The loud clacking of hooves echoed throughout the hallway of Opaline's castle as it's primary resident stomped through the halls of the castle in the dead of night. Eventually, Opaline burst into a room at the end of one of these halls. Inside said room was a large purple queen sized bed with purple curtains drawn for the privacy of the occupant and a magical mirror floating in the corner. With a loud thud, she slammed the door to her room behind her and proceeded to scream into her lacy, purple pillow.
“I was so close.” She screamed as at long last her rage boiled down a bit. With this newfound calm she went over to the magic mirror to make sure her perfect face was still in order. The magic mirror was a rather commonplace device found throughout all of Equestira. In fact, Opaline had actually seen a few of these pink, light bulb adorned mirrors around Maratime bay. Opaline's mane was all frizzy from her time on her bed. This was simply unbecoming of a queen of her caliber, so she used her magic to correct this. After she had finished fixing her mane a flash of the rage surged through her mind as she recalled what had happened earlier that evening.
Her lackey Misty had at long last finally did her job and gotten her the dragonfire she so desperately needed to regain her lost magic. However, the minuscule amount Misty had brought simply wasn't enough. In that moment she snapped at Misty and screamed at her for her incompetence. Opaline was still fairly angry at Misty for her failure. However, not long after she had calmed down again from the heights of her fury four words invaded her mind. Four words she simply couldn't get out of her head.
“You won't be enough...”
Opaline just stared blankly into her own eyes as those words ran on repeat over and over again in her head. She couldn't comprehend why but just the way she had said those words bothered her on some fundamental level. The exact reason why though was just out of her reach. However after several repeats of that phrase in her head her blood froze as the phrase once again ran through her head but in the voice of her long dead stepmother.
“You won't be enough.”
At that her ears went flat and eyes wide. She flashed back her youth in the kirin grove...
A young Opaline beamed with excitement as she stared out of her room window at the enclosed garden of her father's home. On most days she'd at least try and play outside, however that day was special. No, that day she knew she'd have to stay inside her room lest she face the wrath of her stepmom. She was holding an extravagant party for her and her friends that night and Opaline was very much not welcome there. Opaline flinched as she remembered the last time she tried to attend a party hosted by her stepmom. She remembered how she was promptly expelled from the dining room and locked inside her room. After the party her stepmom came up to her room to scold her for “ruining her evening with her unrefined manners.” She rubbed the side of her head as she remembered the hard slap her stepmom had given her.
Ever since that night she never dared to leave her room when her stepmom had guests over lest she feel the hard hoof of her stepmom on her face again. That night however Opaline grinned happily, she was determined to finally get some love from her stepmom. So she waited in her room all day for the faithful moment she'd prepared for all month, merely staring out the window to pass the time. Then, as the late afternoon turned to evening Opaline heard the hoof steps of somepony coming up the stairs to her secluded tower room. She knew her stepmom was coming, and immediately turned around and waited for her room's door to open. A few moments later the door opened to reveal a relatively old unicorn mare with green fur and frosty blue eyes.
“Ah Opaline you're still in your room. I'm holding a ball tonight for some of my friends from Canterlot. You're to stay in your room tonight. I don't want you disturbing them.” Just as the unicorn turned to leave Opaline called out.
“Wait, mom!”
The mare groaned and turned around. “What do you want Opaline?”
“I...” Opaline spluttered. “I know I'm unrefined in my manners but... but I've been practicing, see.” Opaline smiled as she acted out every courtly dance and manner she had been practicing all month. She had worked so hard reading books and making sure not a single bit of her posture was out of place. After she had finished, she turned to face her stepmom with a nervous smile. “See how refined I am. Please let me come to the party. I promise I'll be a proper princess for your guests.” Opaline started to sweat as she looked into her eyes. The green unicorn mare simply glared back at her stepdaughter.
“That's quite nice Opaline but you're still not to attend the party tonight and that's final.” With a huff Opaline's stepmom turned to leave but once again Opaline called out.
“Wait please! Just give me a chance to prove that I can be refined enough. That I'm good enough for you. That I'm good enough to be your daughter,” Opaline fell to the ground. At this though Opaline's stepmother's face morphed from an insolent sneer to a fiery rage. With one fluid movement The green unicorn mare walked up to Opaline and punched her in the face. “You'll never be my daughter! You...” The green unicorn mare punched Opaline as she said each following word. “Will never be good enough.” The final punch in that sequence was so forceful that Opaline slid into the wall of at the back of her room. “You'll always be the insignificant child of that worthless sow Misty!” Opaline's stepmom slammed her stepdaughter straight into the wall with her magic. Opaline's ears flinched as she heard her stepmother slam the door behind her. With her stepmother gone she crawled over to her bed and started crying into her pillow.
“I tried so hard. Mom... I” Opaline sobbed a bit. “I miss you mom.”
The thoughts of her childhood with her stepmother had driven Opaline to start crying. Opaline cried so much that the mascara she had applied that morning stained her tear soaked cheeks. That time she had so vividly recalled was just one in a long line of times her stepmother had beaten and abused her. She had worked so hard to just get even the vaguest of affection from her stepmom but it was never enough, never ever enough. Her stepmom would always put her down, and she'd beat her for really trying too hard. After she had left home her stepmom's words hung around her neck like a heavy yoke. Yet those words and anger towards that woman became a source of strength she used to become the highest royalty she could attain. And she succeeded. Opaline flapped her wings triumphantly at the high station she had attained. She was immortal, she was an alicorn queen, nopony sane would dare dispute her nobility now. Not long after she had ascended she wanted so badly to return home to rub her alicorn blood in her mothers face. Alas, she was denied this sweet vengeance by a changeling warlord. When this mysterious warlord appeared in the Evertide islands she quickly went to work depopulating the kirin grove of all it's royals, including her stepmother. At this Opaline's sadness morphed into unrestrained rage at remembering that simple fact.
“Worthless gnat! How dare she deny me my vengeance.” She glared in anger. “And how dare Princess Twilight rob me hard earned magic. How dare that Sunny Starscout deny my return! If only Misty hadn't.” Opaline paused again.
Misty.... The name she had bestowed upon her most recent unicorn servant when she found her lost in the wilderness outside her castle. The name of her real mother. The mother that truly loved her as her own before illness took her when she was a little filly. A few years after that her father married her stepmother. Opaline worked so hard to be a proper young princess so that her stepmother would not view her as a hindrance. To be enough for her.
At that last thought Opaline's ears drooped as the words she had screamed at Misty repeated themselves once more in her mind's eye.
“You won't be enough.”
At recalling those words again she remembered a part of that interaction she had somehow forgotten about... the look on Misty's face. She remembered the look of absolute rejection that adorned Misty's face after her angry tirade. With the time she had spent with her stepmother now fresh in her mind she at long last remembered where she had seen that look. She'd seen it decorate her own face every time she disappointed the impossible expectations of her stepmother.
“Oh faust what have I done.” she muttered to herself as she at long last realized the gravity of what she had just done. A chill ran down Opaline's spine as she could swear she could see the face of her stepmom replacing her own in the mirror. Opaline shook her head and the terrifying image thankfully vanished.
Admittedly the situation between Misty and herself wasn't exactly the same. Opaline never punched or hurt Misty the way her stepmom had done more times than she dared to recount. But the situation that night hit a bit too close to home for Opaline to ignore.
She was hard on Misty yes but it was for her own good. She wanted nothing less than to mold Misty into a perfect lady for when she reclaimed what belonged to her. She withheld affection and constantly offered uncompromising criticism whenever Misty failed to live up to her expectations. Not to mention the broom closet she kept Misty in until she earned the right to have a room befitting a proper royal. But what she did earlier was way over the line. No constructive criticism to make her grow no failure worthy of punishment. No, just abuse just like she felt at the hooves of her stepmom. Her every instinct, nevertheless, wanted to scream some more at Misty for the scale of her failure. But in her heart, she knew she had gone too far. She had to make things right with Misty tomorrow morning.
The next morning Opaline sat in her throne room staring intently at the hologram projected by her reflecting pool. Typically the image would be of somewhere in Maratime bay however that morning she was intently staring at a tropical island overtaken by a massive storm. During her rant last night, she recalled the changeling that had killed her stepmom so long ago. This warlord wasn't just your average changeling she was a royal changeling. And as a royal changeling she was also immortal just like she was. So that morning she checked up on the Evertide islands for any signs of changeling activity. However Just like the last time she had checked on the area she didn't see anything aside from a run down changeling hive.
“Good morning Opaline.” Opaline turned from her hologram to see Misty standing by the door to her throne room. Misty was smiling, but Opaline's heart sank at the sight of a puffiness in her eyes. She had seen such puffiness before in her own eyes after she had cried herself to sleep after some of the more brutal abuse from her stepmother.
“Misty we need to talk.” Opaline matter of factly said as she turned away from her pool.
Misty's ears drooped. “I'm sorry I failed you Opaline.” Misty smiled up at Opaline with determination. “I'll get you more dragonfire I promise.”
Misty's eyes went wide however when Opaline reached out and put her hoof on Misty's shoulder. “No Misty you didn't fail me... you got the dragonfire just like I had asked you too. You just didn't get me enough to regain my full power. You're not worthless to me, Misty. You're indispensable to me.”
Misty stared up at Opaline. “You mean that?”
“Of course I do Misty.” In that moment she wanted nothing more than to scoop up and hug Misty crying out about how sorry she was for hurting her last night. However, she knew she had to maintain a professional demeanor with Misty to instill in her the discipline she needed to become a proper lady.
“Realistically Misty we're going to need the whole dragon in order to get my full power back.”
“Are you sure that's a good idea Opaline? If we dragonapped their dragon wouldn't that get Sunny and her friends hunt us to the ends of Equestria?”
Opaline just chuckled. “Once I have that dragon fire. There's nothing that false alicorn Sunny Starscout can do to stop me from retaking my rightful place as Queen of all of Equestria.” Upon saying that Opaline rolled right into her trademarked evil laughter followed closely behind by Misty. Sadly her evil laugh still needed lots of work but right now she knew Misty needed some encouragement. “You're getting better Misty. You just gotta get the forcefulness right.”
“So ummm...” Misty shuffled her hoof. “after I get the dragon. Can I still get my cutie mark?”
“Misty, when I regain what is rightfully mine. I promise that you'll get far more than just a cutie mark.” Opaline grinned as she glanced over at the hologram of the changeling hive in her chamber. “Come with me Misty, I've already got a plan to steal that dragon.”
