her phone screen, still paused on Twilight's message. Zipp raised her eyebrow before recoiling in horror as the still frame of Twilight slowly turned towards Zipp.

"Hello, Zephyrina." The image of Twilight chuckled darkly, Zipp's phone flew from her hoof as she reared back in fear, the device skidding across the crystalline room.

A large lavender hoof began to crawl out of the screen, followed by a head and wings. Opaline and Cadenza, on pure instinct, placed themselves between the phone and the other ponies.

"You all really thought I would be gone so easily." Dark Star cackled as she stood in front of the two alicorns, both being half her size.

"You... I'll tear you to pieces!" Opaline shouted, now being held back by Flurry and Izzy.

Dark Star chuckled softly, "Why slow down there dear I have plans for you and that pathetic excuse of a daughter." She grinned darkly.

"YOU LAY ONE HOOF ON STELLER AND I'LL-"

"I'm not talking about the earth pony." Dark Star cut off Opaline, and a knowing smug grin crossed her lips.

"What are you talking about-" Opaline spoke before cutting herself off as it clicked in her head, "No! You leave Misty out of this! If you so much as pluck a single strand of hair from her mane, I’ll rip you limb from limb!" Opaline snarled, her horn crackled with her rage.

"Pfft. Don’t tell me you actually care about her after all this time." Dark Star snickered, the tall lavender alicorn calmly paced back and forth in front of Opaline, "I’ve seen her memories, how cold you treat her." Dark Star flashed a knowing grin as Opaline looked down in disgrace, "I can offer her so much more than the mere promise of a cutie mark." She chuckled, a sadistic smirk fixed across her face.

"You leave my Misty alone." Opaline spat in Dark Star's face, "This is between you and me." She scowled, before seeing that Dark Star's form wasn't quite physical. Quickly thinking on the spot, Opaline began to slowly circle Dark Star, "Oh, what's this?" She spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Looks like your form isn't quite on the same plane as us. Shame really." She mocked the lavender alicorn.

"You dare mock me!" Dark Star spoke darkly, her eyes locked on Opaline as the two circled each other, the deeper purple alicorn slowly approaching the phone that Dark Star was seemingly projecting out of, "You have no idea of who you're dealing with!" She snarled, flashing her sharp wicked teeth.

"I am not afraid of you!" Opaline puffed out her chest, wings spread to make herself look bigger as she stared down the alicorn who once tortured her for five long years.

"I can fix that!" Dark Star smirked as her horn began to glow. In a flash, Misty appeared, locked in a cage, "Not another step, Opaline." She dangled the cage in front of the alicorn, "Unless you want to see your precious Misty again."

"Misty..." Opaline froze in place, her eyes locked on the cage containing the blue unicorn she had raised for 18 years.

The ears of the blue unicorn perked up as her name was spoken, "Opaline?" Misty weakly spoke, slowly turning around in the cage, her eyes red and puffy as she looked at Opaline, "Is it really you?" She added, her throat sore, wiping away her tears with a hoof.

Opaline slowly nodded, gently raising her hoof to the cage. Misty reached out for her, the pair touching hooves between the bars.

"Please help me, Opaline." Misty pleaded, her voice weak as she stared into Opaline's eye.

"I will, Misty, I promise." Opaline reassured her, wiping away a tear from Misty's cheek before the cage poofed away.

"Aww, how sweet." Dark Star snickered with disgust, "If you want to keep your promise to her, come to your fortress, alone. If you're not there by sundown, well, let's just say, they'll be finding pieces of her over 100 square miles." She grinned as her horn crackled.

"YOU BITCH!" Opaline screamed, lunging at Dark Star, only to phase through the lavender alicorn and being sent crashing into Cadenza and Sunny.

"Pathetic." Dark Star snickered as Opaline weakly looked up at her, "You have until sundown, don't be late." She spoke darkly before disappearing back into Zipp's phone, her laugh echoing around the room as the phone slammed shut.

"NO NO NO! MISTY!" Opaline screamed, crawling over to the phone. She grabbed the device, her face reflecting back at her on the blackened screen, "MISTY!" She cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mom..." Sunny spoke softly, gently placing her hoof on Opaline's shoulder, "We're going to save her." The orange pony added, nuzzling her mother's cheek.

"No, Stellar." Opaline looked up from the phone sternly, "This is something I must do alone." Her eyes focused on the sky outside, the sun beginning its downward trek towards the western horizon, "Adjusting for the time difference between here and my fortress, I have only two to three hours, maximum." She looked back down at Zipp's phone.

"No, Mom. You are not doing this by yourself!" Sunny protested, "She'll surely kill you!" She added, slamming her hoof down, "I've only just found my mother, and I'm not losing you again." Sunny's voice cracked, now on the verge of tears.

"Stellar..." Opaline spoke softly, placing a hoof on her daughter's chin, "I'll be back, I promise." She smiled softly.

"That... That's the last thing Dad said to me before he never came back..." Sunny tightly squeezed Opaline in a bone-crushing hug.

"Look at me Stellar, I promise you, I will be back, with Misty." Opaline gently turned Sunny's face towards her, "I promise you, I will be back." She reaffirmed her, wiping a tear from her daughter's cheek.

"Just please come back, I don't want to lose any more family." Sunny wiped her eyes, sniffling.

"And you won't." Opaline gently kissed her forehead, "Now, I've got to prepare." She softly spoke, eyes glancing up to Cadenza, "Please, look after Stellar until my return." She asked the empress.

"I will. You have my word" Cadenza nodded softly, playing her hoof on Opaline's shoulder.

---

Opaline stood in her foalhood bedroom, eyeing herself in the mirror as she concealed her armour under a black tunic. She stretched out her hoof, a crystal sword formed from a piece of armour on her foreleg, she smiled as the sword quickly shifted back into the armour, "Perfect, this will work." She said to herself as she draped a black cloak over her body, pulling up the hood over her head.

Making her way from her room, Opaline peaked her head into the lounge, the tall pony ducking her head under the doorway. Her parents sat on the couch, reading a novel and a newspaper respectfully as the fireplace crackled calmly. Opaline let out a soft sigh, using her magic to open the front door. She took one last look around before crossing the threshold. The gravel path crunched under her hooves as she closed the door behind her.

"You're not going alone, ya know." Shooting Star said, jumping down from the cottage roof, and landing behind Opaline, "Flurry Heart told me everything. So, what's the plan?"

"Plan? There is no plan!" Opaline turned around, "I am doing this for Misty, and I know for a fact that it's a one-way trip." The alicorn looked down at her hooves, leg guards covering her long legs, "I am simply going to use a spell on Misty to bring her here before Dark Star strikes me down." She placed her hoof to her chest, her heart racing.

"I can't in good conscience let you go alone." Shooting Star placed a hoof on Opaline's shoulder, "Besides, someone needs to make sure you keep your promise to Sunny." She gave a toothy grin, "You don't have a choice in the matter." She added.

"You are aware that I am to go alone." Opaline bluntly replied back, "How would it look if I come along with another pony, She'll kill Misty on the spot." She stamped her hoof down.

"Not if we use Plan 66." Shooting grinned, already having a plan in mind.

"You can’t be serious, it’ll never work!" The alicorn spoke back in a serious tone.

"How can you be so sure?" The Pegasus tilted her head, blinking, "We never put it to the test." She added.

"Um, hello!" Opaline pointed to her horn, "I Have a horn and you don't!" She added, "How do you expect to pass for me exactly? Put on a party hat and pass it off as a horn?!" She frustratingly gritted her teeth.

"...Um, yes?" Shooting Star awkwardly grinned, and a small awkward chuck followed.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Opaline’s eyes widened in anger, "THAT'S YOUR PLAN?!" She slammed her hoof down, dust being kicked up from the gravel path.

"Hey! You were the brains behind our plans, not me!" Shooting Star snapped back, "But, it’s worth a shot." She smiled.

"And how exactly do you plan on this working?" Opaline rubbed the temple of her head in frustration, feeling a head arch coming.

"I could go in first as a distraction, and once Dark Star lets her guard down, you come in, horn blazing! ZAP! ZAP!" The Pegasus giggled.

Opaline raised her eyebrow, "That… Might actually work." She rubbed her chin, "No, No. You're not coming. Your parents would kill me." She shook her head.

"Like I said before." Shooting Star stepped forward, "You don't have a choice." She smirked.

---

"I can't believe we're doing this." Opaline grumbled as she sat in a chair next to Shooting Star as Pipp and Izzy buzzed around the pegasus.

"Opaline, It's going to work." Shooting Star placed her hoof down on her friend's own hoof as Pipp made work at dying her fur to a similar shade of purple to Opaline.

"Izzy! How is the horn coming along?!" Pipp shouted, pulling on Shooting Star's left wing as she applied dye to the feathers.

"The glue's drying!" Izzy replied as she started to attach tail extensions to Shooting Star's tail.

"It's a good thing they dyed my mane and tail first, heh..." Shooting Star chuckled slightly as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, the fur on her face having yet to be dyed purple.

"Well, at least our eye colour is close enough that you won't need contacts." Opaline turned to Shooting Star, "That'll be one less thing to deal with I guess." She added as Pipp flew around to Shooting Star's face.

"OK, close your eyes dear." Pipp ordered the tall pegasus, as she began to apply the dye to her face.

"Shooting Lilian Star!" Cadenza's voice roared, "WHAT IN EQUESTRIA’S NAME ARE YOU DOING!?" She shouted as the door flew open.

"I'm helping Opaline get Misty back." Shooting Star answered bluntly.

"Oh no you're not!" Cadenza slammed her hoof down, "You are not going up against Dark Star!" She added, Flurry Heart nervously poking her head out from behind her mother.

"Sorry, she made me tell her." Flurry spoke softly.

"Enough." Cadenza held out her wing in front of Flurry Heart, "Shooting Star, I forbid this." She stepped forward.

"No mother." Shooting Star spoke deadpanned, "I am helping my best friend get her child back from that monster." Shooting Star opened her eyes, turning towards her mother, "None of which we'd be doing if you finished Twilight when you had the chance!" She stood up from the chair.

"Don't even go there!" Cadenza frowned, "Don't even bring that up!" She seethed.

"Why not Mom! You had the chance to kill Dark Star but you decided that it was better to let her die from her injuries!" Shooting Star shouted, motioning for Opaline to follow her, picking up the still-drying paper horn, "Instead of dying, she just came back and stole 2000 years from us!" She began trotting towards the door.

"You weren't there!" Cadenza snapped as her daughter and Opaline trotted past, "Don't you walk away from me Lilian!" She slammed her hoof down, cracking the floor.

"Goodbye, Mom." Shooting Star spoke bluntly, slamming the door behind her.

"Lilian!" Cadenza screamed in anger. Pipp, Izzy and Flurry just stared at the Empress as she fumed.

"Uh, should we go after them?" Pipp said, looking towards Izzy as the room filled with an awkward silence.

"No... I hate to admit it, but Lilian is right..." Cadenza slowly turned towards the other three ponies, "I just hope they are successful at this rescue mission." She added, turning back towards the door.

---

Opaline and Shooting Star stood at the edge of the city, the disguised pegasus equipped with her rifle slung over her shoulder, "You ready?" She turned to her friend.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Opaline took a short breath, as she felt Shooting Star's wing interlock with her own.

"We can do this." Shooting Star smiled as Opaline's horn began to shimmer, the air around it crackling and in a flash, the duo disappeared.

End of Chapter Thirty Seven.