Chapter Text
“Come now, Misty. Your consistent and abject failure to steal the lantern has led me to pursue methods of stopping Sunny Starscout I have previously thought to be too extreme…”
Her ears pinned back against her head, Misty carefully tiphoofed down the spiraling staircase behind Opaline. It had been two days since Misty had been to the sleepover at the brighthouse. Misty had been so happy with the information she had managed to gather; even knowing how to get to the unity crystals and even how their magic was starting to flourish via their cutie marks!
“I'm S-Sorry, Opaline… I was close! I almost g-got to the lantern, but there were too many of them! I d-didnt know a ‘Traditional Unicorn Sleepover’ would contain so many ponies! I promise, if you give me more time-”
“Shut up, girl. You don't know what you're talking about.” scolded her mentor, making Misty shrink back further. “I've realized that if I want to get things done, I'll have to do them myself. If I rely on incompetent fillies any longer, I’ll never be able to restore myself to my full prowess.”
“O-Of course, Opaline…” Misty agreed obediently.
Misty had never questioned Opaline actions; She had never known anything else. All she knew is that Opaline had found her walking on her own in the woods, sad and alone, and had been generous enough to take her in. From then, Misty had been trained meticulously by Opaline on how to sneak, fight, deceive and, when magic had been restored, very very basic spellcraft. Unfortunately for the Alicorn, Misty was truly awful at all of it. No matter how much she shouted, berated, belittled and infantilized her, Misty would never seem to improve.
The unicorn had always assumed it was her fault; she could never hope to live up to the might of an Alicorn, even without magic. They were the superior beings, after all. Misty was grateful for Opaline's guidance and parentage. Or at least…
…She had been.
While at the sleepover, something strange had happened. Misty had been around a group of ponies all night, and not once had she been shouted at. They had all treated her nicely, helped paint her hooves, and introduced her to ponycorn. Misty had been worried that it was made from ponies, but Izzy had assured her it was just dried corn kernels mixed with butter and salt. Misty had even been caught sneaking and acting suspicious, but they had assumed the best of her and not pursued it. It had been undoubtedly the best night of Misty's life, but something hadn't been sitting right with her.
When they had been discussing the story of the unity crystals, everypony else seemed to know a completely different story to the one Misty had learned. Opaline had always told Misty that she had been the Queen of Equestria and ruled over all its magic. However, an Alicorn of the name of Twilight Sparkle had been jealous of her might and sealed away all of her magic in the unity crystals. However, when Sunny had explained it, it had been completely different. Apparently, Twilight Sparkle had been the princess of Equestria. A large and terrifying threat approached and she felt that the only way to protect Equestria and its inhabitants was to seal away the magic to protect it from falling into the hooves of an evil Alicorn.
On its own, the retelling of the story wouldn't have swayed Misty; She had just assumed it was lies they had been told throughout the years, warping their perception. However, how kind they had all been towards Misty throughout the evening had made Misty feel a safety and comfort she had never felt before. It felt right.
It was something she never felt around Opaline.
Misty had tried her best to keep the feelings hidden deep in the back of her mind; she was probably just falling for their earth pony lies.
Eventually, she and Opaline had reached the dark depths of the castle, and entered a large stone walled chamber. Misty shuddered as she followed Opaline in; the walls were lined with various different skulls of different creatures, all with small wooden signs denoting their species.
Pegasi
Earth pony
Unicorn
Kirin
Dragon
Hippogriff
Yak
As they reached the middle of the chamber, Misty looked up to see one that remained, so far, empty.
Twilight Sparkle.
Misty gulped, and shuffled to Opaline.
“Uhm… Opaline? W-What exactly is it we are doing down here?” Asked Misty nervously as she saw her guardian drawing a large ritual circle on the floor. The Alicorn was floating various different crystals and objects into specific places on the circle.
“Use your brain, Misty. What is our biggest issue right now?” Oplaine asked, suddenly and sharply staring at Misty.
“U-Uhm! You can’t get to the unity crystals to restore all the magic back to you, right?” She asked hopefully.
“Almost, Misty. Still horribly wrong, but almost. No, our real issue is the false Alicorn, Sunny Starscout. As long as she is out there, there is no way for me to truly restore the magic of Equestria back to me. I had hoped you'd have been good enough to take them for me, but you weren't. So I've had to resort to plan B. Let's see how well you remember your runes. What will this ritual circle do, Misty?”
Misty looked down at the runes and immediately started to sweat. She couldn't remember any of them right now; she had gotten so acclimatized to being yelled at that it was no longer a good motivator for learning. She frantically wracked her brains, her eyes finally landing on one of the more angular runes on the floor. Like a slot machine, all the correct facts aligned in her brain!
Yes!
“A-A time rune! You're going to travel through time!” She exclaimed excitedly, looking up at Opaline for validation.
“Good, Misty. I'm glad that something didn't slip out of that tiny brain of yours.”
Misty beamed. It was always a long way between compliments, so she savoured each and every one.
“Your little outing did give me the location of an ancient unicorn’s old hideout, and I found some very interesting spells contained within. Now, tell me… where in time are these runes going?” Opaline continued, looking at her minion expectantly.
“Oh, uhm, I'm not sure, but… oh! Are weeee… going back to stop Twilight from sealing away the magic?” she asked. She was partially hoping for more clarification on what exactly happened with the magic; Opaline had never budged before.
“W-What? No, don't be ridiculous, Misty. In my current state she would undoubtedly DESTROY us.” She spat.
“But I thought you were the most powerful Alicorn… couldn't you just-?” stammered Misty but was silenced by a firm hoof stomp from Opaline.
“SILENCE!” she bellowed.
”... Sorry, Opaline” she mumbled, staring down at the floor.
“... The CORRECT answer… is that we are going back about 20 years. We shall infiltrate this ‘Crystal Brighthouse’ when there is still no magic. It will be easy! Come now, Misty. In the circle.” Opaline continued venomously. Misty shuffled into the circle, still not looking up
“Uhm… why are we going t-there? If there's no magic how are we meant to… you know…” Misty asked quietly.
“Stupid girl. We aren't there for the magic, we're there to take care of a threat before it becomes one” She said as she cast magic towards one of the crystals in the circle. It started to rhythmically rise up towards the sky in timing with a loud clock ticking noise that had started to fill the room. In front of Opaline a scroll with glowing writing started to rotate.
“Then what are we doing? J-Just so I know and don't mess it up!” Misty said hurriedly as more of the components started to jitter and shake.
“It will be easy, Misty. I will distract the parents, and then you're going to steal Sunny Starscout as a baby” Opaline said nonchalantly.
Misty nodded in understanding… before jolting.
“Uuhhhmmn!!!???!! What????” She quivered, staring up at Opaline. “W-We’re going to what!?”
“Oh, grow up Misty. If you’re too uptight to kidnap her, you can just kill her instead. It would still be effective.” Opaline explained.
“I-I THINK THAT'S WORSE!?” Cried Misty. Opaline suddenly moved her steely glare towards Misty, her wings extending out behind her with fury.
“Don't talk back to me, child. You will do as you're told.”
Around them, more and more components started to fly.
“Sorry! Sorry O-Opalime- i-its just, uhm, Sunny was actually quite nice to me and, uhm, she didn't shout at me and let me stay in her, uhm, house and uhm, I read in one of the books in the library that uhm, if ponies are nice you shouldn't be mean to them and, uhm, stealing her as a baby seems q-quite mean!”
Opaline blinked down at Misty, her gaze harshing further.
“Are you disobeying me, Misty?” She snarled. “Disobeying the only creature in all of Equestria that could give a wretched whelp like you a cutie mark? Disobeying your Mother!?”
“I… I… I just don't…” Misty could feel the tears welling up. “They were all so nice to me… I-I don't think that it's right…”
“You have been trying to kidnap the baby dragon for weeks now. Does that make you a bad pony? Even if you are only kidnapping it so the true ruler of Equestria can ascend to her throne?”
The question hit Misty far harder than she realized it would. She had always known she wasn't a bad pony; all the lies and deception had all been in pursuit of a glorious future. But… all those nice ponies she had met… none of them kidnapped babies.
”I… don't think I can… I… uhm… sorry, I…” Misty whimpered as she started to shake like a leaf.
Opaline let out a long loud groan.
“Fine.”
Misty found herself levitated up and out of the ritual circle.
“I can only pray that Sunny Starscout will make a more effective assistant than you. I'll do it on my own. I’ve done it on my own before, I can do it again.” She relented, stretching her wings out.
Misty sat sadly in the corner, wiping tears away from her eyes. Slowly, realization dawned on her like a red sun appearing over the ocean.
“... Uhm… Opaline… W-What do you mean you've done it before?” Whispered Misty as she slowly rose to her hooves.
Opaline froze mid stretch, and looked down at Misty.
“I didn't say that.” She lied.
Misty felt a weird feeling she hadn't felt before, prickling in the side of her head.
“Y-You just… s-said t-that you have s-stolen a child b-before” Misty said, carefully approaching her. Opaline’s eyes grew wide with what Misty could only describe with panic.
“Before, Misty! Before I rescued you from the river!” she insisted. “Now stand back, you're going to get stuck in the ritual circle-”
“Y-YOU TOLD ME YOU FOUND ME IN THE FOREST!” Misty suddenly found herself shouting. The spell seemed to have been reaching its highest point as flashing lights started to surround them. A small vortex had begun to open up above them.
“Misty. Stop where you are, unless you want to be incinerated.” growled Opaline, standing her ground.
“W-Who d-did you take me from!? W-who is my mother!” Misty spat ou, the piercing feeling in the side of her head quickly starting to germinate into rage.
“MISTY ARCANA! I AM YOUR MOTHER! NOW STOP WITH THIS INSOLENCE AND STAND BACK!” Opaline roared, and aimed her hoof squarely towards Misty’s chest. Misty leapt to the side, and screeched:
“YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!”
In some brash act of defiance, Misty grabbed the floating scroll out of the air with her magic, and tried her best to rip it.
“MISTY YOU STUPID GIRL! WHAT DID YOU DDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The Alicorn screeched as the spell above them grew wildly unstable. The entire castle shook as the vortex expanded into a miniaturized tornado. Misty screamed as she was suddenly plucked from the floor and spun into the vortex. There was a loud crash and high pitched ringing, and then…
Falling.
Misty was falling backwards faster than she ever thought possible, hearing the air passing by her ears so loudly she couldn't hear herself think. Swirling blue and pink colours flew past like stars, the unicorn being unable to focus on a spot long enough to clearly make out what it was. It felt like being in the middle of a hurricane, the only other piece of stimulus being the occasional screech of anger that Misty could only know as the voice of Opaline.
She tried to twist around to see the Alicorn but before she could, she felt like she had just slammed into a wall of air. With a painful yelp, she found herself falling much slower. The sound in her ears had died down a little and she was able to maneuver herself round to see what was below her.
The distant ground.
More specifically, a sprawling forest. On the horizon, she could see a castle made of crystals beside a quaint looking town. In the far distance, she could just about make out a city on the side of a mountain.
But none of that mattered right now, did it?
The forest was coming up to meet her quicker than a speeding arrow.
Misty closed her eyes, and felt the ripped scroll in her hooves. She was no expert in magic, but she was pretty sure that Opaline would now be stuck in the past…
Meaning the Sunny Starscout of the future would, hopefully, be safe.
That’s all that mattered.
Misty saw her life flash before her eyes… if you could even call it that. All it seemed to be was living in a castle in constant fear of her guardian and causing discord in Maretime bay.
At least it ended with me doing something good.
Calmly, she let out an exhale, and twisted her back away from the ground, feeling the cloud level pass her.
She was scared of what happened next… but she was ready to die.
But it’s never that simple, is it?
Sometimes you keep living.
“MIIISSSSSSSTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YOUUU INNSSOOLLENNTT CHIILLLDDDDD!”
Misty saw the streak of crimson bursting towards her. Before she had a moment to react the Alicorn had struck down on Misty, pushing her to the ground even faster. Oplaine grabbed Misty and constricted her forelegs furiously around her, removing her ability to breathe.
Misty screamed, and tried to throw her off with what magic strength she had left. Opaline’s head was surrounded by Misty’s purple magic aura. Misty jerked her head to the side, weakly trying to throw Opaline off. She didn’t manage to detach her…
But she did manage to twist her enough to make her hit the ground first.
“Have you definitely packed everything?”
“Yes, Twilight. We’ve done this four times already.”
“Are you sure? Did you remember your journal? Your socks? Your hot water bottle?”
“Yes, Yes, yes and… hot water bottle?”
“D… Didn’t you bring one? I thought you had one last night?”
“... Twilight…” said Sunset Shimmer, flashing an affectionate grin. “I think that was just me.”
“OH!”
Princess Twilight Sparkle blushed, rubbing the back of her head. “S-Sorry, I’ve, uhm… never slept beside anypony before last night…”
“Don’t worry. First of many.” said Sunset, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. Twilight giggled.
“... And you’re sure the other me is fine with this?” she asked tentatively.
“I’m sure, Sparkles. She suggested it, remember?” Sunset reassured, giving her one last nuzzle before turning towards the horseshoe mirror that connected this world and hers.
“W-Write to me when you’re home safe!!” Twilight said quickly.
“Will do-”
KABOOOOOOM.
The entire castle shook, shards of crystals dropping down from the ceilings like pointy sand. Sunset was knocked over off her hooves at the shock of it. Twilight screamed, managing to stay standing, but ducked her head down, covering it with her wings. She kept them there until the shaking had stopped. From outside the castle, there were several screams.
“Twilight! Are you ok!?”
Sunset had leapt into action, her fore leg firmly over Twilight’s back.
“I-I’m fine, but what in EQUESTRIA was that?” she cried.
“Home can wait,” said Sunset, throwing down her saddlebags. “Come on.”
The pair of ponies rushed outside the front doors, heads flipping too and fro. Sunset spotted it first. She nudged Twilight and pointed towards the everfree forest. Twilight followed her gaze, and gasped.
A huge red and black mushroom cloud had burst over the forest, smoke starting to billow out.
“Oh my god…” mumbled Sunset. “What the hell is that?”
A few moments later, a maroon magic burst shot out from the clearing, shaking the trees like a heavy gust of wind.
“I-I don’t know, but we need to find out! NOW! Stay here! G-Get the wonderbolts! Or the royal guard! Celestia maybe- J-JUST SOMEPONY!” replied Twilight as she started to fly towards the forest.
With a flash, Sunset had teleported underneath her and was running in pace with her.
“I’m not leaving you alone!” she called up. Twilight knew arguing would be fruitless… and didn’t mind the company.
The pair rushed through the forest. Animals, monsters and everything in between were rushing in the opposite direction in terror. Whatever it was, was HUGE.
Eventually, they found ground zero of the blast… and somepony was already at the craters edge.
“Sunset, Twilight, I’m glad you’re both here. For this is going to be hard to repair, I fear…” Zecora said in her usual rhythmic tone, waving them over.
“Zecora! I’m so glad you’re safe!” said Twilight, who landed beside her.
“Do you have any idea what the heck caused that?!” asked Sunset as she arrived on the other side of her.
“I am glad that you were concerned for the wellbeing of my health… as for the source?” she said, slowly turning her head to look down into the crater. “... I think you better look for yourself.”
Twilight and Sunset looked into the crater. They weren’t sure what to expect.
And even then they were still surprised.
The crater was about 100 meters wide and 10 meters deep, gradually sloping down to a central plateau in the middle. Red magical fires were lit all around the impact site, but the bottom of the indent remained eerily clear of flames.
Lying at the bottom of the crater were two Ponies, one on top of the other.
The one on the bottom was a maroon Alicorn laying on her back, wings spread wide and limp on the ground. A large rock was piercing through the ground and out of her stomach cavity.
Twilight gave a choked wail.
She was without a doubt dead.
What concerned Sunset more than the dead alicorn was the pony on top.
The blue pony on top stared down at the alicorn below her, taking deep heaving breaths. The pony slowly moved her hoof up to stare at it.
It was covered in blood.
ALL of her was covered in blood.
She let out a scream from her soul as she desperately tried to scrape the blood off her hooves, front, mane, horn, wings, tail, and-
The pony let out one more short yelp, cut off as she froze. Carefully, her bloody head tilted to stare at her back.
The pony raised up one of her wings, staring at it in horror.
“W- what…!?” Sunset heard her say quietly.
“... holy shit…” whispered Sunset. Twilight was too stuck with the horror of the situation to move.
The frizzy haired Alicorn turned her head towards the trio of ponies. She squinted a little.
She wobbled..
…and fell backwards off the corpse of the Alicorn, landing on the ground with a quiet thud.
Sunset, Zecora and Twilight stood in silent shock.
Eventually, Sunset spoke up.
“... I think I'm going to stay a little longer than planned, Twilight.”
Slowly but surely, Misty started to become more aware of her surroundings, the echoes of a cruel laugh bounced between her ears. She instinctively wanted to cover her ears, but her forelegs were too sore to move.
The last thing she could remember clearly was hitting the ground with Opaline below her. Past that point, everything was very hazy. All she truly remembered was the blood on her hooves.
It was everywhere.
She felt a weird tingling in her back. There was a soft scraping sound accompanying it, almost like somepony was brushing one’s skin with a cloth. What was mystifying Misty the most was that she wasn't really able to pinpoint which part of her body was being tingled.
She felt herself jerk a little as she tried to sit up, the headrush of such a feat grounding the poor girl back onto the pillow.
“Oh! Shoot, you’re awake! … Are you ok?”
A surprised voice came from beside her as the brushing sensation stopped. Misty let out a low whine.
“... Ok, stupid question. Can you hear me, at least?”
Misty tried to speak but none of the words she wanted to say were coming out of her mouth. Instead, she just nodded with another groan.
“Good. Good good good… Ok, Kid… do you think you can open your eyes for me?”
Misty strained. Every tiny movement was a Herculean task. She had to battle with the crust that had built up over her eyelids but she did eventually manage to open up her eyes.
The blurry figure of an orange pony loomed over her. Misty only knew one orange pony.
“S…” she whispered. “S… Sunny…?”
The blurry pony let out a little gasp.
“... Sorry, uhm… do I know you?”
As Misty’s vision began to focus on again, the tiny little bit of hope inside her evaporated. That was definitely not Sunny Starscout. For a start, she was a unicorn. She had red and pale yellow hair which twirled around her neck and she was much, much taller. In her hoof, she carried a small brush that was stained red with blood, which she quickly discarded.
“... No.” Misty whispered. “I thought you were… somepony else…”
“Oh. Well… sorry to disappoint.” Said the unicorn delicately. “Would you mind… telling me your name?”.
Even the simple task of saying her name was monumental.
“M-Misty.” She said weakly.
“... Just Misty?” asked the orange unicorn, expecting a suffix.
This was a complicated question. One that Misty was too dazed to fully grasp right now.
“... Yes.”
“Huh… I see. Well, I’m Sunset Shimmer. And you're inside Twilight’s castle.” She replied, taking a deep breath. “Uhm… I'm not sure how much you remember… but…”
Sunset paused, looking up into the air to try and figure out how best to word what came next. Misty managed to tilt her head over to look at her more directly. Eventually, she looked back down at Misty.
“I'm afraid… that your mother didn't make it. I'm sorry.”
Misty stared at her blankly, her addled mind unable to comprehend what she was being told.
“We're not quite sure what happened, but… you two apparently fell out of the sky into the Everfree forest. She…” Sunset choked a bit, looking away. “She died protecting you.”
The fog in Misty’s brain started to fade away as the memories of her fall reentered her brain.
Sunset was talking about Opaline.
Misty felt impending doom fill her stomach.
Her plan had worked. Opaline would not be able to kill any babies.
However, the sudden arrival of consequences for her impulsive actions ran through Misty like red hot poison ivy, curling its way around her stomach and constructing it tight.
Opaline, the pony who she had spent all of her life with, was dead. The only guardian figure she had ever known… but also the Alicorn who had apparently stolen her from her real parents as a child.
She let out a gasp of pain as her eyes squeezed shut. She felt an unusual sensation in her horn. Burning.
“Hey! Kid, kid! Try and stay calm, I-I know it's a lot, but you’re going to set the room alight-” Sunset said, panicked, and placed a hoof gently on Misty's shoulder.
The sudden contact reminded her of the feeling of Opaline constricting her airways as they plummeted towards the ground.
Misty jerked suddenly, Sunset retracting her hoof.
“She's… not my… m-mother…” grunted Misty through the pain, feeling her body try to curl up.
“Oh!” Said Sunset carefully. “We only assumed because you’re both Alicorns… which is a whole other thing we need to work out, but obviously… not right now. Your recovery is the priority.”
The tight leash around Misty’s stomach managed to loosen itself enough for her to take in what Sunset was saying.
“I'm… not an Alicorn…? I’m a unicorn?” Misty said, the burning sensation in and around her horn starting to die down. She looked to Sunset, who was staring at Misty with skepticism.
“If that's the case…” she said, and slowly pointed her hoof at Misty’s side. “Then… what are those?”
Misty’s head softly jerked down.
Wings.
Memories rushed back to her of the fall.
Misty broke through the pain and sat up, staring at the wings which now spread wide behind her.
The feathers were dark blue and cyan, like her hair, but her eyes were focused on the feathers closest to her body.
Deep Maroon.
Misty felt the unnatural heat form in her forehead again as she began to hyperventilate.
“Hey! Heyheyheyheyhey! Misty, I…” Sunset went in to embrace her but as she touched Misty screamed loudly, flailing her hooves. “GAH! S-Sorry! No c-contact! Got it!” Her eyes darted around the room quickly, and spotted something in the corner.
“H-Here!” she said, levitating a plush opossum from the corner of the room placing it beside her. Misty latched onto it immediately as she grabbed onto it tight, slowly beginning to scream and panic. Sunset took a step back as Misty’s feathers burst into red flames, the tips of which had started to light the bedding on fire. (Don't worry, the Opossum was Spike’s, and thus fireproof).
“Shhhoooott shootshootshootshootshoot-!” cried Sunset. She backed away quickly, and shouted down the corridor.
“TWILIGHT! SHE’S AWAKE! I NEED YOU HERE! NOW!”
Sunset turned back to Misty. The fire spilling out of her horn and back had started to increase steadily, smoke starting to fill the room.
“I-I’m going to lift you up now, ok?” she said firmly. Misty was too busy screaming to respond as she was levitated up into the air with Sunset’s cyan magic.
In a purple flash, Twilight was there, gasping as she saw Misty.
“What in-”
“No time. Put her to sleep!” Sunset barked. Twilight obliged, flapping up in front of the blazing alicorn and gently casting a spell. Slowly, Misty felt the world around her fade away as she fell into a calming sleep. The fire extinguished, and she fell limp.
Carefully, Sunset placed her down onto the floor as Twilight opened the windows to let the smoke out.
“What happened!?” Twilight exhaled, moving closer to examine Misty.
“I think…” Sunset gulped. “I think she ascended very recently. She didn’t even seem to know she was an alicorn.”
“And her mother?” asked Twilight.
“She isn’t her mother. She made that very clear.” said Sunset with a dry laugh. “When is Celestia getting here?”
“She’s coming after she’s finished helping Zecora and Starlight with the forest. It’s going to be a long while before it’s back to how it was… do you think she’ll know what's going on?” asked Twilight. Sunset scratched her chin with uncertainty as she looked at the limp alicorn on the floor.
“Well… She knows more about alicorns than literally anypony ever, so I’d have to hope so… come on. We should move her to a new room. One that’s a bit more fireproof.” she suggested.
“Good idea. We can use my room; I’ve enchanted the bedsheets after Spike set fire to my bed when he had hiccups.”
“Oh, cool. And uhm… Is it ok if… you keep an eye on her instead of me?”
“Why?”
“I’m… not really good at this whole… looking after others thing…” She said, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof.
“You look after me pretty well.” said Twilight, raising an eyebrow. Sunset smacked her with her tail, chuckling.
“You know what I mean. Younger ponies. I… don’t really know how to deal with them… especially when they’re freaking out. My usual method of hitting the problem doesn't really work with kids.”
“You should definitely not punch kids, Sunset.”
“That’s why I said it!”
Twilight sighed as she gently levitated the sleeping Alicorn onto Sunset’s back. Sunset winced; the pony was hot to the touch.
“Yes, Sunset. I’ll look after her, but you’ll need to greet Celestia when she gets here.”
“Great…” Sunset groaned. “Just who I am dying to see today.”
Sunset stood outside Twilight’s castle, gazing towards the Everfree forest. She shuffled her hooves as she waited, kicking up the grass. Of all the ponies she would like to be alone with, Celestia was not on the top of her list.
She looked back at Twilight’s castle, frowning as she thought of the mysterious alicorn inside. Just who was she?
“Sunset Shimmer. It is good to see you. Where is Twilight?”
Sunset jolted as she whipped her head back around. She hadn’t even heard Celestia land.
“OH! Hi. Hey. Princess.” she said quickly, nervously bowing her head. “She’s inside with Misty. That’s the name of the blue alicorn. Although, I’m not sure she actually is an Alicorn. Or at least, she wasn’t until… this.”
“She only just ascended?” muttered Celestia, and mumbled something under her breath that Sunset didn’t catch. She decided not to press it.
“Anyway, how’s it going over in the forest?” she asked.
“... Bad.” Celestia replied gravely. “The fires have a magical quality to them; Starlight and Zecora are having a hard time putting them out. We have contained the spread to the crater; it hopefully should be fine from there.”
“Well that’s good, at least…” Sunset replied. “And… the dead Alicorn? Do you know her?”
Sunset made brief eye contact with Celestia, and shuddered. It was rare that she would see this level of concern in her eyes.
“... I do indeed. Walk with me, Sunset.” she said, and began to walk past the castle doors. Sunset looked between the doors and her former mentor, a pit forming in her stomach. Sunset walked beside her.
“So… Who is she?” asked Sunset nervously.
“Do you remember when I told you about Skyros, Sunset?” asked Celestia, her eye moving down to look at her former pupil as she remained face forward. The unicorn felt her ears go back as she nodded.
“... kind of. It’s where Alicorns first descended from, right?”
“Correct. It is not exactly… a place. It’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It is where I was born, alongside my sister. Eventually, its high council decided that the realm of Equs should have gods of the Sun and Moon to watch over it, to be sure the land didn't fall to ruin. Luna and I were chosen to descend down to this plane to rule. All were happy for us… except for one Alicorn. Her name was Opaline Arcana.” Celestia explained.
A slight chill ran through Sunset. She could see where this was going.
“Why wasn’t she happy?” she asked.
“... because she was slightly older than my sister and I, and thought she should be the Alicorn of both Sun and Moon.” said Celestia bluntly.
“She hated you because she was older than you?” asked Sunset with slight skepticism.
“... Yes.”
“Well that's stupid.”
“Indeed.” she scoffed. “She was perhaps one of the most unpleasant creatures I have ever met in my entire existence.”
Celestia stopped as she looked down upon Sunset.
“It was her corpse that I found in that forest today.”
The chill that ran through Sunset turned into a huge shiver.
“But what was she doing here? Did she descend from Skyros to try to take on your rule?” she asked.
“I don’t think so.” she said, carefully levitating something out that she had stored in the front of her chest piece. “Starlight found this in the crater.”
Sunset’s curiosity peaked as she realized it was a spell scroll with a large tear down the middle. She took it into her hooves and inspected its writing, her eyebrows raising as she realized what it was.
“A time scroll?” she asked.
“Yes. Starlight recognised it from her little… episode.” said Celestia, a smirk forming on her regal face. Sunset stifled a laugh. An ‘episode’ was certainly a way to describe it.
Sunset studied the scroll some more. “So this Opaline is from the future?”
“Yes. Far in the future. Starlight estimated from the sigils that she and the other alicorn have traveled around two hundred and fifty years ”
“What! Two hundred and fifty?” Sunset exclaimed.
“Indeed. It seems that in the future, Opaline indeed does descend from the heavens. Her and the other pony inside traveled back in time using this scroll. I can’t be sure of their motives, but I’m sure Opaline and her companion were either aiming to disrupt Luna and I’s authority, or trying to prevent something bad happening to them in the future.” Celestia continued.
Sunset slowly lowered the scroll, shaking her head.
“I don’t think that’s right, Celestia.”
Celestia’s gaze fell on Sunset, who felt her ears pin back once again.
“Why is that?” she asked curiously.
“... Well, I was there when Misty– the other pony– woke up. As I said, she didn’t know she was an Alicorn. But she kinda freaked out when I implied that the dead pony was her mother. So… I don’t think they were on very friendly terms. Maybe Opaline was trying to ditch her in the past so she didn’t have to fight her in the future? Something along those lines.”
“I.. see.” Celestia said, mulling it over as she clicked her tongue. “I wish to speak to Misty. Is she awake?”
Sunset felt something strange well up in her stomach; an emotion she hadn't expected to feel right now.
Protectiveness?
“I-I think she’s been through enough today. Can’t it wait?” she replied.
“It cannot.” affirmed Celestia. “This morning, Equestria had 5 alicorns. Now it has 7, one of whom is dead. This is a matter of safety for my subjects. The equestrian high council will have much to say about a new Alicorn in the world, much less one this young.”
Sunset nodded in defeat.
Misty once again rose from her sleeping state. For a few blissful moments, she wasn't sure where she was. She could only assume that she was in her small bedroom back in the castle, dissociating in the calmness of Opaline not having yet woken up. But, as with all dreams ending, reality set itself back in much harder than she anticipated. She could hear voices in the room around her and when she opened her eyes, she saw a tall Alicorn standing in front of her.
She let out an involuntary scream, feeling her body heat up far more than it should be able to do. For the first time she was able to acknowledge what was happening to her; she had completely immolated into crimson flames. She screamed, thumping her legs against the bed to try and put it out.
“Shhh… Stay calm… you’re safe here…”
A soothing voice rang throughout the chamber as Misty felt a spell being cast on her. Through the fire, Misty could see the tall pony in front of her, with two shorter ones off to the side. The panic quickly seemed to smooth itself out and became less erratic. Almost as quick as it started, the flames extinguished. Misty let out a loud sigh of exhaustion as she flopped back
against the bed once more, eyes closed. Everything still ached.. especially her new wings.
She let out another whimper, and shuffled over to her side as her hooves covered her eyes. “I'm sorry. I won't do it again.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, my dear.” the calm voice once more. “I can tell you've been through a lot. My name is Princess Celestia. I am queen of this land, and the one who raises the sun. What is your name?”
Misty just shivered in response, the feathers of her awkwardly splayed out wings starting to buzz with heat.
“I can only imagine how scary this must be for you…” came another voice from beside her. Carefully, Misty opened her eyes to see who was speaking.
The purple unicorn in front of her smiled sweetly as Misty laid eyes on her.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle.” She said calmly. “And you're in my castle right now… do you like it?”
Misty’s tired eyes suddenly bulged as she heard the name.
“T-Twilight Sparkle!?” She squeaked, and shuffled quickly to the other side of the bed. Twilight frowned as she tilted her head, her wings ruffling in confusion. Misty had started to shake again as she quickly got herself into a frail looking sitting position. She stared wild eyed at Twilight, who took a step back in confusion.
“Hi! Y-yes… do you know me?” Twilight asked.
“You… you s-sealed away the magic! You stole it from… oh no that's… no that probably .. hhhgUUGGGHHN!!”
The conflicting stories that Misty now held in her mind violently crashed together as flames one against erupted out of her wings. Twilight squealed as she skipped backwards. Misty began to panic once more, but found a third voice entering the fray; one that she recognized.
“Hey! Kid, it's ok. Deep breaths… you're safe…”
Sunset Shimmer!
Misty locked eyes with Sunset, who visibly shuddered.
“You… uh… ok, just, breathe. It works when I… uhm… Fuck” she trailed off and looked away.
Misty gulped, and tried to do as she said. She took a deep breath, and held it in for a little too long. On the exhale, her burning wings gently extinguished, although little embers on each individual feather seemed to remain.
Sunset nodded. “Good. Good job. Uhh, now, my friends here are going to ask you a few questions. Do you think you can answer them?”
Misty, still shaking, looked towards Twilight and Celestia, who both seemed somewhat distressed at how Misty had been reacting. As Misty’s eyes lingered on their wings, she suddenly looked back at Sunset. She looked her up and down.
“... You don't have wings.” She said shortly.
Sunset’s expression turned slightly bitter; Twilight let out a small sigh of ‘uh oh’; and Celestia did her best to repress an ironic smile.
“... Yeah. Tell me about it.” Sunset replied dryly. “Why does that matter, exactly?”
“B-Because they're Alicorns? They're in charge! And you're just- you're just- talking to them? S-Shouldn't you be b-bowing or something?” Misty questioned.
Celestia and Twilight shared a concerned look as Sunset just raised an agitated eyebrow.
“Oh, so should I be bowing down to you? Just because I don't have feathers?” She snapped. Misty whimpered and cowered back further. Sunset looked round as she felt Twilight’s hoof on her shoulder. There was a moment of silent understanding as Sunset let out a small sigh.
“Sorry.” She murmured not making eye contact with Misty, and quickly left the room. Misty flinched as the door slammed shut.
It was Celestia's turn once again, and she lay down next to the bed.
“I apologize about her. Her lack of wings is…” she glanced at Twilight, who looked away awkwardly as she filed her wings as close to her sides as they would go. “A touchy subject.”
Regaining composure, Celestia turned to Misty once more. “
Little one… if I may ask, who was it who told you Alicorns were… ahem… superior?” She asked, the discomfort in using the word.
Misty had shuffled away once more as Celestia had approached, but she took a moment to see how sad she looked. Tilting her head, she gulped and managed to reply.
“M-My, uhm… Opaline. My… she's…” the words failed once again as the battle in her head raged on.
“... I see. And you were… her pupil?” Asked Celestia calmly.
Old instincts kicked in as Misty quickly shook her head.
“Uhnm, no. I just, uhm, lived with her.” She lied.
“Ok. And… she took care of you?” Celestia asked.
Misty nodded.
“... I see… well, miss… Arcana, then?”
Misty shook her head.
“I-I, uhm… M-Misty is my name. S-She used to call me that but, I, uhm, don't think she was a very good pony.” Misty admitted.
“It seems you have good judgment…” Celestia mumbled to herself, but loudly enough for Misty to hear.
Misty looked out of the window. In the distance, she could see smoke rising from the forest. She shuddered as she got another sudden flashback to being covered in blood.
“... I k-killed her, didn't I?” Mumbled Misty.
Twilight inhaled through her teeth as Celestia shook her head.
“... My child, no matter what may have happened, I need you to understand; you are not responsible for Opaline Arcana’s death. Her expiration was all down to her. Do you understand?” Celestia affirmed, staring directly into Misty’s eyes. Misty looked down and nodded.
“Yes.” She said, quickly and quietly. She hadn't even really taken in the extent of what Celestia was saying; she just knew better than to question an Alicorn.
“... Thank you. I will soon leave you in the care of my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. I assure you, she will do everything in her power to make you feel more at ease. But before I go, I must ask about your wings.” She said, gently lifting one up with a hoof. Misty stared at it as it was lifted like it was some sort of parasite.
“Am I correct to believe that before you traveled here, you were a unicorn?”
Misty nodded mindlessly.
“And you did not realize that you had ascended until Sunset Shimmer pointed it out to you?”
Misty shook her head once more. Celestia let out a sigh and placed the wing down.
“Thank you, Misty. If you want to ask me anything else, I will remain in the castle until tomorrow. You and I will be heading to my Castle in Canterlot, where we will begin your new training.” She said warmly.
”Training?” whimpered Misty.
“It won't be anything too much, Misty. Just some basic magic and flying lessons.” reassured Twilight.
Celestia nodded in confirmation. Misty stayed quiet for a few more moments, before asking a question that had been tickling the back of her mind.
“Y-Your majesty?”
“Please, little one. You may call me Celestia.”
“...Celestia, your majesty… do you know if it’s possible… WILL be possible… to go home? I… I have some ponies that I know that will probably wonder where I’ve gone.”
Celestia smiled sadly. “It’s too early to tell. We will do our best, of course, but… time magic is fickle. A friend of ours who is somewhat of an expert is looking over the spell scroll we found you with as we speak… we can remain hopeful, but…” her smile turned into a sympathetic frown. “I think it may be wise to prepare for the worst.”
Misty nodded slowly, and lay her head back down on the pillow behind her. She heard Celestia leave the room and shut the door.
So this was it now.
Stuck in an unfamiliar world with no one in the world with a new set of wings she didn’t feel like she deserved.
“Misty…” Twilight moved up to her once more. “Can you tell me a little about yourself? What do you like?” Twilight asked kindly.
Misty snatched up the opossum plush and proceeded to stare at Twilight. She was asking about her? Why? She was an Alicorn, she had much better-
Misty’s wing twitched on its own, making Misty flinch.
Right.
Misty was one of them now.
Which begged the question…
What did Misty like?
After a long silence, Misty finally gave an answer as she squeezed the opossum tight.
“...ponycorn is nice.”
Twilight nodded encouragingly.
“Anything else?”
After an even longer silence, Misty gave a second answer.
“Not being asked to steal babies”.
As Celestia softly shut the door behind her, she let out a huge sigh.
“Here we go again…” she muttered to herself, and turned to head outside. She was startled when she found Sunset was standing in her path.
“You’re taking her to Canterlot?” she asked, her tone accusatory.
Celestia chuckled. “You always were good at sneaking up on me, weren’t you?”
“Answer the question.” Sunset snapped. Celestia’s warm tone dropped.
“Yes, Sunset. I am taking her to Canterot to see what she is capable of. Do you have an issue with that?”
“Well… yes. I do.” she admitted. “Will it just be you training her?”
Celestia’s eyes narrowed as she realized what Sunset was insinuating.
“Not all on my own. I will, of course, have Luna to help me, not to mention Twilight and Cadence. I won’t be doing it all on my own.” She replied. Sunset’s ear flicked.
“And you’re starting tomorrow.” Said Sunset, moving closer. “I… don't want to be a stick in the mud… but I think she needs some time to recover. She just got here.”
Celestia’s gaze sharpened.
“You do not know about Alicorns like I do, Sunset. The appearance of two new Alicorns could badly upset the balance of nature in our world. The pair of them are from an unknown future, meaning that Opaline will descend in an attempt to seize power. Equestria is stronger than it has ever been, but it would be wise not to underestimate her as a true threat… especially if what she girl said about Twilight sealing away all magic in Equestria.” she said, her voice growing more stern.
“It is my duty to this land to protect it from threats. And I'm afraid that as it stands, this child is certainly a threat.”
“She's also a child. She's just been torn away from everything she knew, watched the pony who raised her die in front of her and has enough power in her horn to raze Canterlot.” Sunset retorted, getting more aggressive by the moment. “I think it's really important that she's taken care of properly and well. We don't want…” Sunset trailed off, lashing her head to break eye contact.
Celestia grunted with frustration.
“I need to guide her down a good path, Sunset. I don't want… her to become misguided. I think we both know how badly it can go when done wrong.” She forced out.
Sunset felt a tingle of resentment in the back of her mind, but she took a deep breath.
“At least give her a week,” asked Sunset through gritted teeth. “She is clearly traumatized. Plus, every time she starts to freak out, she catches fire. So, I think you should try and get that under control first before we think about moving her somewhere as loud and busy as Canterlot. You… saw how badly I dealt with it, and I don’t immolate every time I get stressed”.
Celestia maintained her steely gaze for a few more seconds before breaking it off. Sunset smirked a little; sweet victory.
“... You make a fair point, Sunset…” she admitted. “Her training can wait until she is better acquainted with her new surroundings... I assume you will be the one to help guide her?”
“I…” It was Sunset’s turn to break off eye contact. She shuffled her hooves uncomfortably. “No. Not me. I'm… I've got too much on. Back home, I mean.”
“Then who.” It was Celestia’s time to smirk. Sunset knew she had caught her out.
Which of the ponies she knew here would be best suited for helping Misty?
“I think out of anypony? Right now, that girl would benefit from a tea party at Fluttershy’s”