"Name: Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire. Age: Pony age. Current questions: These. How long have you been an alicorn and how did you become one?"

They were currently in the air in the Marestream, Zipp driving so Hitch could rest since it was currently one in the morning and he had been driving for most of the night. Hitch was currently lying on one of the beds in the Marestream, Pipp cuddling next to him, her head on his chest.

Izzy was humming to herself as she crafted a new accessory for her new friend, who was currently sitting on the passenger seat next to Zipp, who had her phone on the dash recording everything Flurry Heart said.

Misty lay on her Marestream bed, her head buried in her pillow, as far away from Flurry Heart as possible. It wasn't that Misty didn't like Flurry Heart, the alicorn did save her after all, nor was she scared of Flurry Heart either. It was just that…Opaline and Sunny were the only alicorns Misty had met. And while one was one of her best friends, the other was evil and tried to take all of the magic in Equestria and fillynapped her when she was young and cruelly raised her. So, she had about a fifty-fifty chance of alicorns being good or evil, and while she wished her good experience outweighed the bad, unfortunately, it was the bad that left an impression on her, causing her to be apprehensive about this third unknown alicorn.

Not to mention, Misty just wanted to be alone. She had the patched-up fabric curtain her friends made for her to hang around her bed closed, creating a wall between Misty and the rest of the ponies. She was quietly sobbing into her pillow, being as quiet as she could so she didn't let her friends in on her tears. She had such a long night so far, and all she wanted was for it to end, but it felt far from over.

Thunder was still asleep, lying on his bed. Zoom didn't leave his bedside, praying like hell that when he woke up, he'd be his normal bumbly self again.

Sunny was sitting between the two seats up front, staring at Flurry Heart like she hung the moon. Sunny had felt so alone since the defeat of Opaline, being the only alicorn in all of Equestria. Zipp and her had gone to Opaline's old castle in hopes of finding more information on where other alicorns might be, and while they found that tapestry that told her other alicorns were out there, she had no idea where to find them. Even with Zipp and her studying every book about alicorns they could, which, face it, wasn't much, they still didn't find anything. Surprise surprise.

She considered asking her friends for help, and she was going to, but then Pipp and Hitch got into that massive fight and then Pipp went missing and magic was destroyed and after that, it didn't seem like it mattered because, well, Sunny wasn't an alicorn anymore. But then she became a permanent alicorn like Opaline and the problem arose again. She didn't ask her friends because, honestly, it didn't bother her all that much. She didn't have a whole lot of time to really think about it. Hitch and Pipp wanted to marry with a formal wedding, well, Pipp wanted the formal wedding, but Hitch didn't care as long as it ended with him marrying Pipp, as soon as possible after they took Sparky back to the dragon lands for a quick recharge. After that, it barely occurred to her among all the wedding preparations as the best mare that consumed her life.

Then the letter from Princess Flurryheart came and suddenly, a month after preparations, they were off. During the day, she hardly thought about it, speculating with her friends as to who Flurry Heart was, why she called them, and what the Crystal Empire was. However, late at night, when she'd sometimes lay awake in bed, the thought that she was the only alicorn in Equestria would plague her and she'd feel incredibly lonely.

But now Princess Flurry Heart was here. She was here and suddenly, Sunny didn't feel so alone. She didn't feel like there was nopony out there who'd ever understand her. She found a pony she had been looking for since she first became the alicorn and didn't even realize it. And she couldn't be more ecstatic about it. She didn't want to leave Flurry Heart's side, wanting to know everything she could about past alicorns and how Flurry Heart coped with the weight of such a responsibility.

Sunny felt stupid for complaining about her responsibilities when her friends had as big responsibilities, if not bigger, as she did. Hitch was the Sheriff of Maretime Bay, and now the newly crowned Prince of a city he didn't even grow up in. Pipp and Zipp were Princesses of Zephyr Heights, forcing them to make the hard decisions. Misty was an empath, having to deal with not only her own emotions, which was hard enough for most ponies, but everypony else's too. And Izzy was the main repair pony in Maretime Bay. Whenever somepony needed something fixed, they'd go to her. She'd have mile-long high orders, especially when ponies from Bridlewood and Zephyr Heights came just to bring her the things that needed to be fixed after hearing about her from their friends.

But, being the alocorn came with big responsibilities too. Everypony looked up to her. When there was a problem, everypony expected her to be able to fix it. She united pony kind, and it was her responsibility to keep them united. It was her job to keep all of Equestria united, lest they fall back into the old patterns Sunny grew up with.

It was a big responsibility, and if she could do it without being the alicorn, she would. But nopony seemed to listen to her when she'd be in her earth pony state when she was able to go back and forth. Her friends told her it didn't matter, that those who wouldn't listen just because Sunny wasn't "special" enough, their voices didn't matter. However, when it came to keeping unity and the majority of Equestria were those voices, it mattered. When Sunny lost her alicornhood when magic disappeared, she couldn't seem to keep ponykind from slowly drifting apart and moving back to their own cities. Ponies only listened when she was an alicorn, and it was a lesson she learned more than once.

"Umm…" Flurry Heart started, snapping Sunny from her thoughts. "I guess I've always been an alicorn."

"So, most of your life? Like, you don't remember your transformation or…?" Zipp asked, trailing off, hoping for Flurry Heart to agree or fill in the blank.

"I was an alicorn since I was born a little over a thousand years ago."

It took a moment for that statement to kick in. Zipp nodded and was about to go to the next question when she slammed on the brakes, causing the Marestream and everything in it to recoil. Hitch and Pipp sat up from the sudden jolt, Izzy's bin of assorted craft supplies fell to the ground creating a huge mess on the floor, and Misty quickly poked her head out of the curtain, wiping her face. Zoom had fallen on her back, but as Misty was about to help her up, Zoom was already on her hooves, ready for action. Ready to protect the princesses at any cost.

"Zipp! What in the hay? Why did you slam on the breaks?" Pipp asked.

"You messed up my assorted craft supplies! Now I'll have to start all over in reorganizing everything so I can finish my gift for Princess Flurry Heart!" Izzy whined, to which Misty quickly helped Izzy pick up her craft supplies with her magic, soon joined by Pipp.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Misty asked, with more concern than irritation in her voice, unlike the two previous mares.

However, Zipp ignored them all while she stared at Flurry Heart open-mouthed. "Y–you were b-born an ALICORN?!"

"And you're over a thousand years old?!" Sunny asked with the same amount of shock.

Everypony stopped what they were doing to look at the Crystal Princess, well, everypony except for Misty, who continued picking up the craft supplies with her magic. She only stopped when she noticed Izzy and Pipp had stopped helping. She looked around, confused as to why everypony was shocked.

"Yes. And yes." Flurry Heart answered simply.

Misty looked around. "I don't get it. Why is everypony shocked by this news?"

"Umm…because this is the first known alicorn to be born. And she's the oldest!"

Misty and Flurry Heart glanced at each other, both confused as to why everypony else was shocked, though for different reasons. "No, she's not. Opaline was born an alicorn. And she's older than Princess Flurry Heart."

Flurry Heart froze at Opaline's name. This…she couldn't really be back could she. The strange flying carriage suddenly felt very small and cold sweat began to form on her brow. Her breathing became rapid and her vision began to narrow as memories played through her head.

Aunty Twiley! Help!

MOM! NO!

Where's Dad? He's usually back by now…?

Sweetie, I need you to do something very important…

I need you to protect them with your life…

I believe in you, my precious little niece…

Best aunt EVER!!

Only aunt

"Princess?" Pipp asked, her voice full of concern.

Flurry Heart blinked, looking around as the good-natured laughter of teenage hood faded until there was no sign of it. Flurry Heart looked around to find herself in the strange flying carriage the other ponies called the Marestream. Everypony was looking at her with concern. Tears filled her eyes that she quickly wiped away. She had to play this off. She didn't want to unhash her whole past to these ponies.

"Princess? Are you okay?" Hitch asked, stepping up to stand next to Pipp, who leaned into him as he put a hoof around her shoulders.

Flurry Heart blinked again when in their place stood a light pink alicorn mare with purple, yellow, and pink hair and a white, blue‐maned unicorn stallion took their places, standing in the same exact position. When Flurry blinked, the two ponies were gone and Princess Pipp and Prince Hitch had taken their places.

"Umm…yes. I'm…I'm fine," Flurry Heart answered after a moment of silence. She cleared her throat, adopting the air of royalty about her rather than an emotionally struggling mare. "Umm…so…you know of…of her?"

Misty could see right through Flurry Heart's unconvincing charade, and it wasn't only unconvincing because she was an empath. Misty felt a small hole open in that wall of hers, a small crumbling of dirt that buried her feelings, and it was like those feelings of sorrow, grief, fear, and insecurity all streamed out of that crumbled dirt and hole in the wall like a geyser. Misty very nearly fell to her knees, tears coming to her eyes.

Then the hole closed again, the dirt was filled in, and the crushing loneliness, the weight of sorrow on her chest was somehow lighter. More bearable. However, even though the wall and grave site helped bury such debilitating emotions, it also prevented her from letting in feelings. Feelings of actual happiness. Feelings of excitement. Joy. Any kind of emotion, whether positive or negative, was barred access. However, remove the wall, unearth the dirt to let in those emotions, and the emotions that practically crushed Misty would be released, and Misty wasn't sure anypony could handle such emotions without drowning in them, even Princess Flurry Heart.

However, part of the reason they were so…much was because she allowed them to fester without dealing with them. They grew and grew and grew, and instead of facing it, one emotion at a time, she simply buried them to rot but left alone, feelings don't rot. They grow. And that's exactly what they did. And now, they may just be too much for her to handle.

"Oh? You mean Opaline?" Pipp asked, causing Misty to quickly wipe away her tears and try to pretend like nothing was wrong like Flurry Heart did every day.

Flurry Heart flinched, though nopony but Misty noticed. "Yes. You know of her?"

"To an extent," Misty said, moving her head in a kind of gesture.

Izzy was by her side in an instant, squeezing Misty close to her by the neck. "'To an extent'? We know her to an extent, cause we all defeated her. You know her personally," She turned to Flurry Heart with a smile of pride. "Misty here was raised by Opaline. Without Misty, we wouldn't have been able to defeat her!"

Misty's eyes widened and her blush could be seen from across the room as though Misty had just been caught naked. Misty took a step back and stared at Flurry Heart with fear. While Flurry Heart tried to present herself as calm, Misty knew otherwise. She could feel fear and anger rise in Flurry Heart. And vengeance. So much vengeance. Misty took another step back.

Not that it did any good. Before anypony could react, Misty was picked up in a yellow magical aura and Flurry was already charging at Misty, tears in her eyes. Flurry Heart threw Misty against the far wall of the Marestream, making the ship rattle. Izzy pleaded for Flurry to stop, but she was ignored.

Flurry Heart picked up Misty again, throwing her into the corner of the wall, taking down the curtain as she went through it, landing on her bed after she hit the wall. Zoom jumped on Flurry Heart, trying to get her to stop, but Flurry just plucked Zoom off of her and threw her against the wall with her magic, knocking the guard out.

Misty tried to scramble to her hooves but Flurry Heart picked her up with her magic, no longer seeing the blue unicorn, but seeing somepony else. Somepony she'd never forgive.

She slammed Misty on the floor, making the Marestream sway. "TRAITOR!" Flurry screamed as she slammed Misty against the ground, her voice cracking from a sob, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!"

The Marestream swayed and while Zipp wanted to help, she was busy trying to keep the Marestream stable from all the commotion. Sunny was already on her hooves, charging her horn, putting a barrier between Misty and Flurry Heart, but Flurry had sent a magic beam at it, shattering it to pieces. While Sunny and Flurry may have both been alicorns, Flurry Heart had a thousand years to hone her magic, and failing was not an option. Not again.

Flurry charged up another beam, ready to cast it on Misty. Not knowing what else to do, Pipp jumped in front of Misty, willing to do anything to help her friend. However, Flurry Heart didn't see Pipp in time and fired the beam at Misty.

Hitch's eyes widened as he stomped his hooves on the floor as hard as he could. He was not going to lose her again. Not this time. Not when he could do something about it. As soon as his hooves slammed on the ground, a thick vine grew between Pipp and Flurry Heart, taking the brunt of the beam. Pipp and Flurry Heart were thrown back from the force of the collision, but it worked and both Pipp and Misty were unharmed.

Hitch hurried to Pipp's side to make sure she was okay while Flurry Heart disposed of the plant. When she did, she finally saw Pipp and Hitch in front of Misty. She snarled. She didn't want to hurt her kingdom's only hope, but at the same time…she needed to get rid of the traitor before she took everything from her again.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY! SHE'S A TRAITOR!"

"No! She's my friend and my future stepsister! And if you want to hurt her, you'll have to get through us!" Pipp said as Izzy and Sunny all stood in front of Misty. Sensing the physical part of the fight was over for now, Zipp put the ship on autopilot and flew past Flurry Heart to stand next to Hitch in front of Misty.

The two sides stared each other down as Flurry kept her horn charged. She clenched her teeth, snarling and glaring at Misty. "Don't you see?! She's working for Opaline! She's working with the traitor!"

"No! She was working with Opaline. And then she became our friend and she helped us defeat her. If it weren't for her, we'd be living under Opaline's iron hoof. You will not hurt her!" As Pipp said the last sentence, another voice echoed with hers as it boomed across the room. Nopony but Flurry Heart noticed this, but it was enough for Flurry Heart to take a step back.

Flurry Heart knew that voice. It was the voice that raised her. The voice that sang her to sleep. The voice that soothed her when she was scared. A voice she loved with all of her heart. A voice she'd never hear again.

Fat tears welled in her eyes as she took another step back. Upon seeing her shocked, grief-stricken face, Pipp's glare softened until it was nonexistent. She wanted to ask if Princess Flurry Heart was okay, but she still had her horn charged, so she didn't take a step.

"She's not allowed in my kingdom," Flurry mumbled, so low the other ponies barely heard her, panting heavily. "We don't accept traitors."

"Then you don't get our help. Your kingdom can fall for all I care. If any of my friends are put in danger because you can't control yourself, then we will turn this ship right around and go back to Equestria and forget you ever existed." Pipp answered dangerously, her voice not as low as Flurry Heart's but not as loud as before either.

I need you to protect them with your life…

With a heavy sigh, Flurry Heart stepped back, deactivating her horn, and looking away from the group of ponies. She turned back to the front of the Marestream, saying, "C'mon Princess Zipp. We're almost there."

Zipp flew up to hug Pipp and hurried to the driver's seat of the Marestream, glancing back at Misty who was still on the ground before taking the ship off of autopilot and driving. Just before Flurry Heart went to the passenger seat, Flurry overheard Pipp and Hitch.

Hitch was breathing heavily, both from fear and relief. "Thank hoofness you're okay! I thought I lost you again!"

Pipp and Hitch were sitting, both of Hitch's hooves on both sides of Pipp's face, tears filling his eyes. He kissed Pipp all over her face, ending on her lips, long and deep. Pipp had her hooves on Hitch's forelegs and was smiling up at Hitch with love, tears in her eyes.

Pipp laughed softly, a sound being a release from stress and there was a shakiness to it. A tremble that was more than slight. "What can I say? I guess I'm generous with my life."

Generous…

Flurry Heart froze, her heart stopping. A memory began to form in her head.

Well, that's what it means to be generous, darlings. Doing things that help another pony, even if it inconveniences or hurts us in the process. Because, perhaps, one day, when you help somepony who desperately needs it, they may help you when you desperately need them…

Flurry Heart shook her head, banishing the memory with it. She hurried towards the front next to Zipp while the others turned to the sobbing Misty.

The sounds of hooves against crystal floors could be heard throughout the Crystal Castle as the eight ponies made their way through the halls. They had finally made it to the Crystal Empire and they all felt like they were going to collapse.

The Crystal Empire was beautiful, and while it sparkled in the artificial sunlight, they didn't even notice. They were all droopy-eyed, their whole bodies achy from exhaustion. Misty limped at the back of the group, leaning against Zipp who had her wing around her.

She hadn't said a word since that incident, but it was for a completely different reason than the first time she was silent for six months. She couldn't talk, even if she wanted to, and she sure as hell didn't want to. She was crushed under the weight of Flurry Heart's emotions. She's never felt so much grief and fear and anger all bottled up in one pony. It was worse than when Hitch thought Pipp was dead. Much worse.

Because Flurry Heart didn't attack Misty because she thought Misty was working for Opaline. No. She attacked Misty because she thought Misty was a younger version of herself. At that moment, when she saw Misty, she didn't see Misty. She saw a younger version of herself. Literally. Eighty percent of that hatred and anger and fear and vengeance…it was all aimed at herself. She refused to forgive herself for the mistakes she made over a thousand years ago. The mistakes that cost her everything. The only thing that kept her alive after all these years was because her kingdom needed her. Because of all the mistakes she made that were stacked a mile high, she refused to add breaking a promise on top of it all.

Sunny levitated Thunder, who was still asleep, through the halls next to her. Zoom walked beside the floating Thunder, refusing to leave his side for any reason. Sunny no longer looked at Flurry Heart like she hung the moon. In fact, Sunny didn't know how to feel about the Crystal Princess after everything.

Pipp and Hitch walked side by side ahead of Zipp and Misty. They tried to let the struggling unicorn and her pegasus helper in front of them, but they chose to stay in the back, not wanting to slow them down. And while they were lagging behind Flurry Heart, all the ponies stayed close to Misty, as though forming a shield in case Flurry were to lose it again.

"My…apologies for my…outburst against your friend…" Flurry Heart started. "The Crystal Empire has many healing crystals that can help your friend feel brand new. If you'd like…we can get her started on that right away."

They all looked at the bruised Misty, who shook her head. Zipp sighed heavily. Not this again. Please not this again. Those six months were tortuous for Zipp, and not just because she had to choose Equestria over Pipp, but because Misty wouldn't talk, no matter what Zipp tried and it hurt to see Misty like this.

Once again, Zipp was Misty's voice. "No. We'd just like to go to bed at the moment."

"If you wish. M.O.R.I.C. will show you to your rooms. He has already prepared them for use. M.O.R.I.C.!"

Suddenly, a greenish-blue earth pony with a black mane, a black and white suit, and dark blue eyes appeared next to Flurry Heart as though he teleported there, scaring the seven ponies.

"There you are, M.O.R.I.C. Please, show these eight ponies to their rooms." Flurry Heart turned to the eight ponies. I was thinking that maybe you'd like to room in pairs. If not, that's fine, we have plenty of rooms for you all to sleep separately and I can have M.O.R.I.C. spruce them up but–"

"It's fine," Sunny interrupted. "That'd actually be great. Pipp and Hitch can take one room, Zipp and Misty can room together, Zoom and Thunder can go together, and Izzy and I can share a room. Is everpony alright with that?"

The rest of the ponies nodded.

"Good," Flurry Heart turned and began to walk away, only to stop and turn back to the group of ponies. "I…I hope you understand. Opaline…if what you say is true, and you really have faced her as you claim, then you know…she makes a…formidable foe. I was simply exercising caution."

"Yeah, we get it. You got a kingdom to protect," Zipp answered dismissively.

"We just expect an explanation," Pipp continued through clenched teeth.

"And one you shall have. In the morning. You must first rest. It had been a long night. During breakfast, I will explain everything."

"You better," Hitch growled.

With a sigh, Flurry Heart turned and walked away, leaving the ponies with M.O.R.I.C.

Flurry Heart slowly walked into her room, taking off her cloak and winter gear with her magic. She took off her crown and stared at it. It was light blue and had three points, the middle one being the tallest. In the middle of the tallest point was a carving of a heart. So much for looking nonmenacing.

"All the guests have been led to their rooms and are now settled in, your Majesty."

Flurry Heart jumped, dropping her crown on the floor. She turned to see M.O.R.I.C. at the entrance to her room, the door closed. "Sweet Aunt Twilight, MORICC!" Flurry Heart exclaimed, picking up her crown with her magic again. "You scared me half to death."

"Would you like me to knock next time?"

"Well, you don't exactly need to. It's fine. I was just…lost in thought."

Flurry Heart looked at her crown again, sighing heavily. What was wrong with her? Why would she attack one of them? And to make it all worse, she attacked the most sensitive one. She thought she had her emotions in check. She thought she had it under control. What happened? She was her father's daughter. If he could stay calm in those kinds of situations and not let his emotions get the best of him, why couldn't she? She practiced and meditated and…what was wrong with her? How could she just lose it like that? How could she rule the Crystal ponies when they woke up when she couldn't even keep her emotions in check?

"Are you okay, Princess?"

Flurry Heart blinked, realizing she was lost in thought again. "Yeah, I'm…fine."

There was a moment of silence before M.O.R.I.C. spoke again. "Princess Twilight Sparkle programmed me to know when you are experiencing feelings of distress. She wanted me to not only be your number one assistant but your friend."

Tears came to Flurry's eyes as she heard the words 'number one assistant'. She quickly wiped them away and scoffed. "Figures. Sounds like Aunt Twi. Guess a programmed friend's better than no friend."

"I detect…sarcasm?"

Flurry scoffed again. "Sort of."

"You are undergoing feelings of distress. Talking about your feelings will help. Is this about that blue unicorn?"

Flurry Heart looked up at M.O.R.I.C. "How did you know about that?"

"She came in with multiple bruises and abrasions. Did something happen?"

Flurry Heart sighed. Of course he didn't know. How could he? He wasn't there. But…why did Flurry panic about him knowing? He was a robot. It wasn't like he could judge her or anything. It wasn't like it'd change the way he thought about her. Still, she didn't want him to know. Sometimes he felt a little too real to be a robot, just like Twilight intended. Except when he'd crash and Flurry would have to repair him with that spell Twilight taught her.

"Nothing. I'm fine, M.O.R.I.C."

"You do not look fi–"

"I said I'm fine!" Flurry yelled, throwing her crown at M.O.R.I.C. with her magic. The crown went right through him and bounced off the door behind him. Flurry Heart sighed. "I'm sorry M.O.R.I.C. It's not you I'm upset with. I'm just…pissed at myself and the way I acted, that's all."

"You are angry. Going to bed angry will keep you awake. I will run a hot bath to help you relax."

Flurry Heart could hear the sound of water running in her bathroom tub. She was about to decline when she changed her mind. He really did know her best. "Actually, M.O.R.I.C., that sounds really nice."

Flurry Heart was about to walk to her bathroom when she was stopped.

"Princess?"

Flurry Heart turned around to face the green earth pony. "Yes, M.O.R.I.C.?"

"You know, it is okay to feel, Princess. Bottling up your emotions will only harm you, not help you. I understand you are scared to let yourself feel because of the horrible emotions you will feel when you do, but if you do not, you will not be able to make any friends. You will be lonely, and that will be the only emotion you feel. Princess Twilight did not want that for you."

"Well, Aunt Twi isn't here, is she? And I do have friends. I have you." Flurry Heart wasn't just saying that to shut him up. She really did consider him a friend. "Besides, the last time I let my emotions out, I hurt somepony. My emotions are dangerous, so they're going to stay buried."

"If you say so, Princess," He said before disappearing. Flurry sighed and walked into her bathroom, not sure what the hell she was going to do.

Hitch cracked the door to his and Pipp's room, looking through the small crack into the crystal hallway.

"Well? See anything?" Pipp asked from behind him.

"No. It's clear." Hitch turned from the door to look at Pipp. "Tell me, why are we doing this again?"

Pipp rolled her eyes. "Because, we don't want her freaky butler to get suspicious and spy on us, remember? Or, at least, that's what Zipp said in her text."

"And we're following her advice because…?"

"Umm…because I trust her opinion. Duh."

Hitch rolled his eyes. "Right. Whatever. I just think this is a bit much."

"Well, nopony asked you for your opinion, did they?"

"Clearly," Hitch muttered just loud enough for Pipp to hear, causing her to roll her eyes.

Hitch looked out the cracked door again just to be safe and when he saw nothing, he opened it just wide enough for him and Pipp to sneak through. They slowly crept down the massive hallway. All the doors looked the same and they couldn't remember which door was Zipp and Misty's.

As Pipp walked down the halls, something occurred to Pipp as odd. "Doesn't it feel a little…empty to you?"

Hitch shrugged. "It's two in the morning. Everypony's probably asleep," Hitch answered with a shrug.

It didn't surprise Pipp that Hitch didn't think it suspicious. He didn't grow up in a castle like Pipp did. She spent nineteen years of her life in a castle. She knew how they operated. They were never this quiet. Even if all the servants and such were asleep, there'd be guards patrolling the hallways, but besides them, there wasn't a single pony in sight. It felt wrong. Something was definitely up.

Suddenly, a door opened to their right and they were pulled in by two different hooves. They yelped but were quickly silenced by the hooves over their mouths. When they looked around, they saw Sunny and Zipp standing in front of them. Izzy was sitting next to Misty, who was sitting on her bed, as Izzy put a small bandage on her cut on her forehead.

Pipp and Hitch nodded and Sunny and Zipp slowly removed their hooves. Pipp and Hitch turned to Misty.

"How're you doing?" Pipp asked, flying next to Misty's bedside.

"I'm fine," Misty muttered, trying to give a reassuring smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Good. Can we get this over with? I'm tired and I wanna go to sleep," Hitch said with a yawn.

"Right. I don't trust Flurry Heart. There's something up about her. There's something she's not telling us," Zipp started.

"Well, she didn't really have the chance. It's been a craaaazy rollercoaster since we met," Izzy countered as she finished helping Misty.

"Tell me about it," Misty muttered.

"Yeah. Some of that rollercoaster was caused by her. Why did she just attack Misty like that? Clearly, she's unstable and dangerous." Zipp added.

"Yeah, that behavior was totally uncalled for. But, she did send that S.O.S. message. Her kingdom clearly needs help," Pipp said.

"What kingdom? Besides M.O.R.I.C., we haven't seen a soul. I'm telling you, there's something creepy about this place."

"Zipp, it's two in the morning. Everypony's asleep."

"Guys," Misty said quietly.

"Took the words right outta my mouth, Sunny," Hitch agreed. "But I do gotta agree with Zipp. Flurry Heart is unstable and dangerous."

"Guys," Misty said a little louder.

"Maybe we should just go," Sunny suggested. "Before she hurts another one of us. Or worse. I mean, if we can't trust our allies, how can we fight our enemies?"

"I second that," Hitch said, raising his hoof.

"Guys!" Misty yelled, gaining all of their attention. When they all looked at her, she sighed and continued. "Maybe we should all go easy on her. Meeting us was really hard for her. Like, really hard for her."

"Why? We're super nice?" Izzy asked.

"Does she have like, social anxiety or something?" Hitch added.

Misty sighed. "I'm not clear on the details or anything, but meeting us? It brought back some really hard memories that she hadn't thought about in centuries. I don't know what they are, but I know they're really hard for her." Misty turned to Hitch. "Hitch, remember how you felt when Pipp died?"

Hitch looked to the ground and nodded. He glanced at Pipp from the corner of his eye, who nuzzled him in comfort, but her ears stayed pricked. "Yeah."

"You felt anger at Queen Vespula for killing her. You felt guilt for not being able to save her. You felt guilty for not being able to take her place. You felt lost and alone."

"Yeah. What's your point?"

"Well, imagine if Pipp didn't come back. Imagine if you had to live the next thousand years without her. And then, imagine if you saw a mare who looked just like Pipp and it resurfaced all those memories you tried to keep buried. And now, imagine right after that, if you saw a pony who reminded you of Queen Vespula. How'd you react?"

"I'd lose it," Hitch muttered.

Misty looked at the rest of them. "That was what Princess Flurry Heart felt when she attacked me, but on a much larger scale. Flurry Heart needs our help. And not just for her kingdom, but for her. She may not realize it, but she needs our help to deal with her past. Trust me. She can't do it alone. It'll get messy. And it might get violent, but are we really going to let that stop us? Flurry Heart's a good pony. She just needs help."

Everypony was silent as they all looked at each other, seeming to come to a silent agreement before Zipp finally spoke. "Alright, Misty. If you say so. We'll help her. But you're taking the lead."

"I–I am? But why?" Misty stuttered in shock.

"Because you're the empath, Misty," Sunny reasoned. "You'll know best how to help her. Don't worry. You got this."

"O‐okay. If you say so," Misty stuttered, swallowing nervously.

Author's Note

Well, this was a difficult chapter to write.

I hope you like it and keep an eye out for the next chapter. We'll have our first real look into the past and get some answers. (Not all because where's the fun in that?)

See you in the next chapter!

Hakuna Matata