Opaline sighed heavily as she walked the streets of Skyros, alicorns scurrying out of the way and running away from her, clearly afraid. She twisted her lips in disdain, all but numb to it.

🎵They say I'm a monster.
They say I'm a bully.
If that's how they paint me,
Well, they never knew me.🎵

Opaline took off into the air, flying in circles over Skyros before flying to the window of her bedroom, her face and voice devoid of emotion. Mostly. The sound of her voice had the slightest bit of pain to it.

🎵Spent my life on the outside looking in.
Can't remember what it feels like.
Now I must do what I can to survive.
My home no longer fits right.🎵

Opaline landed on the floor of her bedroom, picking up a small pony doll with her magic that looked just like the one from that day all those years ago.

🎵I would've done it all so differently.
Been home when you left me.
Now he only thinks the worst of me.
Oh well.🎵

Opaline flew to the bathroom of her bedchambers, after also picking up a thumbtack. She then pushed in a tile with her hoof and a secret door opened. She flew down the wrapping staircase in the darkness.

🎵He won't stop til he makes a monster out of me.
He has his mind made up, but he still can't see,
That everything I do is to find my way back to you.🎵

She landed before a map that was hung up by thumbtacks on the wall. She lit a lantern with her fire magic, revealing another thumbtack on a place called the Everfree Forest. She put the new thumbtack on another part of the map not too far away and labeled it Canterlot.

🎵Tryna find my way right back to you.
Find my way right back to you.
Tryna find my way right back to you.🎵

Opaline turned to a collection of pictures she kept on a desk, all of them either having Celestia, Luna, or both. Sometimes they'd have Opaline in them, sometimes they wouldn't. She picked one up with her magic and stared at it.

🎵Spent my life making ponies afraid.
Never welcomed, they ran away.
Always made to wander near the edge,
In the distance I'm afraid.

I would've done it all so differently.
Been home when you left me.
Now he only thinks the worst of me.
I'm used to it.🎵

Opaline set the picture down before walking towards something on the other side.

🎵He won't stop til he makes a monster out of me.
He has his mind made up, but he still can't see,
That everything I do is to find my way back to you.
Tryna find my way right back to you.🎵

She then picked up a book, one she kept down here in case the glamour spell wasn't enough. One with the cover of one of her favorite adventure books, when she still read them.

🎵They say I'm a monster.
They say I'm a bully.
If that's how they paint me,
Well, they never knew me.🎵

"Misty," a voice said before Misty felt hooves shake her. "Misty."

Misty's eyes snapped open, surprised to find them a little damp. She looked up to see Pipp looking down at her, a worried expression on her face. Misty blinked, trying to refamiliarize herself with her surroundings.

"Misty? Are you okay?" Pip asked when she saw Misty reorient herself. "You were tossing and turning and saying Opaline and…were you having a nightmare?"

Misty slowly sat up, her mind a mess of questions. It happened. For the second night in a row, it happened. She had another vision, another memory. But…what was it about? Words rang through her head.

"He won't stop, til he makes a monster out of me."

Monster…

"He's…he's not a monster. He…he helped me control my elemental power. He's…he's been…good to me."

King…

"What? No! You can't go back. Not…not while that…monster is still king."

Skotos…

"I didn't find out too much. Just that King Aeroblade had three daughters and was killed by his brother-in-law so that he could be king and he's been king ever since."

"He murdered our father!"

"And yet, you left me behind with him!"

Misty's breath was heavy as the room suddenly felt smaller, as she tried to process all the information she had, and the dots her mind was beginning to connect.

Suddenly, a letter appeared in front of Misty, dropping on top of her blankets on her bed. Great. Now what?

Misty picked it up with her magic and looked at the seal, seeing a crystalline heart in its middle, causing her to gasp. She unfurled it, scanning over the letter, her eyes widening in surprise.

"W-what is it?" Pipp asked. "Who's that letter from? What…what's it say?"

Misty's eyes widened further, if that were even possible, as her face turned red and her ears flattened. Oh no…Hitch was gonna kill them.

"Pipp…we need to talk. Get Hitch and Izzy. Zipp, Sunny, and I need to tell you some stuff, and…you're not going to like it."

"Ugh, what'd my sister do now?" Pipp groaned as she walked away from Misty's bed to get Hitch and Izzy.

"Wait wait wait. Hold up…slow down," Pipp interrupted during Misty's part of the storytelling, waving her hooves. They had just explained everything Misty, Zipp, and Sunny had been learning on the side while also searching for the third alicorn, but clearly, the three of them were thoroughly confused. "Start over, like…much slower."

Misty took a deep breath. "During our first night here…I had a vision…of Opaline's memory…from before she went evil."

"Before she was evil…? Like…she wasn't always evil?" Pipp asked.

"Just evil for the past two thousand years?" Hitch added.

"Remember, alicorns are immortal. So, their concept of time is way different than ours. Our lifetimes are like…a blip in theirs."

"Ours," Zipp corrected.

Sunny blinked, looking at Zipp. "W-what?"

"'Your lifetimes are like a blip in ours'. You're an alicorn, which makes you immortal too. Remember?" Hitch explained with a sympathetic look on his face.

Sunny blinked, completely silent. She…she hadn't even thought about that. The thought…the possibility…no…the reality that she would outlive her friends one day…it never crossed her mind. But now that Hitch and Zipp mentioned it…it felt like a blaring fact…so obvious…how could she not see it before? She'd have to watch…all her best friends…her family…die before her eyes…just like she had to watch her father die all those years ago. But…unlike her father…there were no what-ifs. With her father…if Sunny had just gotten home earlier…if she hadn't left the lighthouse that day…if she had just been there for him when she wasn't…he might still be alive today.

But…her friends…the only family she had left…their deaths were inevitable. She couldn't stop them, delay them. Death was coming for them all, and there was nothing she could do about it. But…instead of being able to join them someday…she'd live on…for all eternity…alone.

Flurry Heart flashed through her mind. Would…would she end up like…her? So cold and hard to protect herself from getting hurt. It suddenly made sense why Skyronian alicorns tried to separate themselves from mortals. At least, one of the reasons. Because, inevitably, heartbreakingly, it would always end in goodbyes. Every relationship an alicorn ever made with a mortal…would end in a permanent goodbye. How did Flurry do it? Losing both her parents, her best friends, her aunt, and honorary aunts and uncles. Everypony she ever knew, was ever close to…gone. She even lost Luster for a time. For a thousand years. How did she…survive that?

Duty. That's how. Flurry Heart had a duty to protect her kingdom and her subjects for eternity. She set aside her own needs for the good of her kingdom. No matter how many ponies she lost, she had to keep going. She couldn't let her kingdom suffer the same grief. Was that why every alicorn that lived in Equestria was a ruler? To help themselves deal with the constant loss they underwent? To keep themselves from dying by their own hoof just to make the pain end?

Sunny looked up at Pipp and Hitch. Falling in love with a mortal was out of the question. Sunny thought to when Pipp died in that changeling throne room. She thought back to how Hitch reacted when he lost her. He was…he wasn't himself. Even Sunny didn't recognize him. But even then…he had that small ball of hope that one day, he'd be reunited with the love of his life.

But…Sunny didn't have that hope. Tears filled her eyes as another thought came to mind. She'd…she'd never see her father again. The thought of one day, decades down the road, she'd one day be reunited with him helped her get past her grief of losing him. But…that day he died…she didn't realize she lost him…not just for fifty, or sixty, or seventy years…but she lost him…forever.

"Sunny?" Izzy asked, her voice full of concern. "Are you okay?"

Sunny looked up at her friends, all of them watching her with worried expressions. Sunny blinked back her tears, swallowing and clearing her throat. They had bigger things to worry about than the far future. They had much bigger problems. She just had…to set aside her feelings and focus on the problem at hoof.

Sunny plastered on a small smile, but it wasn't fooling anypony. "Yeah. I'm great." Hitch opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. "Seriously, I'm fine. If that's all the questions you have about Opaline not being evil…"

"I think it was more than just not being evil." Misty thought out loud. "I…I think she was…normal. At least when she was a filly." Misty looked at Zipp. "I…I think she was a lot like you and Pipp with her own sisters."

"Right…Opaline has sisters…this…Celestia and Luna…? Do we even know who those ponies are?" Hitch asked, momentarily forgetting Sunny's odd behavior.

"Well…we know they were the first bearers of the Elements of Harmony." Sunny shrugged.

"That's why we sent the letter to Flurry Heart. Plus…remember when Flurry was telling us about the Elements of Harmony and she mentioned how after defeating Discord, Luna went evil…well, seeing as both of Celestia's sisters went evil…"

"You wanted to know more about why Luna went evil." Pipp finished.

"Basically, yeah. Which is this letter. Well, it's her response." Misty held up the letter with her magic.

"Well then, go on." Zipp urged, her fly pad already out, ready to take notes.

Misty took a deep breath before unfurling the letter. She cleared her throat before reading…

"'Dear, Misty. We hope all is well in Skyros. Flurry and I wish you the best of luck in finding a third alicorn. Just know we'd be there to help if we could, but things are so busy here, that taking a break is out of the question. Which is why I'm writing the letter and not Flurs. She's still busy and it's currently nine at night. Who knew restoring a kingdom that has been asleep for a thousand years would be so much work? Not to worry though. When the time comes, Flurry will be there in Skyros in a wingbeat.

"'In regards to your questions, I'm afraid we can't answer them all. Try to understand, upon hearing your theory that Opaline may be Celestia's and Luna's sister was quite a shock to us, to say the least. We only believed they had one sister. Each other. We always believed they were a duo, balancing each other out as Night and Day, like Yin and Yang. To know that there was a third…

"'However, we can answer some. When Celestia and Luna came from Skyros two millennia ago, it was a real blessing. You see, the unicorn council could no longer raise the sun and moon on their own, so when they came with their gifts, they saved our flanks. Since then, until Princess Twilight's reign, they ruled Equestria. For a thousand years.

"'For your question about Nightmare Moon, only Celestia and Luna know the details, but I can give you the gist. Every day, when Celestia raised the sun, ponies would play and dance in her day, but when Luna raised the moon, they all went to sleep and shunned her beautiful night sky. She grew jealous and eventually turned on her sister, turning into Nightmare Moon and forcing Celestia to banish her to the moon. It was prophesied that Nightmare Moon would return on the longest day of the thousandth year. When she did, however, Princess Twilight and her friends turned her back into Princess Luna.

"'And, finally, regarding your question about a stallion named Starswirl, I believe you are talking about Starswirl the Bearded, one of the greatest sorcerers in history and the only unicorn who could successfully create a time travel spell from the ground up. He was a Pillar, and I believe Flurs told you about them. It was he who found the sun and moon princesses and trained them in their magic.

"'We hope this information helps in terms of your research, and we wish you the best of luck. Sincerely, Luster Dawn.'"

"Well, that wasn't…exactly helpful…" Zipp muttered.

"Yeah. Who in the hay is this Celestia that everypony's jealous of her?" Pipp answered, a bitterness to her tone.

"Yeah…it was about as helpful as that book we found in the restricted section," Sunny muttered. When everypony remained silent after what she said, she looked up to find Hitch staring at her with wide eyes. Her own eyes widened in response, but this was in fear. "Oh no."

"You did what?!" Hitch exclaimed, his eyes bugging out.

"We needed to get information…" Zipp started to explain but stopped when Hitch turned to Sunny.

"Sunny, I expected…" Hitch paused, before shrugging. "Actually, this sounds exactly like something you'd do."

Sunny blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Hitch shrugged again. "Nothing. Just that you're impulsive and you don't always think things through."

"Impu…impul…I'm not impulsive!" Sunny sputtered, clearly offended. "I…I think things through. I–"

"Sunny, you left Maretime Bay for the first time with a unicorn you've known for ten minutes to go to enemy territory and to ask their queen if they knew why their other enemies lost their magic. And then you were surprised when they arrested your flank on the spot!"

Sunny was silent following Hitch's words, at a loss for words to contradict them. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but…said like that…not so much…

"Well, on the bright side," Izzy said with a bright smile. "That unicorn you knew for ten minutes ended up being your best friend…"

"Zipp, I…" Hitch shook his head, turning to Misty. "Misty, I expected better of you. This isn't like you!" Hitch scolded.

"When you go from criminal to the most responsible. " Zipp muttered sarcastically as Misty swallowed nervously.

But then she gasped as something Sunny said made her eyes widen. Yeah…it was about as helpful as that book we found in the restricted section. That book. She saw it again. But not here. The past. She saw it in that dream she had about Opaline. What was it that Opaline had thought to herself? She kept it in that secret room in case the glamour spell wasn't enough. Which means…

"The book…" Misty muttered. "It wasn't just an adventure book. It…it belonged to Opaline, not Skotos. Sunny was right. It was a glamour spell!" Misty's smile grew as she began to connect the pieces.

"Wait…why haven't you read the book before?" Izzy asked, tilting her head.

Reluctantly, the three of them explained why it may not be the best idea to open that book. By doing so, it could trap them all here permanently, especially since Misty was already on trial here for potentially knowing Skyronian secrets. The only reason they were going through with the three-alicorn route was because she honestly didn't know anything. Zipp was also able to learn that according to Skyronian law, if three alicorns vouched for a mortal, and it turned out that the mortal lied and really did know secrets that could bring ruin to Skyros, not only would the mortal be held responsible, but so would the three alicorns, and they'd be executed for treason. It's why finding a third alicorn was so hard. None of them wanted to die for a mortal.

As soon as Misty opened that book and read what was inside, the three alicorns would be risking their lives for a lie and that wasn't right. Even though Sunny and Flurry already volunteered for Misty, they'd be okay until they made their official statement during the trial. If Misty opened that book and learned of the secrets it contained, Sunny and Flurry would still be spared. If she didn't tell anypony, nopony else would be held responsible.

When they finished explaining, the three ponies were silent, staring at Zipp, Misty, and Sunny with wide eyes. Misty bit her lip, looking away, knowing exactly what their response would be.

Hitch's next words only confirmed it. "Whoa. Are you sure investigating Opaline's past is really a good idea? I mean, Opaline's gone now. Learning about her past will do nothing now but doom you."

Before Misty could say another word, Pipp was already speaking. "I gotta agree with Hitch. Even if you did learn about some tragic past she had…it wouldn't change anything. You gotta live in the here and now. Are you really willing to risk your life for an evil mare who's already been defeated?"

"Yeah. Opaline may not have always been evil, but she's definitely evil now."

"Izzy's right. I mean, if raising a pony's greatest fear to life with nonexistent shadow monsters isn't evil, I don't know what is." Zipp added.

"Yeah. Let's just focus on finding that third alicorn so we can go home and leave this whole thing behind us. Okay?" Sunny finished, putting a hoof on Misty's shoulder.

Misty hesitated, biting her lip, before reluctantly nodding. She had a horrible feeling in her gut. A feeling that told her this went far beyond just Opaline. That they were all here, exactly where somepony wanted them. That somepony was moving them around like pieces on a chessboard. She tried to brush it off as Opaline paranoia, but that feeling just wouldn't go away. There was more to this than they were seeing, she just knew it. She just didn't know what, but she hoped that she was wrong.

Lively music played in the square as the group of ponies arrived in the same area they tried yesterday. Though yesterday was focused on just making them happy, so that, maybe, today, the alicorns would be more open to help, just like they helped the alicorns. Though, Sunny thought, maybe they should spend a little more time getting to know them and vice versa before they tried asking for anything. Just to greaten their chances.

Pipp gasped as she saw the square and group of alicorns dancing. "Oh my hoofness!" She quickly turned to Hitch, a pleading sparkle in her eyes. "Please please please dance with me!" She begged.

Hitch smiled softly down at the mare he loved. "Yeah. Alright. Only for you, birdie."

He then turned to one of his friends, only to see that Zipp was already in the air, racing some pegasi. Misty was walking around the booths with Izzy, oohing and ahhing at all the wares. He quickly turned to Sunny, relieved to see he caught her just in time before she hurried off to the smoothie cart that was still set up.

"Sunny! Mind watching Sparky and the Pippsqueaks for a bit while Pipp and I dance a little?" Hitch asked.

"Uh…" Sunny glanced at her smoothie cart before turning back to Hitch with a smile. "Yeah. Sure. Go have fun."

Hitch smiled gratefully before being pulled to the center of the square by Pipp. Sunny giggled as Sparky tried to scurry off to Sunny's smoothie cart. Sunny quickly grabbed him with her magic and set him on Winter's back, much to his surprise.

"Good idea, Sparky. We should all have smoothies." Sunny turned to the Pippsqueaks. "Let me guess. Pipp's usual?" The Pippsqueaks nodded with wide smiles. "Alright. Hey, Winter. Mind watching Sparky and the Pippsqueaks while I go make us all smoothies?"

"Oh, I don't…I'm not–" Winter started with wide eyes before Sunny interrupted.

"Great. Thanks!" She exclaimed before skipping off. Winter may have gotten under her nerves a bit yesterday, but her philosophy was that everypony deserved a fresh start with every new morning. Of course, there were exceptions to every rule, but it remained true with most ponies.

She hurried off to the smoothie cart, not trusting Winter to watch the four children on his own for long, quickly putting together six smoothies. One alicorn special for Sparky. Three strawberry ripples for the Pippsqueaks. Sunny paused, thinking about what Winter might like. Hmm…she made two more alicorn specials, one for herself, and one for Winter.

As she walked out of her smoothie cart, the six smoothies in her magic, she paused when she saw something, her eyes widening, her heart warming, a small smile on her face. She saw Winter, but instead of chaos, she saw the Pippsqueaks squealing as they tried to find somewhere to quickly hide, while Sparky sat on Winter's back, his baby claws over his eyes, and Winter sitting, his hooves over his own eyes, as he counted down from twenty. They were playing hide and seek. Once Winter was done counting, he walked around the square, and despite the obvious hiding places the Pippsqueaks chose, he made it seem like it was difficult to find them, following Sparky's suggestions even when it was clear Sparky was trying to throw him off, playfully scolding him for not playing fair when there was no sign of the Pippsqueaks, causing the baby dragon to laugh hysterically. Especially when Winter began falling for the same joke.

Sunny just watched the prince play with the fillies and baby dragon, a small smile that slowly grew on her face, chuckling when the Pippsqueaks would purposefully trip him when their hide-and-seek game turned into a game of tag. She could spend all day watching him play with the fillies and baby dragon. Soon, other alicorn foals began to play with the rest of them, running around and laughing when Winter would accidentally trip and fall, which would make Sunny chuckle softly too. He almost reminded Sunny of her own father and how he'd play with her when she was a filly.

Sunny's eyes widened in surprise, her face suddenly blushing a deep red, her heart racing. Did…did she just…compare this pompous prince with…her kind, gentle-hearted father? But as she watched him, she realized that this was a completely different Winter. She was so used to the flirtatious, lazy-seeming prince, that she almost didn't recognize this…fun loving alicorn before her.

That was when he noticed her and shrugged, his arrogant smile back on. But after seeing the softer side of him, she could almost see past it now, unlike yesterday.

He walked over to her, that arrogant smile still on his face. "Well, looks like you can be helpful after all," Sunny said with a sly smile. "It seems you've even got yourself a gift."

Winter shrugged. "Eh. I've always been good with foals. Though, it's not something my father would call a 'gift'. Let alone helpful." There was a bit of bitterness in his tone.

Sunny smiled, handing him the smoothie. "How about when Hitch and Pipp are finished, you can take me on a little tour?"

Winter seemed to think about it for a moment before shrugging and agreeing. He then took a sip of his smoothie and his eyes widened. "Dear gods above! Did you make this?" He asked, turning to Sunny.

Sunny nodded, a little nervous. She couldn't tell from his expression if it was good or not. "Y-yeah."

"This is wonderful. Truly, one of the best things I've ever tasted, and I've tasted a lot."

"R-really?" Sunny asked hopefully, a smile growing, pride growing in her chest.

"Why, of course. As Prince, I am constantly taste-testing nearly every dish made in the castle. Plus, I've got to go to other restaurants in the city as it's important to get involved in the kingdom you rule in and–" Winter stopped when he saw the look on Sunny's face. "Oh, you meant about that. Yes. It really is one of the best things I have ever tasted. You have a real knack for these. However do you make them?"

Sunny's smile grew challenging. "I can show you if you want."

Winter's eyes widened momentarily, as though in panic. "Oh, I…I don't think that's–"

"Oh, come on. Quit being such a scaredy pony," Sunny said, grabbing Winter's hoof and pulling him to her smoothie cart just as Pipp and Hitch finished their dance and were watching Sparky and the Pippsqueaks.

"I'll have you know–" He started, but stopped when Sunny gave him an apron. Hesitantly, he grabbed it with his magic and tried to put it on. With a little bit of maneuvering, he was able to figure it out.

"Okay, we are gonna start with something simple. Pearnana delights."

"Pearnana?" Winter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a cross between a pear and a banana. Okay, so, first you're gonna cut up these pearnanas." Sunny handed him a knife, a cutting board, and a couple of odd-looking banana-shaped fruits that looked an awful lot like pears.

"Cut the pearanas?" He asked hesitantly, grabbing the knife, cutting board, and fruit.

"Pearnanas." Sunny corrected.

Winter nodded, staring at the fruit hesitantly. He's never been asked to…cut anything before.

"Are you cutting?" Sunny asked as she prepared the blender and other ingredients.

"Yeah, relax." Winter picked up the knife and began cutting, cutting the first slice excruciatingly slowly. He stopped halfway, sighing heavily as though he were exhausted before continuing. "One."

Sunny turned, smiling and shaking her head. She never met anypony with such an aversion to work before. Even Pipp wasn't nearly as bad, though she was a bit reluctant to get her hooves dirty.

"Step aside, Mister." Sunny said as she grabbed the knife from his magic with her hoof." Watch," she twirled the knife in her hoof, grabbing the pearnana, "and learn."

Sunny cut the pearnana in perfect slices with impressive speed and expert efficiency. Winter watched her with wide eyes, thoroughly impressed. This mare…he's never met anypony like her. She really was something.

She then grabbed another pearnana and gave it to Winter, putting the knife in his hoof when he tried to pick it up with his magic. She put her hoof over his and slowly guided it through the first couple of cuts before slowly letting go and letting him do it on his own.

"You know, I've…I've never done anything like this before," Winter admitted, not sure why he suddenly felt embarrassed about it when he never had before.

"Really?" Sunny asked with mock surprise as she grabbed the cut pearnana pieces and put them in the blender.

Winter chuckled. "Alright. But…when you live in a castle, everything is done for you. All the time. They dress you. They feed you. They…they brush your teeth."

"Oh, poor baby," Sunny teased, shaking her head.

"I admit, it was a charmed life, but…I guess I didn't learn a bunch of stuff along the way. And…I guess…as prince…all eyes were on me." Winter finished cutting his pearnana and moved the cutting board to the side, sitting down in front of the counter. "If I tried anything, ponies expected me to succeed. My…father expected me to succeed…I guess I was so scared of letting them down, of failing, I…I guess I never really tried. But…yesterday when…when you needed help," Winter put his face on his hoof, a lost look on his face. "It made me realize, I don't know how to do anything."

Sunny paused mid-motion putting the ice in the blender, her eyes widening. His fear was so much like her own. She worried so much about failing, that she didn't even know it was her greatest fear until her own Elemental test. She was just so worried about letting others down, that they'd think of her like they thought of her when she was a filly. A fool with ridiculous dreams that would never come true because not only did she not have what it took, but they were also impossible.

Sunny turned to look at Winter, who was staring down at the pearnanas he cut with a storm of emotions in his eye. She looked down at the pearnanas he cut, which were messy like a toddler cut them, but she smiled reassuringly anyway.

"Well, hey. You got the makings of a decent fruit cutter." She complimented as she picked up the cut pearnanas with her magic.

"Oh? You think so?" Winter asked, perking up.

Sunny nodded. "Yeah. Keep practicing and I just might hire you as my co-smoothie maker."

"Really?" Winter asked hopefully.

"No," Sunny answered after a moment, a small smile on her face.

"Aw, c'mon!" He exclaimed in mock disappointment, making Sunny chuckle. "What was that? That…that was below the alicorn belt." Sunny burst out laughing, Winter joining in as they both continued to make their pearnana smoothie.

As they made it, a song began to play in the background, a slow one. As they finished the smoothie, they both couldn't ignore the beautiful lyrics. Sunny glanced at Winter, who'd glance at her as well.

Je t'adore. "I adore you." Winter suddenly said. Je t'aime… "I love you." At Sunny's thoroughly confused look, he clarified. "I'm just translating. You seemed interested in the song. It's old Skyronian."

Sunny nodded slowly, looking away from Winter. Winter smiled softly before grabbing Sunny's hoof and leading her out of the cart, positioning them for a dance. Sunny's eyes widened as she realized his intention. "Oh, I don't dance." She said, pulling away.

He tried again, but she only just pulled away, walking back towards the smoothie cart. "I've never danced before. Not…not like that."

Winter smiled softly. And here he thought she was rejecting him. He walked over to her, grabbing her hoof again. "If I can cut fruit, you can slow dance."

Slowly, Winter began gliding them around the smoothie cart in circles. She was a little uncertain at first, but she soon got the hang of it. She smiled, surprised to see herself slow dancing. She's never been asked to dance before by a colt, let alone a prince. Her cutie mark slowly began to glow as the trumpet slowly ended the song.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Sunny said, looking away from Winter.

"Sorry?" Winter asked, surprised. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Sunny shifted uncomfortably. That wasn't…entirely true, but that wasn't what she was apologizing for right now. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't myself."

"Yesterday? Sunny, you were great," Winter countered, still so confused.

"No. I built up this horrible image of you yesterday and I was wrong. My father always told me to find the best in everypony but I just saw the worst in you. And for that, I'm sorry. You are a really good pony."

Winter swallowed, looking away, guilt welling up in him. Good was the last thing he'd use to describe himself. And maybe Sunny's image of him wasn't wrong. He's witnessed some horrible things in his past…and he's done a horrible thing to Sunny's friend, even though Sunny's been nothing but nice to him. And he was keeping a horrible secret.

"Sunny! Sunny!" Pipp exclaimed, flying up to Sunny and Winter, interrupting the moment. She skidded to a stop when she saw them together. Her eyes widened briefly, and, seeing her look, the two of them quickly separated at least six feet away from each other, if not more.

"Oh…am I…interrupting anything?" Pipp asked slyly, a hinting tone in her voice.

"Uh…n-no…definitely n-not," Sunny answered, a little too quickly for it to be believable.

"Uh-huh…" she said, making it clear she didn't believe them. She knew that look. It was a look she saw in Hitch's eyes whenever he looked at her. She shook her head, letting it go. They had bigger things to worry about. "Right. Well, Sunny, we have a problem. Like, a big one."

"What do you mean?" Sunny asked, confused.

"Umm…well…a couple of alicorns were asking why we were here, and we were trying to find some excuse that didn't mention finding a third alicorn for Misty like you said right? But then Izzy blurted it out and now it's absolute chaos. Come on."

Sunny and Winter followed Pipp to the other side of the huge square, gasping when they saw the huge crowd gathered around Misty, Izzy, and Zipp. Hitch was off to the side, watching a worried Sparky and Pippsqueaks, a worried expression of his own on his face. Sunny guessed he was on filly/dragonsitting duty.

Most of the alicorns in the crowd were speaking all at once and Sunny couldn't hear anything specific, but a few phrases did stand out to her…

Mortals! Tryna bribe us!

Why should we trust you?

Get outta here! We don't want you here!

Enough of this. These were her friends and these alicorns were out of line. Sunny was about to intervene when, suddenly, Misty stepped forward, staring at the crowd bravely. She stepped in front of Zipp and Izzy and addressed the crowd.

"You're all right! Well, except for the bribing." The crowd silenced upon hearing Misty speak, surprised by what she was saying. "You don't know me. And I've given you no reason to trust me, let alone risk your lives for me. So…the least I can do is…is to be honest with you all…about everything. The good. The bad. All of it. I need to show you me."

Misty took a deep breath before singing:

🎵I'm here to show you who I am.
The mare I tried so hard to find.
There's more to me than my past.
And now I feel my stars align!🎵

Misty smiled, getting lost in her song. Inspired, the pianist in the band began to play a soft melody that went with Misty's song.

🎵For I had believed what I was sold.
I did all the things I was told.
But all that has changed and I am bold,
Cause I know…🎵

As Misty got into the chorus, belting out the notes from her very soul, the rest of the band joined in, creating a beautiful symphony with her song.

🎵That I am just a pony,
I make mistakes from time to time!
But now I know the real me,
I put my heart out on the line!
And let the magic in my heart stay true,
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
And let the magic in my heart stay true,
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
Just like the magic inside of you.🎵

As Misty sang, the magenta and coral butterfly on her flank began to glow brightly, making all the alicorns gasp in amazement.

🎵And now I see those colors right before my eyes.
I hear my voice so clearly and I know that it is right!

She thought I was weak, but I am strong.
She sold me the world, but she was wrong!
And now that I'm back, I still belong,
Cause I know!🎵

As Misty began to sing the chorus again, the alicorns in the crowd joined in, including Misty's five friends. Winter was surprised. He's never seen anything like this, an entire town square, joining in on something a mortal started. It was impressive and amazing. Misty's cutie mark shone so brightly, it was nearly blinding, but still, everypony sang. And over it all, Misty's voice could still be heard.

🎵That we are all just ponies,
We make mistakes from time to time!
But as long as we know the real us,
We'll put our hearts on the line!
So that the magic in our hearts stay true,
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
So that the magic in our hearts stay true,
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.🎵

The rest of the crowd silenced as the song died down until it was just Misty singing the final lines solo again:

🎵Cause there is magic inside of you.
There is magic inside of you.🎵

Silence permeated the air following Misty's song and her eyes widened as she realized what she had done. Her face blushed a crimson red and her ears flattened, her heart racing in fear. She'd never sung in front of anypony before and now she could feel her stage fright start to set in again. She wanted to run, but she somehow couldn't make her hooves move.

Suddenly, she felt a hoof on her shoulder and she looked back to see Izzy with her hoof on Misty's shoulder, smiling softly at her, Zipp doing the same beside Izzy. Misty looked around to see looks of pride on all of her friends' faces. She smiled softly, feeling her racing and pounding heart calm. All of her friends were so proud of Misty. She had come such a long way and had grown so much from the pony Izzy first met in the town square of Maretime Bay the day she invited Misty to a traditional unicorn sleepover. And the pony she's become was so beautiful.

Suddenly, an alicorn, a light blue alicorn with a blue and white mane stepped up, looking shy, but also not backing down. She looked at Misty with an expression full of kindness and empathy.

"You're right, blue unicorn. Everypony makes mistakes. But as long as we stay ourselves and the magic in our hearts stays true, we all deserve a second chance when we make mistakes. Including you. I will stand for you."

Misty's eyes widened, along with the other five ponies. Izzy gasped dramatically beside Misty, putting a hoof to her mouth.

Misty just stared wide-eyed at the blue alicorn. "R-really?" She asked, unable to believe it.

When the blue alicorn simply smiled and nodded, Pipp squealed. "Oh, my hoofness! Neigh way!" She exclaimed, happiness filling her.

"Do you know what this means, Misty!" Hitch cheered with a wide smile of his own. "You have three alicorns to vouch for you! You're gonna be okay!"

"I…I can't believe it…" Misty muttered, her eyes still wide.

"I can escort the alicorn to the castle and we can have the trial as soon as tomorrow," Winter whispered to Sunny. "You said you had another alicorn at your disposal? We can send guards to wherever she is and bring her back."

"Yes. Of…of course! Thank you, Winter! Um…Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire. I can give you more if–"

"I think we can find her," Winter said with a small smile on his face.

Sunny squealed and hugged Winter before joining her friends in their cheering and celebrating, relief falling over the whole group. Except for two. Misty wanted to be as happy as her friends, but for some reason, she couldn't. There was still something teasing the edge of her mind, making her stomach sick with dread.

She looked over at Zipp to see her a little on guard too. She could see that Zipp wasn't celebrating as much as the others were like something was holding her back as well.

Misty prayed she was wrong, but she had the feeling this was only the beginning…

Author's Note

Alright…another chapter done.

Sorry this took so long. As I said in my blog post, there's something else that currently requires my focus and will probably take up 75% of my writing time soon, so updating might be a bit slower.

I'm so happy with this chapter. I've enjoyed writing Misty and her character growth throughout the series and I feel like this story has really shown the progress she's made and how much she's blossomed. I knew I wanted her to sing the "The Magic Inside" since the Magic In Us story, but I just didn't know when it would be a good time. But I feel like putting it here was perfect.

Also, as for who Winter is based off of, I used another one of his Disney character's scenes. Hint: if you can figure out the song Winter and Sunny danced to, you'll figure out the character he's based off of.

Well, see you in the next chapter!

Hakuna Matata