Warning:

The following contains content some viewers may find disturbing.

Viewer discretion is advised.

"Alright…we should get to bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Sunny said with a small smile.

After spending the rest of the day celebrating in the town square, they finally made it back to the castle and were standing in the grand hall. There weren't any guards with them, nor was Winter. He said he had to go so he could send guards to retrieve Flurry Heart and tell his father about tomorrow's trial. He said that as long as they head straight for their room, they should be fine.

"Finally. We're gonna go home. I never want to go on another adventure for as long as I live." Pipp added.

"Oh, birdie, it's not that bad." Hitch comforted, putting a hoof around Pipp. When Pipp gave him a look, he quickly backtracked. "Okay, so maybe I'm more than happy and relieved that we're going home. I mean, can you blame me? Do you know how close we've come to dying on so many occasions?"

"Look alive, ponies," Zipp reminded. "It's not over yet. We still have to make it through tomorrow first. It's entirely possible that something could go wrong at the last minute. Something always does."

Izzy was next to Zipp in an instant. "Oh, Zipp. You're being jinxie. Skotos sent guards to the Crystal Empire to get Flurry Heart, we have an alicorn that'll back Misty and we have Sunny."

"Izzy's right, Zipp." Hitch agreed. "I doubt King Skotos wants us here longer than necessary."

"Though, maybe his son wants a certain alicorn to stay a little longer, huh? Huh?" Pipp said with a small smile, playfully nudging Sunny with her elbow, making Sunny blush.

"But…" Zipp started but stopped at Hitch's stern look.

"Zipp, Sunny's right. We should really get some rest. Even if something were to go wrong, we'll be better prepared if we got some rest first."

Zipp sighed, looking away from her friends. That was when she noticed Misty hadn't said a word. She had a look of unease on her face like something was making her nervous, or, dare Zipp say, scared even.

"Alright," Sunny said with a yawn. "Off to bed." Pipp, Hitch, Izzy, and Sunny all began to walk to their rooms when Sunny noticed Misty didn't move. "Misty?"

Misty looked up, seeming startled. "W-what?" Misty asked.

"We're all going to bed. You comin'?" Izzy asked, watching Misty with a worried expression.

"Umm…yeah…I'll…I'll be right there…I just…need a moment." Misty muttered, hoping not to worry her friends too much.

"Are…are you sure that's a good idea? Winter did say he wanted us to go straight to our rooms…"

Zipp waved a hoof. "I'll stay with her. We'll make up some excuse or other if we run into any trouble."

Sunny nodded, still looking a little uneasy, but she let it go. "Um…alright…I'll just uh…wait up for you. Just to uh…make sure you're okay. 'Night."

Sunny walked away and the two mares sat in silence for a bit. Truth was, Zipp wanted to grill…er…gently ask Misty what was wrong. However, Zipp always did tend to get out of hoof when it came to her questions.

Zipp sighed, glancing around before asking, "You feel it too, huh?"

Misty's eyes widened, but she tried to play it off. She didn't want to worry her friends. "F-feel w-what?"

"That something isn't right. That something isn't adding up. We just…don't know what it is yet." Misty was silent, not wanting to lie to Zipp, but also not wanting to worry her more. "It's okay, Misty. You can tell me."

Misty was silent for another moment or two, biting her lower lip before diving into it…

🎵I didn't want to be a burden,
But I get the feeling we are all just pawns.
Something else is just pulling at our strings,
And I get the sense that it's not something friendly.🎵

Misty stood up, her stomach a ball of dread, and began walking in the direction of their room, but soon turned left when she should've gone straight. There was something she needed to do, somewhere she needed to go, but she couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this. Zipp hesitated before slowly following behind.

Misty continued to sing…

🎵Like a bug, my skin is crawling.
I get the feeling something's wrong.
There's more to this than we are seeing.
But way down deep inside I hope I'm wrong.🎵

Zipp clenched her jaw as she slowly followed Misty through the maze of passageways and up flights of stairs. She knew exactly how Misty felt. She's been having the same feeling. It's why she wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

🎵As the Element of Courage,
I should be immune to chills and petty frights.
But my detective instincts have been tingling like crazy.
Skotos Malum is not all he appears to be.

Like a bug, my skin is crawling.
I get the feeling something's wrong.
There's more to this than we are seeing.
But way down deep inside I hope I'm wrong.🎵

Suddenly, Misty gasped as she saw a flash of purple down the hall, turning right at the end of it, the same flash she saw in the restricted section, but this time, the figure of a pony was more apparent. "D-did you see that?" She asked Zipp, pointing down the hall.

"See what?" Zipp asked, glancing around nervously.

"I thought I saw…" she trailed off as she heard the voice again. The same voice that she heard right before she fell asleep the night before. It even said the same thing. Help me.

"You thought you saw what?" Zipp asked when it was clear Misty wasn't going to continue. "Misty?"

Misty swallowed, before continuing down the hall, turning in the same direction of the purple flash.

🎵Never before in my wildest dreaming,
Have I felt so strong that things aren't right…🎵

Zipp couldn't help but agree…

🎵Like somepony out there has been deceiving,
And lying to the Guardians that unite 🎵

Finally, they reached another set of stairs that seemed to reach up into one the of towers. Misty swallowed as she looked up at it.

Misty took a deep breath. "Something wants me to go up there."

Zipp was silent for a moment. "You sure it's not that puppet master you spoke of earlier?"

Misty clenched her jaw. She couldn't answer that. So, instead, she walked down the dark hallway, Zipp following reluctantly. As they walked down it, they began to sing their chorus together, coming to a door and stopping just before it.

🎵Like a bug our skins are crawling.
We get the feeling something's wrong.
There's more to this than we are seeing.
But way down deep inside, we hope we're wrong.🎵

As they reached the end of their song and walked through the door at the top of the tower, which opened to a balcony, they saw a shadowy figure standing on the balcony railing, before it just walked off into the empty air and the next thing they could remember was screaming.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Zipp muttered, her voice trembling.

"Hey, babe?" Hitch said as the four of them walked down the hall to their room. Hitch glanced behind himself to see Sunny lingering behind everypony, her head hanging. Hitch wanted to talk to her, wanted to see what was wrong. And, to be honest, he wanted to check in with her after what happened this morning. "I need to go talk to Sunny real quick."

Pipp smiled before kissing Hitch on the cheek. "Go ahead. Make sure she's okay."

Hitch smiled down at Pipp before slowing to a stop, waiting for Sunny to catch up with him, while Pipp, Izzy, and the Pippsqueaks continued walking, Sparky on Pipp's back. Sunny walked right past him, seeming lost in her own world. Hitch walked beside her, looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"Sunny? Is everything okay?" He asked.

Sunny seemed startled for a moment, looking up at him, before sighing heavily. That was…a complicated question. But, then again, wasn't it always?

"I'll…I'll be fine…" Sunny muttered, looking straight ahead.

"This doesn't have anything to do with what happened this morning, does it? When Zipp and I corrected you about our differing lifespans?" When Sunny looked up at him with surprise, Hitch just chuckled. "Sunny, we grew up together. I know when something's bothering you, and, most of the time, I can figure out what. What's wrong? Do you not want to live forever?" As Hitch said this, he added a tone of mock awe to his voice.

"No. Not if it means I have to spend it alone. Without all of you. Without my dad." Sunny paused before continuing. "Hitch, a long time ago, you told me you were the only real friend I had left in Maretime Bay."

"Sunny, I said a lot of things…a lot of things I didn't mean and a lot of things I was wrong about–"

"I know, but…you were right about that. Before Izzy came to Maretime Bay, you were the only friend I had. I…I remember when it was like that. When I only had you. It was…it was hard. But…one day…I'm gonna go back to being like that." Sunny chuckled bitterly. "It's ironic really. I spent all that time as a filly trying to make friends with other kinds when in the end, I'll end up just like I did as a filly. No matter how many friends I make."

Hitch could feel his heart cracking hearing Sunny say those things. This wasn't like her. She made friends wherever she went. She…she worked so hard to accomplish her dreams. Was she really gonna let something like immortality tear her dreams down? And what made it worse was that…Hitch knew exactly where Sunny was coming from. If he had to live his life always outliving his friends, he didn't know how many times he could say goodbye before he stopped saying hello altogether.

But Sunny wasn't Hitch. She was the embodiment of hope. She just didn't give up because she didn't want to say goodbye.

Suddenly, Sunny stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide and a quiet gasp escaping her lips. "Sunny?" Hitch asked, confused.

He looked up to see a white alicorn standing beside the door to their room, playing a lyre. Hitch couldn't decide if it was to impress anypony, or if it was just to pass the time. Hitch looked back at Sunny to see a small blush on her cheeks.

"Sunny?" Hitch asked again, leaning into her. "You good?"

Sunny's eyes widened briefly before she cleared her throat. "Y-yeah, I-I'm fine. Just…wasn't expecting to see Winter here, that's…that's all."

"Hey, I know you and Winter have been getting along today and all but… just be careful with him, alright? He's the king's son."

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

"Nothing. Just that…only a fool would trust the king. We still don't know what happened to Opaline in the time between when her sisters left Skyros and Opaline was banished. Alright? We just…need to be careful until we can get out of here, you know?"

Sunny sighed, nodding. Hitch, of course, was right. They were all walking on eggshells until they could successfully clear Misty's name. They had to be on guard and watch where they stepped.

Sunny took a deep breath before walking up to Winter. When Winter saw her, he quickly stood up, a small smile on his face. But it wasn't that arrogant smile Sunny was so used to seeing. This one seemed genuine. But there was a sad edge to it. A sorrowful gleam in his eye. One Winter seemed to try so hard to hide.

When Sunny and Hitch approached Winter, Hitch quickly excused himself, walking into the room to join his friends and his wife. When he told them Winter was waiting for Sunny, they all quickly put their ear to the door in a desperate attempt to overhear the two alicorns.

"Hey," Sunny said, obviously a little shy, looking up at Winter before looking away. "I…I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, I did everything rather quickly. Quicker than I intended. I have all this empty time before I go to bed now and I have no idea what to do with it. And then I remembered," Winter leaned in a little closer to Sunny. "I promised you a tour."

"Oh, well, umm…I…uh…" Sunny stammered, swallowing.

Her heart was racing and pounding so hard, she thought it would beat right out of her chest. She didn't understand why she was having this reaction. Sure, they had a great day today. And sure, she'd consider Winter her friend, despite not knowing him for long. But, then again, she knew Izzy for not nearly as long as she knew Winter when she considered Izzy her friend. But…this? She had no idea where this was coming from. Especially considering how yesterday, she couldn't stand his flank.

"Cat's got your tongue?" Winter asked with his usual sly and arrogant smile, though this one lacked his usual finesse.

"I…well…I was trying to say it's okay. Plans change. I still had a lot of fun with you." Sunny sighed when she was done, relieved to finally get that out of the way.

"Well…I wish to have more fun, Princess." Winter said, holding out his hoof. "There is something I'd like to show you. If you'll let me…"

Sunny hesitated, staring at Winter's hoof. Winter stayed completely silent, letting Sunny make this decision without any sway. Sunny bit her lip, weighing the pros and cons before finally taking his hoof. What was the worst that could happen anyway?

As they walked away, Sunny made sure to say, "And I'm not a princess."

"No. But you ought to be." Winter muttered, a charming smile on his face, but it looked a little strained like there was more to that statement than just the words suggested.

The two of them walked down a maze of hallways and stairs before coming to a stop in front of a beautiful tapestry. A tapestry Sunny has seen before. Back in Opaline's lair. She gasped, staring up at it. Even though she'd seen it before, it was still something beautiful.

"I've…I've seen this tapestry before…" Sunny muttered looking up.

"You have?" Winter asked, a tad surprised. "Well, do you know the story woven into it?" Sunny shook her head, not taking her eyes off of it. Winter stepped up to Sunny, as he began to explain. "Well, this tapestry is about the first alicorns. We alicorns believe we're descended from the gods and goddesses of the four elements. The mountains represent earth alicorns. The clouds represent air alicorns. And the water represents water alicorns." Winter paused, allowing Sunny time to soak it in before continuing. "Some say it's a prophecy. That one day, a savior, one that thinks themselves no better than the rest, that's why they're not spotlighted, will come and save Skyros."

"Where's fire?" Sunny asked, confused. "You mentioned earth, water, and air, but what about fire?"

Winter had a small smile on his face. "That's where the prophecy part comes into play. Originally, we assumed it was just prejudice. Way back when…when this tapestry was created, alicorns were separated by element. One element didn't like the others. But…it never really sat right with historians because the other elements are equally represented. It wasn't until the fire alicorns went extinct that we started to believe it was a prophecy."

Sunny studied the tapestry, something she wasn't able to do too much at Opaline's castle. That was when she noticed something odd. "Winter, look. That…that alicorn looks a little like me." Sunny observed, pointing a hoof at an orange alicorn mare with a magenta and purple mane.

Winter seemed to squint at the alicorn Sunny was pointing at. "It does, doesn't it." Winter shrugged. "It's probably just a coincidence. This is all alicorn lore, mind you. I just figured you'd appreciate learning a little more about alicorn culture."

Sunny smiled softly, looking at Winter. "I do. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure, Princess." Winter bowed his head.

Sunny smiled as she realized this was the first time Winter called her Princess, and it didn't grate on her nerves. They were about to walk away, Winter looking surprisingly relieved when Sunny's cutie mark began to glow. Then, the tapestry itself also began to glow and the alicorns on it began to move, and the stars combined into an image of a golden six-pointed star with all the alicorns surrounding it. Just like it did at Opaline's dark castle.

"Whoa. Winter, look!" Sunny exclaimed. "It did this before too. When I saw it at Opaline's dark castle. The Starscout crest!" She turned to Winter. "Do you know why it–" Sunny stopped when she saw the look on Winter's face. His face was turned away, a look of sorrow and regret on it. "Winter? Are…are you okay?"

Winter opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He wanted to tell Sunny everything. This mare, this one-of-a-kind mare, made him feel things nopony else has made him feel. And only after two days of knowing each other, not counting the first day. He didn't want to see her get hurt. But…could he really turn on him after everything? Could he really make thousands of years of work all for nothing? Plus, going against him could make everything worse.

Winter didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. As he was grappling with what to say, an alarm overhead began blaring. They heard shouting and somepony saying it was in the courtyard.

"Sunny…maybe…maybe you should go back to your room," Winter muttered, looking away from Sunny.

"What? Why? Do you know what happened?" Sunny asked, confused.

"I…it just can't be anything good, that's all." Was all Winter said.

"Not good? You're going to have to do better than that cause, trust me, I've seen my fair share of not good." Sunny argued. "I'm coming with."

"Even if I say no, you're just gonna follow me anyway, aren't you?" When Sunny hesitated, not sure how to answer that, Winter just shook his head. "Whatever. Let's go."

Zipp and Misty stared at the balcony in utter shock. Without thinking, Zipp ran to the edge of the balcony, her eyes wide, only to stumble back from what she saw. Blood. There was so much blood. Zipp could barely see the body against the backdrop of dark red.

Zipp's breath grew heavy as the air around them suddenly grew smaller, more suffocating. Zipp grew dizzy as her mind grew hazy and her vision began to blur. That did not just happen. That did not just happen. That alicorn did not just…

Zipp heard voices that snapped her out of her internal panic. "You four! Check the tower! You three, stay with the deceased while I get a medic! The rest of you, secure the perimeter! If this is a murder, the murderer is not getting away!"

Shit. Zipp stood up on shaky hooves, stumbling towards Misty, her whole body shaking like the vibration mode on her phone. Zipp paused when she saw Misty's stare. It was blank and emotionless. It would almost look like Misty was focusing on something far, far away if her gaze was actually focused. Her gaze was completely blank.

Zipp approached Misty, the urgency of the situation not lost on her. Misty's eyes didn't even move. It was like Misty didn't even notice Zipp existed. "Misty. Misty, look at me."

But Misty just kept her glassy gaze where the alicorn stood on the railing just moments ago. Misty didn't even twitch. Her gaze remained unfocused, as though completely unaware of anything around her. As though Misty just went bye-bye and left this shell of a body behind.

"Misty. Misty, come on. No, no, no, no. After everything we've been through. now you go into shock?" Zipp asked in an exasperated tone, but of course, Zipp got no response. Not even an eye blink or a glance in her direction. "Misty. Come on. We need to get out of here. Now. If we're caught up here, none of us are going home. Not Sunny, not Hitch, not Izzy or Pipp. Not you or me. Nopony. They're going to arrest us on the spot if they don't kill us first. Misty, I need you to teleport us out of here. Please."

But Misty just continued to stare straight ahead.

Ears ringing. Heart racing. Heart pounding. Mouth dry. Stomach twisting. Body shaking. Then…a voice. A quiet voice, but it was there. Another voice was heard. Urging Misty to do something. Misty couldn't understand it. It was like…the voice was trying to speak to her through glass. But the other voice…Misty could hear it clearly as it echoed through her mind.

"Misty…Misty…Misty…"

"Misty! Can you hear me? We need to leave now. You need to teleport us out of here."

"Misty…Misty…You're in danger…danger…danger…"

"Misty, look at me. Come on snap out of it. Dammit Misty, look at me!"

"Misty…Misty…You need to go…go…Equestria is in danger…danger…"

"Misty, we have to go. Now! Misty! We're running out of time. Snap out of it! Please!"

"Misty…Misty…You must stop him…stop him before it's too late…late…late…"

Suddenly, Misty felt something stir. Something deep inside her. Suddenly, her horn lit a bright coral, and Zipp smiled, her insides sagging with relief. Suddenly, the two mares appeared in the chambers of the castle in a flash of coral, where their friends were getting ready for bed.

"About time. We were getting worried something ha–" Pipp started, but stopped when she saw the looks on her sisters' faces. "What the hell happened to you two?!"

Suddenly, an alarm sounded, worrying the ponies further. "Zipp. What did you do?!"

"Why do you think I did something?" Zipp asked, clearly offended.

"Um…guys…" Izzy started before Pipp could answer. "Something's wrong with Misty. She's not moving. She won't even look at me."

"Here, let me look at her," Hitch said as he sat in front of Misty, looking into her eyes and gauging her reaction time.

Zipp twisted her lips. "Since when are you a medical expert?"

Pipp rolled her eyes, answering for Hitch so he could concentrate on Misty. "Ugh. Don't you know anything? As sheriff, he needs to be prepared for any situation a pony may need help in. Including medical knowledge that goes beyond basic first aid. At least enough to keep a victim alive until medics can get there."

"Shell shock…" Hitch muttered after a moment. He turned to Zipp. "How long has she been like this?"

"I…I don't know. A…a few minutes, I-I think." Zipp stammered.

Hitch nodded before standing up and putting a hoof around Misty's neck. "Misty, can you hear me? You're alright, okay? Everything will be okay. It's over." He slowly guided Misty to her bed, before she fainted, leaning against him for support. "Whoa." He muttered, stumbling back a bit, trying to support his own weight plus Misty's. "Hey, Iz. A little help?"

Izzy nodded and hurried over, using her magic to help pick up Misty. Once Misty was comfortably settled, Hitch turned to Zipp. "Now. I need some explanations."

Zipp nodded, still seeming a bit out of it. "I uh…yeah…um…n-not here though…" she stammered, looking at Izzy and Misty. Izzy stayed by Misty's side, refusing to move from it.

Hitch and Pipp nodded before they both entered one of the bathrooms. As soon as the door was closed, Zipp broke down. "I knew this would happen! I knew it! But did you guys listen? No! You all called me crazy! Now look! We're in deep fucking shit! Fuck!" Zipp was hyperventilating now at this point. She raised her hoof, punching the wall.

Pipp and Hitch looked at each other, each seeing the fear clearly in the other's eyes. They've never seen Zipp act like this before. They knew not much scared the element bearer of courage, but right now, they could tell Zipp was terrified to the bone.

"Zipp. Please. Just try to calm down and explain what happened." Hitch said calmly, approaching Zipp with a raised hoof like one would approach a wounded animal.

"Calm down? Calm DOWN?! YOU CALM THE FUCK DOWN AFTER SEEING THAT SHIT!" Zipp snapped, glaring at Hitch with fire in her eyes.

Hitch backed up, clearly not stupid enough to provoke Zipp when she was like this. As for his wife though…she slowly walked up to her sister, an open and terrified look on her face. Hitch tried to stop her, but when she looked back at him, she had a look that said: "Trust me". Hitch swallowed, backing up a bit, and nodding.

Pipp tentatively walked up to Zipp, holding her breath. "Sis…just…take some deep breaths…"

Zipp turned to face her sister, getting in her face. "Deep breaths?! Take your deep breaths, and SHOVE THEM UP YOUR ASS!"

Hitch was between Zipp and Pipp in an instant, glaring daggers at Zipp and standing protectively in front of Pipp, who had flinched back and was now hiding behind Hitch. This was…Zipp had never yelled at her like that before. Ever. What happened?

"Zephyrina Storm!" Hitch yelled. Yelling at him was one thing. Yelling at her sister was one thing. Getting in his wife's face and yelling like that, scaring her to death was a whole nother. Hitch never used Zipp's full name before, and it stunned her for a minute. "You need to calm the fuck down! I know you've seen…something…but whatever it is, it doesn't warrant this kind of behavior! This isn't you!"

"Oh yeah? Then you go and watch a pony KILL THEMSELVES and see how you react, Mr. Perfect!"

The room was silent following Zipp's words, the two ponies staring at her with wide eyes. Did they…did they just hear her right? Did she just say…Pipp blinked, stumbling back with wide eyes. Hitch just stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"Did you just say…" Hitch trailed off, unable to say it himself.

"And that's not even the worst part…" Zipp said softly, suddenly calming down, scaring the two ponies even more.

Misty's eyes snapped open to find herself standing in front of the Crystal Brighthouse. How…how did she get here? The last thing Misty could remember was celebrating in the town square. Everything after that was completely blank. Misty looked around, hoping to find some kind of answer, but found that she and the Brighthouse were on a floating island in a sea of light blue with white dots, and an ethereal feeling to the entire atmosphere, only raising more questions.

Misty swallowed nervously before walking up to the door and opening it slowly. "H-hello?" She asked, looking around, wondering if she was alone. The entire Brighthouse was eerily quiet, except for the ticking of a single clock, giving the whole place a doctor's or some other kind of office feel.

As Misty looked around, she realized this place was different than she remembered. There were more…movies than she remembered being in the Brighthouse. More books. More shelves. She approached one of the shelves, reading the titles on some of the DVDs. Stealing Sparky…Getting My Cutie Mark…Zippercoaster…Finding My Dad…Finding Rainbows…My Cutie Blossom Bash…Swirlpool Starlight…

"They're memories," a familiar voice said behind her.

Misty gasped and turned around, her eyes wide with panic. A panic that seemed to somehow ease a bit seeing the alicorn behind her. Which was odd, because Misty didn't recognize this alicorn. She had a violet coat with a dark sapphire blue mane with moderate purple and raspberry-colored streaks. She wasn't all that much taller than Misty, despite being an alicorn. In fact, she was shorter than Opaline.

This alicorn looked familiar, but she didn't know why. Just as she thought this, the TV turned itself on, and playing on it was a scene Misty recognized.

Suddenly, a pink light caught the corner of Zipp's eyes. She looked up and gasped, getting the others' attention. They all looked up to see an astral purple alicorn with a deep purple mane with pink striped highlights, who sparkled like she was made of a million tiny diamonds. The alicorn was just a couple of inches taller than them, the height difference barely noticeable.

They all recognized the purple alicorn, she was only the entire reason they were even united in the first place and the reason Opaline couldn't get ahold of the Unity Crystals all those years ago, but there was something off about her. It was just the fine details that didn't sit quite right with them, though they didn't know why. The intervals of when she blinked were a little too far apart. Her pupils were a little too shrunken. Her stare a little too blank. Her body a little too stiff.

Misty gasped. She remembered that moment. It was after they all passed their Elemental tests, but the portal back was already gone. That was when the Spirit of Harmony appeared in the form of Princess Twilight. But, this Twilight looked different. Less like a projection and more like a…real being?

As Misty thought this, the astral Twilight popped up next to her like she was being blasted on a projection screen, as though it was for Misty to compare. Misty flinched, backing up as the astral Twilight disappeared. Okay, this was getting weird.

Suddenly, Misty heard the sound of…scratching? Misty looked around to see a podium in the corner where two bookshelves meet, an open book floating above it, a quill scratching notes inside it. Misty narrowed her eyes at it.

"You're thoughts…" The purple alicorn said. "That's what it's writing down. Every thought you think is written down."

Misty turned to the purple alicorn, thoroughly confused.

She just smiled. "The DVD cases, or, so you call them, are your memories. Each movie is a memory of the day." She pointed to a bookshelf closest to the door, which was currently being filled with cases, but there were some gaps. "Those are today's memories. The gaps are suppressed memories. The rest of them in this room are memories you remember most. The rest are in long term."

"W-where am I? Who are you? What happened? What's going on?" Misty asked, feeling her panic grow. She squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out the chaos that grew with her panic. As her panic grew, the scratching of the quill increased. Flashes of memories tried to worm themselves into her brain, but she tried her best to block them out.

Suddenly, Misty heard something. Something familiar.

"Say cheese!"

"And then to the left. And to the left. And pah pah pah. You got it, Misty!"

Misty turned to see the TV on again, playing another memory. But this time, it was of the projector video Misty's friends put together for her of all their fun times together. Tears filled her eyes as she watched it, feeling herself calm down.

"What? What? Is there something on my face?"

"Hey, Misty!"

Other voices played all around her, voices that weren't from the video, but still happy all the same. Ones that still made her smile.

"You didn't think we'd let you face your fears alone, did you?"

"Misty, you're the goodest pony I know…"

"The Crystal Brighthouse is exactly where you're meant to be. It's your special place!"

"The deeds of your past, are nothing compared to the wonders of your future!"

Misty wiped away tears, the storm inside her completely calm. She smiled softly to herself, putting a hoof to her chest, but just before she closed her eyes, she saw the charm bracelet Izzy made for her. Suddenly, Misty could hear Izzy's voice.

"When you see Misty, do you think you could give her this charm bracelet I made for her? It has the cutie marks of her new friends on it."

"My friends always helped me when I started…twilighting…I figured your friends could help you too."

Misty turned around to see Twilight standing by the TV, a DVD case in her magic, a small smile on her face. "You're…you're the real Twilight…aren't you?" Twilight simply nodded. "And…you're the voice I've been hearing, too?" Again, Twilight nodded, her face growing grim. "How…how is that…why do you need my help?"

"It's a long story. But before you can help anypony… there's something you need to do."

Sunny and Winter crept up to the courtyard, hiding behind bushes. The courtyard was crowded, and the two of them could barely see a thing. Alicorns were shouting, others were murmuring, and guards were trying to hold the physically reactive ones back. None of them could be understood.

Suddenly, a male alicorn came sprinting into the courtyard, a panicked expression on his face. "Jonech! Jonech!" A group of guards stopped him from running past the line of fearful alicorns, but he kept shouting, trying to get past them. "Ger jonech! Ger jonech! Ol dem jonech!"

Sunny didn't recognize the language at all. She turned to Winter, who looked pale. He swallowed before translating. "My…my wife. My wife." His voice tremored and he swallowed again before translating. "That's my wife. That's my wife. What happened to my wife?"

Sunny softly closed her eyes, tears filling them. But she had to know. Something told her she had to know. She could now hear the stallion yelling at the top of his lungs. A cry to the heavens Sunny recognized all too well. "Rán! Vo! Hg ñerol Rán!"

Sunny didn't need Winter to translate for her to know the gist of what he was saying, but he translated anyway. "Rán. No! My beautiful Rán."

"Lo su remers es merl?!"

"Why are the gods so cruel?"

"Der fi meko! Der fi meko! Ler hg Rán!"

"Take me instead. Take me instead. Not my Rán."

"Stop," Sunny whispered, unable to hear anymore. "Please. Just…stop."

The stallion collapsed on the ground and continued to sob, yelling out more words Sunny couldn't understand, but Winter did as Sunny asked, and stopped. Honestly, he seemed all too happy to stop. Sunny looked away, taking a deep breath, before moving out of the bush, and making her way around the crowd, trying to find a space so she could see. She needed to see. She didn't know why, but she just needed to.

Winter tried to stop her, but Sunny didn't listen. She continued to circle the crowd until she found a gap. When she saw the dead alicorn, she gasped, putting a hoof to her mouth, and stumbling back. Tears filled her eyes as she tried to swallow the lump that tried to escape her throat. All her hopes dashed away, just like that. All their hard work, all for naught. It was all over. It took them three days to find one. And they only had two left.

Sunny collapsed on the ground, her breath heavy, tears spilling from her eyes. That alicorn was their last hope. And now she was just…gone. Even if there was another alicorn that'd vouch for Misty…they wouldn't now. Alicorns apparently were as superstitious as unicorns. The death of an alicorn who volunteered to vouch for a mortal? Sunny wouldn't be able to blame them.

The culmination of this on top of her struggle with her immortality, weight the past three nights, just after they got back from an emotional trip to the Crystal Empire was too much and Sunny broke. She began sobbing helplessly in her hooves, finally letting weeks of hardships out.

Winter sat down by Sunny's side. He put a hoof on her back, patting her awkwardly. He's never had to comfort a pony. Especially one he hurt. He may not have done the deed, but it was just as much his fault as it was–

Winter's thoughts stopped when he felt a head push against his chest. He looked down to see Sunny, burying her head into him, sobbing into his chest. Hesitantly, he wrapped his hooves around her, putting his face in her mane. He held her like that, his own eyes tearing up.

But as Sunny cried into him, his resolve grew. He needed to fix this. He had to. He just…didn't know how.

"What is this place?" Misty asked, confused. "And what do you need me to do?"

"We're in your mind right now. But that's not important. Equestria is in danger. And so is Skyros. Only the Guardians of Unity can save both kingdoms."

"In danger of what? And…and how? What…what do I do?" Misty asked, her panic building.

"You need to set me free. But to do that, you need to know the truth. As you just experienced, memories have power. I've shown you all I can of Opaline's story, but there's still so much you don't know."

Tears filled Misty's eyes. Tears of frustration. She wanted to understand. She wanted to know. Princess Twilight came to her and told her important information, and already she was messing up by not understanding.

"But…how do I know? How do I understand?" She asked desperately.

"By this," Twilight said, holding up a small golden key, the handle of it in the shape of a butterfly. "Find the door this key goes to, and once you do, you'll know what to do."

Misty sighed wearily, as the key appeared on a chain around her neck.

Twilight smiled wryly. "I know. Another door hunt. But…I don't know where this door is or what it looks like. I only know what's on the other side. As do you."

Misty had a million and one questions, but as her mind began to race, the Brighthouse around them began to shake. "What's happening?!" Misty asked, her mind panicking again.

"You're waking up. We've run out of time. One more thing Misty Brightdawn, listen closely and do not forget: this is a game of chess. Each move must be strategized and carefully planned out. Every outcome must be considered before a move is made. There is still one piece that has yet to choose black or white. Once he makes his move though, it will change the tide of the game. You must be ready for him to choose against you. But if he chooses you, it will not be without mistakes. You must defend him. Not let the others cast him out. For you may win a battle against him, but you will not win a battle without him."

Misty's eyes widened at the last sentence, her mind an utter mess, literally and figuratively. The shaking increased, but Misty still had so many questions. She couldn't wake up now.

"B-but what does that mean?! Who is it?! How…how will we know?! What do I do once I learn the truth about Opaline's past?!"

"Trust yourself, Misty Brightdawn. I do. And trust your friends. You are in for the fight of your lives and you will need them more than you know. Do not despair, for I am with you."

And just like that, everything went black before Misty snapped her eyes open with a huge gasp, as though she had been deprived of air, her mind full of questions and few answers.

Author's Note

Ok…that was the darkest chapter I have ever written and will probably be the darkest I will ever write. I did not intend for it to get so damn dark. Makes me question my own sanity

Also, the song I used was Suspicions by Magpiepony

Alright, I know you have a lot of questions and…I have a lot of answers…none of which I will share with you. You will just have to wait mwahaha!

https://m.

(Don't forget to hit up the group Heroism, Family, and Friendship for sneak peeks and other inside/behind the scenes content!)