Sunny burst through the door to their bed-chambers, her breath heavy. "Guys! Something horrible just happened! Something really, really–" Sunny paused when she saw the state of the room.

Misty was lying on her side on her bed, out cold. Izzy was sitting next to her, a worried expression on her face. The Pippsqueaks were huddled on the bed they shared. And Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp were nowhere to be found. What had she missed?

"What…what happened?" Sunny asked her shock and confusion, as well as fear and grief palpable.

Izzy looked at her with eyes that were a storm of emotions. "Something horrible." She said simply.

Izzy was an empath, though she was a different one from Misty, who was an emotional empath. Izzy has always been able to see another pony's sparkle, claiming her to be claircognizant, also known as an intuitive empath. When she was a foal, it was very hard for her to control it, to not be overwhelmed by all the colors that surrounded everypony she knew. But, there were a few other empaths that helped her get through it, specifically Elderflower. She was known as a medium or psychic empath. When she was a filly, she had struggled with the voices of ponies past. She was able to teach Izzy how to build a shield around herself, so now, she'd only see a pony's sparkle when she wanted to. She can turn it on and off like a remote. After that, the colors of different ponies became beautiful and were much of the inspiration she'd use for her creativity.

After Elderflower helped her, Izzy vowed she'd help other empaths any way she could. She learned how to hide her emotions from other empaths, using a blanket of pure joy, so when an empath saw her sparkle or felt her emotions, they'd feel nothing but pure happiness. That way, they wouldn't get bombarded with bad emotions if they interacted with her. The empaths would be able to tell it was a farce, but it didn't matter. As long as it helped them.

But right now, Izzy was feeling so many emotions, so much grief and fear from what she overheard, there was no way she could control them. She never imagined in her life that she'd end up here. Mourning for an alicorn she didn't know, but was the only hope she had to save her first unicorn friend in Maretime Bay. It was a miracle she wasn't crying her eyes out yet. But she had to be strong for the Pippsqueaks. They were scared out of their minds right now. And she had to keep watch over Misty. She could at least do that much, even if there wasn't much else she could do.

"What…what's wrong with Misty?" Sunny gasped. "She's…she's not hurt…is she?"

Izzy shook her head. "No. She just fainted. Hitch said it's shell shock."

Sunny had so many questions. Sunny knew a little about shell shock from Hitch. Ponies got it when they experienced a very traumatic event. It made Sunny wonder what it was she experienced. And then a thought hit her. Did...did Misty see...what happened?

Sunny swallowed nervously as she asked a different question that came to mind. "Uh...where are Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp anyway?"

Suddenly, Sunny heard yelling coming from one of the bathrooms. It sounded like...Zipp? "I say we go now! Take Misty and leave!"

"Have you lost your mind?!" A voice that sounded like Hitch's yelled.

"Have you lost yours?! You really think what happened was some tragic accident?! Skotos had something to do with it, I know it?!"

"What proof do you have Zipp?! You can't just barge into the throne room and accuse the king of killing his own subject?! And that's if you're even right!" Sunny heard Pipp's voice yell, confirming Sunny's theory.

Sunny swallowed nervously. She had a feeling she knew what they were talking about, and from the look on Izzy's face, it's been going on for quite a while.

"How long?" Sunny asked.

"About an hour. Somepony needs to go in there and diffuse them I know but…to be honest…I'm a little scared to. Plus, Hitch wanted me to tell him the moment Misty wakes up and I need to watch the Pippsqueaks and Sparky. It's not much, but it's something."

Sunny sighed, steeling herself before walking towards the door. She grabbed the handle of the door with her magic and opened it, stepping inside the bathroom before closing the door behind her. The three ponies didn't even notice her presence, let alone acknowledge it.

"I'm just saying, you don't think things through! You never have! You've always just jumped to conclusions instead of stopping for a moment and thinking things through!" Hitch yelled.

"Guys," Sunny said calmly, though even she had to admit it was a bit quiet.

"Oh yeah? Give me one example," Zipp challenged.

"Guys!" Sunny said a little louder, though it still wasn't loud enough.

Oh, I don't know. Maybe my concert when you got Mom arrested! Or when you cornered Misty at Mane Melody! Or when your damn sunglasses went missing! Or do you want more recent examples? Like when you broke into the restricted section? Or when you started wandering the castle when King Skotos specifically told you not to?" Pipp countered, clearly at the end of her wits.

"And why do you think that is?! Because he's clearly hiding something!" Zipp yelled back.

"Oh yes. That must be it," Pipp said sarcastically. "Never mind that we're foreigners he doesn't trust. It must be because he's hiding something. After all, that's the only possible reason he doesn't want us wondering about his home that could hold the secret to bringing down his kingdom. Yep."

"GUYS!" Sunny yelled at the top of her lungs, silencing all three ponies.

When Hitch caught sight of Sunny, he gasped. Without wasting a second, he marched right up to her and wrapped her in a tight embrace. As he hugged her, Sunny could feel his whole body shaking and his heart racing and Sunny had a feeling it wasn't from anger. He was worried about her.

"Sunny. Thank hoofness you're okay. Something happened. Something really bad…" Hitch started, reluctantly separating from Sunny.

"I know," Sunny said, her heart heavy. She looked away, blinking back tears. "I…I saw it."

"You saw it happen too?" Zipp asked, her eyes wide.

Sunny was startled by this. "W-what? No, we…we just saw the body…wait, too? Did…did one of you see it?"

"We?" Zipp asked, not answering Sunny's question.

"Yeah. Winter and I. He was showing me this…you know what? Doesn't matter. What…why did you say too? Which one of you saw it?"

Zipp sighed before answering. "Misty and I did. We were…we were on the same balcony. We…we watched her…walk off…" Zipp's voice broke as she trailed off, unable to continue.

"That's why Misty was in shell shock…" Sunny muttered. At everypony's confused look, she clarified. "I saw Misty passed out on her bed so Izzy kinda filled me in." Sunny sighed, looking back at Zipp. "Zipp, I know you want to save Misty. But…remember what she told us during our first night here?" When Zip remained silent, Sunny continued. "I know you remember the promise you made to her."

"Promise? What promise?" Pipp asked, feeling as though she missed something.

But before any of them could answer, Izzy burst through the bathroom door, a smile on her face. "Misty's awake! She's awake!"

The four ponies gasped, rushing out of the bathroom, and getting stuck in the doorway. Sunny teleported them all to the other side, immediately turning her attention to Misty. The ponies froze, however upon seeing her look and tears streaming down her face.

When she heard them, she looked up at her friends with a weighted look. "We…we need to talk."

The five ponies looked at each other nervously. That never meant anything good.

"I'm sorry, you talked to who?" Zipp asked in disbelief, the same time Sunny asked incredulously, "You talked to Twilight Sparkle?!"

Misty nodded her head, looking down. She had just told her friends everything she saw when she was unconscious. They were all sitting on the floor in their room in a circle, a magical bubble of silence around them so the Pippsqueaks could try and get some sort of sleep. And so they wouldn't overhear.

But as Misty explained everything, she began to realize how little she really knew. Twilight gave her way more questions than answers. Really, Twilight didn't give her any answers. Just confirmed what Misty already knew. That there was something deeper here going on and that somehow, they were all pawns in a bigger game.

"H-how?" Sunny asked, still in shock.

"I…I don't know. She just said that both Equestria and Skyros are in danger and we are the only ones who can save both kingdoms."

"…by setting her…free…" Zipp said carefully, as though treading through dangerous waters. Misty nodded. "But…I don't understand. Flurry said that when Twilight made the Unity Crystals, she lost her alicornhood. She died. She…how is she still alive?"

"I don't know…" Misty muttered, looking away.

"Okay…well, do you know what this danger is that's threatening both of our kingdoms? Is it Skotos or…something else?" Hitch asked, desperate to glean some kind of useful information.

"I…I don't know." Misty said with a sigh, beginning to feel overwhelmed with all the information they didn't know.

"Right. So this key…what does it go to? I mean, I know you don't know what door it goes to, but do you know what's on the other side?" Sunny asked.

"According to Twilight, yes. But…" Misty started, only to trail off.

"According to you, you don't." Misty nodded when Pipp finished where she left off. "So…why is this room thing so important? And what do you do when you find it? And what does this key have to do with Opaline's story? And why is it so important?"

"And this riddle. 'For you may win a battle against him, but you will not win a battle without him?' What does that mean? And a battle against who?" Zipp asked. "Are you sure Twilight didn't say anything else about this 'him' than that?"

"And where do we even begin looking for this door?" Sunny continued. "Do you know where it is at least?"

"I don't know!" Misty snapped, overwhelmed with all the information they didn't know. "I don't know, okay. Twilight didn't tell me much. I told you everything she told me."

That was a lie, of course. Misty didn't tell them about the piece that had yet to choose his side. Or about how Twilight told Misty to defend him at all costs to her friends if he chose their side. Or the fact that it wouldn't be without mistakes. But it wasn't like Misty wanted to hide these things from her friends. But…Misty just had a feeling that it'd best not to tell them right now.

"So…I'm assuming finding that third alicorn is no longer a priority…" Izzy muttered.

The room was silent after that. Misty couldn't remember witnessing…what she and Zipp witnessed, and for that, Misty was glad. She didn't know what she'd do if she remembered it. The last thing she remembered was she and her friends walking back to the castle. The next thing she remembered was standing outside the Brighthouse which was apparently her mind. Everything in between was nonexistent.

But that wasn't the only reason why the rest of them were silent. In all honesty, they had no idea how to answer that. They weren't even sure it mattered in light of Twilight's warning. It was probably the last thing they should be worrying about.

But at the same time…what if they didn't solve Twilight's clues before their five days were up? Then what? What would happen to Misty? To them? Would they even be able to continue trying to piece together what Twilight was trying to tell them? Or would they be forced out of Skyros, forced to leave Misty behind?

This was all so much. They all barely had time to process the suicide before they were slammed with this. None of it made any sense. No matter which way they spun it. Why would Rán volunteer to vouch for Misty, when she'd just commit suicide that night? And if it wasn't her choice, why would someone do that? Who'd have the motive? Who'd want to sabotage Misty? If it was the king, why send them on this wild goose chase to begin with? If he didn't want her to succeed, why give her the five days? And even if somepony forced her, how? Nopony else besides Zipp and Misty was on that tower. So, how did they do it? Mind control? Was there a spell for mind control? But even then, why suicide? Why not just force her to change her mind? Why kill her like that?

It just didn't add up. There were too many holes for it to make sense.

That was when Misty gasped as a thought came to her. She did know where to look for that door. She's known this whole time, even if she didn't know it. Her mind flashed back to their first day here.

"The hallway," she muttered to herself, catching all of their attention.

"What hallway?" Zipp asked, confused.

"On our first day here, I heard foals laughter. I think...I think that's where the door to this key is." Misty held up the key she took off from around her neck.

"But...I thought you said Twilight didn't know where the door was or...or what it looked like." Zipp pointed out.

"Yeah. Didn't you say she was the one responsible for all of your visions and gut feelings?" Hitch added.

"I...I don't think that was Twilight. And neither was that foal's laughter I heard the other day while in the town square after we decorated for the alicorns. I think...I think the ghosts of the past also want me to learn the truth." Misty said in thought as her mind slowly began to come to its conclusion.

Izzy gasped dramatically. "Ghosts?! Like real-life ghosts?!"

"I don't think that's what Misty means. It's just a figure of speech, Iz. Kinda like the saying: the past has a way of revealing itself," Sunny clarified but then realized she spoke for Misty when she had no idea if that's what Misty actually meant. "I mean, that is what you meant? Right?"

Misty nodded. "Yeah. I think so. We just need a way to get to that hallway. I'm thinking tonight. Like Sunny, Zipp, and I did when we broke into the restricted section. Maybe it could just be the three of us again."

"Nope. Bad idea," Hitch said firmly, shaking his head.

Zipp rolled her eyes. "What would you recommend, Sheriff? Asking King Skotos to give us a tour of it first?"

Hitch twisted his lips at Zipp before turning to the rest of them. "No. I think we should all go. All six of us."

The room was silent again, this time following Hitch's words. Was he serious? All six of them? He surely couldn't mean that. This was a heist after all. A mission in which they couldn't get caught. Bringing the whole band of them would surely jeopardize the mission rather than help.

"What? Should we bring the Pippsqueaks too? Maybe Sparky?" Zipp asked sarcastically.

Hitch rolled his eyes. "Hear me out, okay? Since coming to Skyros, when was the only time Misty would have a vision?"

Sunny's eyes widened. "Oh," She said as it started to make sense to her.

"Yeah. Exactly. And out of all of us, she's the most skilled when it comes to magic. So if we were to run into trouble, she'd be our best bet of getting out without anypony getting hurt. And if she's unconscious, she's vulnerable, which means..."

"The whole team's vulnerable," Pipp muttered, finishing Hitch's thoughts. Hitch just nodded in response.

"Okay, then. It's already almost five in the morning, so we'll wait until--" Misty started, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door.

Sunny glanced at her friends before standing up and letting down the bubble of silence before slowly walking past the sleeping Pippsqueaks and Sparky, and heading to the door. She took a deep breath before opening it, gasping at the white alicorn she saw there. He had a downtrodden expression, but his face seemed to light up a little once he saw her.

Misty, curious, let down her empathetic shield, wanting to get a read on Winter's emotions. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, it was just that...she didn't want any surprises. She wanted to keep her friend safe, and she could feel her friend falling for him, even if she didn't realize it herself. She closed her eyes, delving into his emotions.

The first emotion she could feel was guilt. So much guilt that weighed heavy on his soul. Misty was confused. Why was he feeling so guilty? She shook her head, moving on to the next biggest emotion she felt. Love. He felt...love towards Sunny. Not quite the everlasting true love. Not like that. His feelings for her were still just beginning to develop. But...he felt a certain attraction towards her that Misty couldn't explain. She didn't even think Winter could explain it. But it was there.

The final emotion she felt was fear. He was afraid. He was afraid of many things, but he was most afraid of this attraction he felt towards her. He's never felt anything like it and that's what scared him the most. He kept a wall up to protect himself and somehow, in a matter of three days, she broke through them. How she did that, he had no idea. But he couldn't ignore the fact that she did.

And while she couldn't forget the immense guilt he felt, which definitely had her radar up, she knew of the internal war that was raging inside him. But all she could hope for was that this war ended with his feelings for Sunny winning in the end and not the opposite.

Then Twilight's words rang through her head. 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.

Was…was Winter the piece Twilight was talking about? Was he the one who had yet to choose a side? Misty was at a loss. She wanted to warn her friend…but at the same time…if she did…she might stunt their growing attraction towards each other. She could doom them all by saying something. Or by not saying something. Why couldn't answers just come easy for once?

Winter sighed, looking incredibly nervous. "Um…hey, Princess…I uh…I wanted to uh…ask you something…"

Sunny tilted her head. "Yeah. Sure. What is it?"

"Well, uh…I know my timing is uh…bad but…uh…I…I figured you could use the distraction. Well, uh…there's…there's this party tonight…well…it's more like a ball…it's thrown every year in the castle and…uh…I was wondering if…if you'd like to go…with me…?"

Sunny's eyes bugged out, her shock clear. Clearly, she was caught off guard. She considered Winter a friend, but she wasn't sure of the reaction she'd get towards him. But it made her wonder…did he feel the same way towards her?

"Y-you want to go with me…l-like as a d-date?" Sunny stammered, her eyes still wide.

Winter shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Only if you want to of course."

Sunny smiled, feeling her heart raced and warm. She was about to say yes when she realized what she and her friends were planning on doing tonight. As Hitch said, all six of them were needed, but Sunny was probably needed the most due to her being an alicorn. She wanted to go with him, but they needed to find this unknown danger first. That was the priority.

She was about to open her mouth to say no when she was suddenly pulled back by cerulean blue magic. As she was pulled back, Pipp was in front of Winter with a polite smile on her face. "She'd love to go with you. What time will you stop by to pick her up?"

Winter blinked, confused. "Uh…eight?"

"Perfect. See you then!" Pipp said before closing the door and turning to her friend, who had a shocked and confused look on her face.

"What…what was that?" Sunny asked, looking at her friends who all had excited looks on their faces.

"You are totally going on that date." Pipp sang with an excited glint in her eye.

"What?! B-but…I can't go. I…what about tonight? Remember what Hitch just said like…five minutes ago. You…you need me." Sunny countered though she couldn't hide the blush in her cheeks.

Zipp smirked. Even she seemed excited. "Yeah. We need you to act like everything is normal and we didn't just receive an ominous warning from Princess Twilight. We can't let them get suspicious."

"But--" Sunny started, trying her best to protest when Hitch interrupted.

"I think she's just nervous because this'll be her first-ever date." Hitch teased with a smile.

Sunny's eyes widened and her blush could be seen for miles but Pipp gasped dramatically. She grabbed both sides of Sunny's face and leaned in, her eyes wide in shock. "You've NEVER been on a date before?" She practically screeched, her voice cutting out.

Sunny shook her head. "Before we brought back magic, Hitch was my only real friend. Nopony else wanted anything to do with me. After that...stallions would just ask me when I was in my alicorn form. I obviously turned them down since they were clearly only asking because I was an alicorn. After I became a permanent alicorn, nopony asked me. Like they were too scared to ask. Like I'd blow them into a million pieces if they said the wrong thing."

"Oh my hoofness! Neigh way! Okay. No question. You are going out on this date if it is the last thing you do." Pipp said, crossing her hooves, the tone of her voice making it clear there was no room for argument.

"Okay. If...if you insist. But uh...I have no idea how to get ready for a date." Sunny admitted, her blush becoming a little deeper.

"That's okay," Pipp said with a dismissive hoof. "Izzy, Misty, and I will help you out."

"Uh...Pipp...I don't know how to get ready for a date either." Misty pointed out. "I've never been on one before."

"Yeah, but you can still help," Pipp said dismissively. "And we are going to work on that in the near future, okay?" She turned back to Sunny. "But, for now, we are gonna focus on you. Oooh, I can't wait!"

"Ugh, are you serious?" Pipp groaned as she, Sunny, Izzy, and Misty walked down the town square with the shops. "Not one shop accepted our service. I've never been kicked out of so many shops before."

They had spent the past two hours searching for a dress. It was only eight in the morning, but most of the boutiques were already open. However, whenever the four of them would enter and start browsing the wares, they were immediately kicked out. It was like none of the shop owners wanted them near their stores. It was so different from yesterday when they celebrated together. A complete 180.

"They almost seemed scared of us," Misty muttered, pursing her lips.

"I don't understand why. We had a lot of super fun yesterday," Izzy whined, confused.

Suddenly, the four of them heard a whispered "Pssst" to their right. Confused, they stopped, looking around. Not a lot of alicorns were strolling around at this time of day, so the streets were pretty empty. But still, they didn't see anypony who could've made that sound. The few alicorns who were in the streets seemed content with just ignoring them.

Suddenly, they heard it again, but this time, they saw a shadowed figure poking her head out of one of the shops, before quickly pulling it back in. Confused, the four mares looked at each other, making no move to approach the shop. As they watched the shop carefully, the shadowed figure poked its head out again and waved urgently for them to come.

Confused, the ponies walked up the the shop wearily. Slowly, Sunny opened the brown and gold door, peeking her head in. The store was dark, but it was filled to the brim with fabrics and other clothing materials. The four mares stepped inside, looking around. There were two big tables, each with a sewing machine. One table was neat and organized, with fabric sorted by color, the spools of thread neatly set up on shelves behind it. The other table was a mess, with fabrics all over the place, completely disorganized. Mannequins were set up around, some wearing outfits, others naked.

Suddenly, lights turned on and the four mares saw a silver-grey alicorn with a dark blue, light blue, and pink sparkling mane. The four mares gasped, a little startled. That was when Misty saw movement in the corner of her eye. She turned to see a white mare with a two-toned aqua and blue mane. Something was odd about this mare. Her gaze was so...intense.

"Uh...what's going on?" Sunny asked with a nervous smile.

"So sorry for all the secrecy. You must understand the need for us to stay on the down low so we don't spoil things. We just saw you wandering around the shops and every alicorn was kicking you out so we were wondering if you needed help and we noticed all the shops you were looking in were boutiques so maybe it's something we can help you with." The silver alicorn said in a rush, only taking a breath when she was finished.

Three of the mares looked at each other, confused, but Izzy only smiled brightly. "Aw, thank you. That's so sweet. You see, Sunny here," Izzy put a hoof around Sunny's neck. "Is going on her very first date with the prince and she needs a super beautiful dress for tonight!" Izzy exclaimed.

The silver alicorn gasped. "A date with the prince?! You are gonna need something super duper special indeed! I'm thinking purple with orange accents and--"

"Whoa whoa, slow down," Pipp interrupted, waving her hooves. "What in the hay is going on here? Who are you two?"

"And do you know why everypony was rejecting us?" Sunny asked.

Finally, the silver alicorn seemed to calm a bit after Sunny's question. "Um...we all heard about what happened to Rán. You know, the alicorn that agreed to vouch for your friend. Alicorns are super superstitious you see, so having her die the night she agreed to vouch for your friend...they all think you're cursed. So they try to steer clear."

The three mares blinked, a little shocked, but they couldn't exactly say they were surprised. They already knew alicorns were superstitious, so that was nothing new. They were just more surprised by the fact that the news got out so quickly. It just happened a couple of hours ago. Surely they would've waited a little longer. But, they supposed word traveled fast.

The silver alicorn perked up again though, clearly hoping to move on from the subject. "Oh, how silly of me! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Amaya and this is my sister, Kai." Amaya gestured to the white alicorn who was watching them closely. "She doesn't really talk much. But she's super happy you're here too. Now, let's get to work! We have much to do! Eeek! I'm so excited for you!"

Hitch heard a knock on the door as he paced the room, hearing Pipp giggling as she helped Sunny finish getting ready. He stopped, turning to face the door, before taking a deep breath. It was almost time.

He walked up, grabbed the handle, and opened it, revealing Prince Winter in a tux, holding a bouquet in magic. He smiled at Hitch, and it had a bit of a nervous touch to it.

Hitch sighed, turning to the bathroom the mares were in. "Sunny! He's here!"

"Hold on! She's not ready yet!" Pipp's voice called back before Hitch heard more giggling.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Hitch spoke. "So…this ball…what's it for?"

"Just some uh…charity event," Winter answered simply.

"Oh, yes. Sunny loves charity events and causes." Hitch paused another moment of awkward silence passing between them. "So…what time will you have her back by?"

Winter's eyes widened slightly in nervous surprise. "O-oh, I didn't realize there was a…uh…curfew?"

Hitch shook his head. "No. No curfew. I'm not her dad. Just…curious. Sunny means a lot to me. I just want to make sure she'll be okay."

"I'll take good care of her, Sheriff. You needn't worry." Winter said firmly.

"Good. I hope not." Hitch answered, a little bit of a warning in his tone.

Meanwhile, Sunny was pacing the length of the bathroom, her nerves obviously a fraying wreck. Pipp was trying to get Sunny to sit back down so she could finish her hair, but that didn't appear to be happening anytime soon.

"Oh, what if I screw things up? What if I say something stupid and he doesn't like me anymore? What if we're dancing and I accidentally step on his hooves and he looks at me and he's like 'You're so clumsy Sunny and I don't want anything to do with you anymore and I–I–I–"

"Sunny! Chill!" Zipp yelled, surprised by how nervous and scared Sunny was. "You are working yourself into a panic attack."

"I'm sorry," Sunny apologized, stopping in her pacing, only to resume it again. "It's just that I've never been on a date before. I don't know how they go I-I don't know how to waltz. What if...what if I make a fool of myself? What if everypony just starts laughing at me and I--I--I--"

"Sunny. Just be yourself. Look at me." Sunny looked at Pipp, her face full of fear. "Repeat after me. I am strong!"

"I am...strong?" Sunny said hesitantly. When Pipp gave her a look, she said it again more confidently. "I am strong!"

"I am confident!" Pipp continued.

"I am confident!" Sunny repeated. Without Pipp's prompting, she continued on her own. "I am the alicorn!" Sunny yelled, with feeling. Sunny sighed, feeling more relaxed. "Yeah. You're right, Pipp. I can do this."

Sunny started to walk out of the door, but Pipp quickly stopped her. "Ah ah ah! I've got to finish your hair! Then you'll be ready!" Pipp sang the last sentence as she sat Sunny down.

Back in the main room, as Winter and Hitch had their awkward conversation, Misty sat on her bed, watching Winter carefully. Her heart raced as her hooves began to sweat. Something about the night didn't sit right with Misty. Something about it felt foreboding like this was the night they should be the most worried. Even Izzy felt it. She sat on the other end of Misty's bed, looking down at the ground, a lot more sullen than usual. The two unicorns couldn't explain it, but they felt as though this was the last time things were going to go somewhat smoothly for them in a long while. Like once they left their room, something bad was going to happen.

They couldn't explain it though. It was like...there was something in the air. Misty wanted to voice her concerns, but she was just worried she was being paranoid. She didn't want to worry her friends for no reason. Izzy looked up at Misty, a small smile on her face that she meant to be reassuring, but really just looked sad. Misty tried to return it, but she didn't fare much better either.

"Hey, Misty?" Izzy muttered quietly, not wanting Hitch to overhear and get him worried. Misty looked up at Izzy questioningly. "If...if things don't go as planned, I...I just want you to know that...you're my best best friend. I mean, Pipp, Zipp, Hitch, they're my best friends, but you and Sunny...you ponies are like my sisters. You two are my favorites."

Misty smiled warmly at that, tears filling her eyes. "You too, Iz. You and Zipp."

"R-really?" Izzy asked, perking up.

"Yeah. Izzy, if it weren't for you, I probably would still be serving Opaline. You saved me, Izzy. I owe you my life for that."

Izzy smiled before the two unicorns hugged. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a door opening and they separated, turning towards the sound to see Pipp flying out of the bathroom, a big smile on her face. She gestured dramatically towards the open door she just walked out of, clearing her throat and getting everypony's attention.

"Presenting...Sunny Starscout!" She announced before the alicorn also walked out of the bathroom.

They all gasped when they saw Sunny. She lacked her usual blue bag and instead wore a beautiful dress. Her dress was a beautiful, flowing gown with a purple bodice and a flowing orange and purple skirt. The bodice was cinched at the waist with an orange band, and the skirt was adorned with a pattern of black stars. The dress was made of a sheer fabric, and it had a flowing, ethereal quality. Sunny's mane was in a beautiful braided bun, with bangs framing her face. There was a small crown on her head. It wasn't her Element of Unity, but was adorned with stars that were similar to the ones on her dress, though these were orange.

Sunny smiled, a small blush blooming on her cheeks. Winter stared at her with his mouth hanging open. He's never seen a mare so beautiful. He didn't understand how he could fall so effortlessly for a mare he'd only known for less than a week, for only a few days really, but he knew he was hopelessly in love with her. It was stupid, but it was the truth. He didn't understand it but isn't that what they always say about love anyway?

"Wow. You look...you look..." Winter stammered a blush of his own growing. He couldn't finish his sentence, but it was like Sunny knew exactly what he was trying to say.

"Thank you." She muttered, her grin ear to ear.

That was when he seemed to remember the bouquet in his magic and he quickly tried to right himself again. "I...uh...these...these are f-for you." He gave the bouquet to Sunny, who grabbed them with her own magic.

"Aw...thanks," Sunny said, her heart racing in response. She wasn't sure, either, how this stallion won her heart so soon, but there was no denying it anymore. Was it love at first sight? Sunny wasn't sure, but she knew she somehow had strong feelings towards this alicorn, and, somehow, she knew that he had feelings for her back.

Winter held out a hoof, bowing formally. "Shall we, Princess?"

Sunny smiled, giving the bouquet to Pipp to put in a vase, before grabbing Winter's hoof. Together, they walked out of the bed chambers to head to the ballroom. Little did they know that that would be the last time some of them saw their alicorn best friend in a long while.

There was a flash of coral and five little ponies appeared before a dark hallway. Misty gulped as she recognized the hallway from her first day here. She wasn't sure how she could distinguish this hallway from the others, but it was just a feeling deep in her gut. She just...knew it.

"Okay, ponies. That door could be anywhere. Split up and try to find a door that's locked. Mark it so once we go through all the doors, Misty can try each on with her key."

The rest of the four ponies nodded before they split up down the hall. Misty went from door to door, trying her key on all the ones she knew were locked. The key didn't fit in any of the locks. After the tenth door, she began to lose hope that maybe she was wrong after all when she heard Izzy call out.

"Guys! I think I found it!" She exclaimed.

Confused, the four ponies ran in the direction they heard Izzy's voice and skidded to a stop when they saw their friend standing outside a magenta door with teal-ish-green flames carved into it. Misty gulped. She could guess who this room belonged to. It wasn't that far of a stretch to make that assumption.

From everypony's uncomfortable expressions as well, they had jumped to the same conclusions.

"Izzy. What makes you think this room is the one?" Zipp asked, gesturing to the door.

"Because I saw the silhouette of a butterfly fly this way and I followed it and it landed on this door right here."

Misty shrugged. "Sounds as good a reason as any."

Misty picked up the key with her magic and put it in the lock. Misty gasped as the key slid into place. She turned it and all five ponies heard the lock give. Taking a deep breath, Misty grabbed the handle with her magic. Her heart raced. She had the feeling that once she opened this door, there was no going back. But she also knew that she had no choice but to go forward. Not really.

The handle turned, albeit reluctantly, and slowly the door creaked open, as though it hadn't been opened in years. The room was dark inside, but Misty could smell the dust that had been stirred up just by opening the door.

The five ponies glanced at each other nervously before slowly stepping into the dark, dusty room, softly closing and locking the door behind them.

"Wow," Sunny said as she marveled at the gala as she and Winter walked into the ballroom. "It's all so…fancy."

Alicorns in fancy ball gowns or tuxes either mingled, ate delectable snacks from the fancy-looking food table, or danced a complicated waltz to the beat of the orchestral music that played in the background. A song Sunny didn't recognize was playing in the background. It all looked so...formal, Sunny felt out of place.

"Well, it is a royal ball," Winter whispered back as he led Sunny into the ballroom.

The two of them mingled, keeping to themselves and getting to know each other. They laughed as Sunny shared her stories from her foalhood and her crazy adventures with her friends. Winter listened with open ears, wanting to learn everything he could about the mare he loved. Sunny droned on and on, but Winter listened with piqued interest, showing no signs of boredom or irritation, which only encouraged Sunny to share more of herself with him. He seemed interested in learning every part of her. The good, the bad, the ordinary earth pony, and the powerful alicorn. She felt accepted in a way she only did with her friends. It was...refreshing.

After an hour of talking, a beautiful piano song began to play, and soon a violin joined in, and then other instruments from the orchestra. "Oh, I love this song. Dance with me." Winter said eagerly, holding out his hoof for Sunny's.

"I...I don't know, I--" Sunny stammered, not wanting to make a fool of herself.

"Come on. You got this, Princess. I won't let you fall. I promise."

Sunny looked up at Winter and his face was so open, so promising, so trusting, she couldn't help but believe him. Believe him, not just when it came to dancing, but to life itself. Believe that he wouldn't let her fall, no matter what came in life. So, with a deep breath, Sunny took Winter's hoof and together they entered the dance floor. They bowed before Winter took Sunny's hoof, and hovered in the air with the rest of the alicorns.

"This is how alicorns waltz." He whispered.

Sunny nodded before hovering in the air as well. Winter put a hoof around her waist and held one of her hooves in the air and they twirled in circles in a simple waltz with the rest of the alicorn couples. As they danced, a singer on stage began to sing lyrics to the song the orchestra was playing.

🎵I've waited a hundred years,
But I'd wait a million more for you...🎵

The two of them glided through the air, looking into each other's eyes. Neither of them had felt more at peace than they did at that moment. Neither of them understood the chemistry between them, but they decided not to question it. Neither of them could deny it, it was as obvious as an elephant in a room.

As they danced, one of the lines stood out to Winter:

🎵If I had only seen how you smile when you blush.
Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough,
I would have known what I was living for all along...🎵

Winter smiled as he thought of the way Sunny curled her lip when she was making her smoothies. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I would've thought this song was written for you, Princess."

Sunny's eyes widened as her blush could be seen for miles as she was caught off guard. "W-what?"

Winter's eyes widened slightly as what he said sank in. He tried to backtrack, as though trying to mend what he said. "I-I mean, just that this song is beautiful and...and you're beautiful and...I-I mean–"

Sunny smiled and in a rare bout of courage, she leaned in and kissed him. She could feel her insides melt as they grew warm with pleasure, her heart racing and pounding in her chest, her mind growing hazy. All that existed was herself and Winter, and the beautiful music that played in the background.

🎵I surrender who I've been for who you are.
For nothing makes me stronger than,
Your fragile heart...🎵

However, Winter had a completely different experience. Not only was he experiencing everything Sunny was, but as their kiss became a memory in her mind, he could see their kiss from her perspective. It was a magical moment that he could not put into words, to know what their kiss was like in the one he loved most's perspective.

But it only made guilt well up in him further. If he told her what he'd done, what he was a part of, she'd never forgive him. He'd lose her forever. He...he didn't want that. He wanted her to be his forever, but after the way he betrayed her, he knew that would never happen.

Slowly, the two of them separated, staring into each other's eyes for a long moment before the two of them continued to dance, the song slowly coming to an end in the background.

As it ended, the two of them descended to the ground, their hearts full of love. But Winter knew what he needed to do. It pained him, but he didn't have a choice. If his father's plan worked, she was going to find out and he was going to lose her anyway. He might as well keep his loyalty to his father to keep from being alone.

"Let's get out of here. I want to show you something." Winter suggested, still holding Sunny's hoof.

Sunny nodded before he led them out of the ballroom, leaving the party and its fancy alicorns behind.

This room...it was familiar. Misty stood just inside the dark room, her eyes wide with surprise. She's seen this room before. Her mind thought back to the vision she had the other night. Slowly, silently, she walked to the bed with the small pony doll. The same one that was in the vision outside the fire alicorn territory. She picked it up and looked at it, just as Opaline did in her vision.

"Misty? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Hitch asked, concern filling his voice.

"I...I've seen this room before," Misty muttered, her eyes wide as pieces began falling into place.

"How?" Zipp asked, thoroughly confused. Then it seemed to click for her too. "In a vision. You've seen this room in a vision."

Misty nodded as she realized that Twilight was right. Misty did know what to do now that she was here. Without another word, she walked into the bed chamber's bathroom, closed her eyes, and thought back to the vision she had when Opaline opened the same secret door she was trying to open.

She pushed the same tile Opaline had pushed over two thousand years ago and slowly, the wall opened up, revealing a secret passageway. Misty took a deep breath, slowly walking down the staircase. Misty's friends glanced at each other before following her into the dark unknown, leaving the door open behind them.

As Misty slowly descended, she could feel herself growing dizzy, her mind growing hazy. Her vision blurred as she came closer to the bottom, and she became unsteady on her hooves. On the second to last step, she tripped on her own hooves and went flying onto the floor below, but instead of landing there, she fell through a gaping black hole that opened up below.

Misty fell through a black endless void, a million images she didn't understand crowding her mind, fighting for attention until they became a mess of color and figures. A few images stood out to her, but they didn't make any sense. A million different and broken sentences filled her ears, all said by a million different ponies that overlapped each other until they became as indistinguishable as the images.

Misty flailed, hoping to grab onto anything that could stop her fall, but all her hooves caught was empty air. She tried to squeeze her eyes shut, but that did nothing to stop the barrage of images that plagued her mind. In fact, it only seemed to make them worse. She tried to cover her ears with her hooves, but the voices still somehow wormed their way into her head. Misty could feel her stomach grow sick and she felt as though she would throw up.

Suddenly, the air was forced out of Misty's lungs as she crashed into solid ground. She lay there for a moment, trying to catch her breath. The voices and images stopped, and she smiled as she closed her eyes and reveled in the silence and the dark emptiness of having her mind in her control again. Her breath was heavy, her body sweaty as she tried to calm her twisting stomach.

"We meet again, Misty Brightdawn," A voice Misty recognized said.

Misty's eyes snapped open and looked up to find a familiar purple alicorn standing in front of her, looking down at her. Misty scrambled to her hooves, her heart racing. "P-Princess T-Twilight!" Misty exclaimed, her mind still a mess from the chaotic experience she just had.

Twilight smiled softly, her expression compassionate and kind. "No need to worry, Misty. I understand how…overwhelming that must have felt. But we cannot choose how magic makes things happen. We can only choose when we use it."

Misty looked around, finally starting to get a read on her surroundings. They were in a sea of light blue, just like she saw outside the Crystal Brighthouse when she was with Twilight in her mind. The two of them were standing on a path of little white lights that looked like stars. Misty marveled at the scenery, thinking how beautiful and otherworldly it looked.

"Where are we?" Misty asked, not taking her eyes off the scenery.

"A place neither here nor there. A place one often goes to dream."

"The dream realm?" Misty asked, remembering what Flurry Heart said about certain ponies having the ability to travel through dreams by entering the dream realm.

"Yes, that is one word for it. But one can do so much more here than simply dream. Think of it…like your subconscious. Now, come along. You have much to learn."

Twilight walked away down the path. Misty hesitated only briefly before hurrying after her. The two of them walked through a glowing white door, and just like that, their surroundings changed.

Red magical lights flashed as a siren blared somewhere outside the room they were in. A black alicorn with a white mane and a crown on his head turned to the two young alicorn mares, who looked absolutely terrified, but still attempted to put on a brave face.

"Who are those ponies?" Misty asked in a whisper, as though worried that if she spoke any louder, they'd be caught.

"King Aeroblade, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna," Twilight explained in a normal volume voice. "This is the night Opaline's sisters left Skyros."

"Where's Opaline?" Misty asked, glancing around the room, but seeing no sign of her.

"King Aeroblade suspected of his brother-in-law's treason for a long time coming. He knew this night was coming, and he knew he couldn't send Opaline to Equestria with her sisters, so he sent her to do errands to get her out of the castle to protect her."

Misty swallowed nervously before turning back to the scene before her.

"Okay, Lulu, Tia. The time has come. You know what to do?" The alicorn king asked.

The eldest nodded, a white alicorn with a pink mane and a sun for a cutie mark, who was no more than fifteen. Misty guessed that this was Celestia. "Yes, Father. Go to the land of mortals, a land called Equestria."

The younger sister, who was no older than ten, continued where the other trailed off, her coat a grayish blue with a blue mane a shade lighter than her coat, her cutie mark a crescent moon. "There's an old sorcerer who's a friend of the family. Find him, and he'll take us in."

"Good girls." Suddenly, Misty heard grunting and screaming down the hall, alerting the three alicorns and two bystanders of what little time they had left. "Okay. It's time to go."

"But…what about Linnie? We can't leave without her." Celestia said, wrapping a wing around her younger sister. Misty knew who Linnie was. She remembered hearing Celestia say the name before during another vision.

"Your sister will be fine," King Aeroblade said. "The mortals need your help. Your uncle won't hurt her."

"But…can't she come with us? She's our sister, we can't leave her behind." Luna argued.

"She'll be safer here. She can't control her elemental power yet. She will accidentally harm the mortals and…who knows how they will react. She'll be okay here. Your uncle will not harm her."

Celestia and Luna looked at each other before sighing heavily. After another round of goodbyes, the two alicorn mares left through the secret tunnel in the castle.

The alicorn king covered the entrance and turned to face the door just as the door burst open and he stared down at the newcomer with a determined expression. The scene shifted before Misty could see who was at the door.

They were in the same room, but the visitor was now gone and King Aeroblade lay on the floor, dead. Misty blinked back tears as she saw the dead body, the blood soaking the floor underneath. The most blood was on the chest as it matted and tangled the fur. Nopony else was in the room with them.

"Lulu? Tia?" A voice called before Misty saw a magenta alicorn fly into the room. She gasped as she recognized this alicorn. Opaline. "Lulu! Tia!"

Opaline gasped when she saw her father dead on the floor. She sobbed as she rubbed her hoof along his face, softly closing his eyes with a gentle delicacy. She blinked as though trying to hold back the tears, though she failed, before she stood back up again, glancing around. "Lulu! Tia!" She cried, her voice seeming to hold back a sob.

"They're gone." A voice said behind her.

Both Opaline and Misty turned around, Opaline charging her horn, glaring at the alicorn in the doorway, while Misty looked with nervous trepidation and morbid curiosity. Misty gasped when she recognized the alicorn standing in the doorway. Zipp…she was right. She was right the whole time.

"What have you done with them?!" Opaline yelled, her voice thick with emotion. Misty had never heard so much emotion come from Opaline than she had in this scene alone.

"Me?" King Skotos asked slyly, a look of innocence plastered on his face, though there was no true sympathy or any emotion really to his voice. It was all a facade. One Opaline didn't look to believe for a moment. "I did nothing to them. They are my own blood. I'd never harm them. They left and left you behind."

Opaline shook her head. "No. No, they'd never leave me. They are my sisters! You're lying! Just like you lied to Father when you betrayed his trust!"

"Your father was weak! I did Skyros a favor by ending his miserable life!" Skotos snapped, the first true emotion Misty heard in his voice. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Fine. You don't believe me? See for yourself."

The black shadow alicorn teleported himself a hoof-held mirror, holding it up towards Opaline. For a moment, Opaline saw her reflection, but soon it rippled and both she and Misty saw two young alicorns they recognized.

"Tia? Do you think Linnie is mad at us? For leaving her behind?" Luna asked, her voice young.

"I don't know, Luna. I hope not." Celestia muttered, her voice full of sorrow.

"Tia? Do you think Linnie hates us?" Luna asked, and from her sister's deep breath, it seemed as if Luna had been asking questions long before.

"I don't think so, Luna. She's our sister." Celestia tried to say sweetly, though her voice was strained.

"But, what if she does? What if–"

"Luna! I'm trying to concentrate on where we're going and I can't do that when you're asking me a million questions I don't know the answer to! I'm sure Linnie's fine…" Celestia's voice trailed off as her image disappeared and Opaline's reflection returned. Misty swallowed back tears as she felt her heart hurt for Opaline. Nopony deserved to go through what she was going through. Nopony.

Tears filled Opaline's eyes as she stared at the mirror with a look that looked murderous, but for whom Misty couldn't say.

"You're lying," Opaline muttered, her breath growing hot. "You're lying…you're lying…you're lying…YOU'RE LYING!"

Suddenly, Opaline burst into flames, her wings, horn, and hooves catching fire, as she screamed, her body lifting into the air, making Misty flinch and take a couple of steps back. Tears streamed down Opaline's face as the room around her caught on fire. Misty could feel the heat of the flames, but the flames seemed to burn right through she and Twilight, not even touching the two mares.

Opaline broke into sobs, the fire swelling with each heave, as she curled up in a ball, surrounded by fire. She looked up at her uncle, the newest shadow king, and when Misty followed her gaze, she saw a small smile of pride on his face.

The scene around them disappeared, Misty's eyes wide and full of tears. She and Twilight stood there in silence for a moment before Twilight finally said, "Come, there is more for you to see," before turning and walking away, Misty reluctantly following close behind.

'I'm the last real friend you got in this town...you really want to lose me too?'

Sunny stopped in her tracks, squeezing her eyes shut against Hitch's sudden voice in her head. She and Winter were currently walking through the royal gardens, which had Sunny oohing and aahing at almost everything. The royal gardens really were marvelous. There were plants, flowers, and even fruit Sunny had never seen before. As they walked, Winter had gotten her to talk about the community garden she started back in Maretime Bay. Winter was listening intently as she dragged on and on about it, seeming interested in every word.

And then, suddenly, out of nowhere, she heard Hitch's voice say that. She had no idea why she was suddenly hearing his voice, having that memory. She hadn't thought of that day in a long time. Well, okay, that wasn't entirely true. More like she hadn't thought of the first half of that day in a long time. The half before Izzy came to town. It was like that day was split in half for her. It was one of the best days of her life, but the first half happened to be one of the worst.

'Oh, we don't, do we? How do you suggest that we defend ourselves? With hugs and cupcakes?'

"Sunny?" A voice asked, startling her out of her reverie.

Sunny shook her head and looked up at Winter, who was watching her with an intense yet concerned expression. She realized she had stopped talking mid-sentence and stopped walking altogether, just staring at the ground. She cleared her throat, trying to refocus her mind. "I'm uh...I'm fine. Just uh...lost in thought...I guess."

'Sunny! You're just embarrassing yourself!'

'It's quite sad, really.'

Sunny squeezed her eyes shut against the barrage of sudden memories, memories she hadn't thought about in forever. Where were these coming from? But then Sunny remembered–

'I can't keep associating with somepony who breaks every rule and causes chaos wherever she goes!'

She remembered...Hitch? No. No, it wasn't Hitch. Something...something to do with...Misty? Yes, Misty. Something she said...

'All of that...pony unity stuff was just a foal's bedtime story made up by your dad. Like it or not, this is the way it is. And always will be.'

No. No, that...that wasn't it. Why couldn't she remember? And yet, she was thinking of memories she didn't want to think about. What...what was wrong with her?

'Dad? Dad?! Oh my…Dad! Dad, wake up! Dad! DAD!'

Tears filled her eyes as that memory began to replay in her head. She buried it, and swore to never think back to that moment in her life again. It would do her no good. She needed to think of the present, not the past. And yet, without her consent, that memory was harassing her. Her knees felt weak as she very nearly collapsed under all the weight of her sorrow and grief.

'Somepony! Help me! It's my Dad! He won't wake up! Somepony…anypony! Why won't anypony help me?! HELP! PLEASE!'

Tears filled and overflowed Sunny's eyes like the floodgates themselves were opening. It was the weirdest thing. One minute, she's fine, and the next, she's experiencing that day all over again, the feelings of fear, sorrow, and every other feeling that came with that day included. It didn't make sense and all Sunny wanted was for it to stop. Sunny begged her mind to just stop, but it wasn't under her command anymore. It had an agenda of its own, and Sunny had no idea what that agenda was.

'Sunny? Sunny, I'm so sorry. I know it doesn't help but...Argyle...he's...he's in a bett--'

Suddenly, the memory stopped as Sunny struggled to hold back a sob. Suddenly, all the emotions were gone as though blown away by a merciful wind. Sunny swallowed the lump in her throat, wiping away tears. Her heart raced and her mind was a mess of questions, but that could wait.

Sunny looked up at Winter to apologize for her…sudden sweep of emotions when she paused upon seeing the look on his face. It was pained, sorrowful, and regretful? He looked as though he were on the verge of tears himself. Sunny was confused. Did...did he see her memories too? Why...why did he look so broken?

"Go." He muttered before Sunny could ask anything, turning his head away from her.

"W-what?" Sunny asked, confused, stumbling back a step. First, he kisses her, then she's practically sobbing at his hooves, and now he's telling her to leave without even asking if she was okay? That...that didn't make sense. What…what the hell was going on?

"Go. Get your friends, leave Skyros, and never look back. You don't belong here, Sunny, and the longer you stay, the more you and your friends are in danger."

Sunny stumbled back, confused. What...what was he talking about? Sure, Sunny knew both kingdoms were in danger from some unknown threat from Twilight's warning but...she couldn't just leave. And the way he said it...it just didn't sit right with her.

Suddenly, Winter flew up into the sky, turning back to say, "I'd heed my warning if I were you. Before it's too late," before flying away without another word. Sunny stared after him, her heart cracking, before sobbing into her hooves, releasing all the pent up emotions that blasted her in the last five minutes.

"Come, Starswirl. Tis a party." A white alicorn said as she walked into the study towards the old sorcerer, who was sitting at a desk with a scroll, quill, and ink.

Misty and Twilight had walked through another door and were now in what looked like a study with an alicorn Misty now knew without a doubt was Celestia and a silver unicorn with a white mane and beard with a dark blue hat that was decorated with stars and bells around the rim, which Misty believed to be Starswirl.

Celestia looked older than she had in the first memory Misty saw her in. She still had the white coat and pink mane, but she was taller and her features looked more mature. But she still had the youthful look of innocence about her that she had before.

"Put down that musty hat for a change and enjoy yourself. Tis a new day in Equestria after all," She continued as she approached Starswirl with a wide smile.

"Yes. It is a new day, with new responsibilities to attend to. One simply doesn't have time to just enjoy oneself." The old stallion said, not taking his eyes off the paper scroll he was looking over.

Celestia smiled, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "You take yourself much too seriously. What could you possibly be doing that cannot wait until the morn?"

"Well, this diplomacy letter outlining potential trade agreements with the griffins of Gryffindor to start with," Starswirl replied. "It may be your coronation, Celestia, but your rule has only just begun. It is time you learned that such responsibility leaves little time for leisurely activities."

"Coronation?" Misty asked, looking at Twilight. "Didn't they just get there?"

"No, Misty," Twilight answered. "This is five years later. The royal sisters have been training under Starswirl the Bearded and now Celestia is old enough and ready to rule Equestria. This is her coronation."

"What about Luna?"

"Luna was not yet old enough. She was still only a teenager, with a teenager's mind. She was not yet ready for such a responsibility. Her coronation will not come for yet a few years."

Misty nodded in understanding before turning back to the scene before her.

"You know? Rockhoof. Mistmane. Somnebula." Celestia was saying. Misty guessed she missed some things as she and Twilight were talking. She had no idea who those ponies were, but she assumed that wasn't important.

"We are allies," Starswirl said with finality. "A team that aids Equestria when it is in grave danger. We tolerate each other's presence despite our…diverse backgrounds. And we hold mutual respect for one another."

Celestia smiled slyly. "Oh, come. Admit it. You like them. And you do make a really good team."

"Yes. Perhaps I do enjoy their company," Starswirl admitted. "But Stigian only just brought us together. We have yet to defeat the Sirens. We have weakened them, but they are still out there. We must prepare. Yet another thing we must do as soon as time permits."

Celestia's smile grew mischievous. "I had a feeling you would say that."

Suddenly, a blue alicorn Misty barely recognized flew around the corner, a big bright smile on her face. She had grown so much since Misty last saw her, so different from the ten-year-old little filly that left Skyros. Misty only recognized her through her mane and coat color.

"Starswirl," the young alicorn said excitedly. "Thou must taste these delectable treats! And the music! We have never heard anything like it! It is simply magnificent! Come, Starswirl! We would not be having such a party if it weren't for thee!" And with that, Luna flew back out of the study and back to the party, a giddy smile on her face.

"You know me too well, you know," Starswirl said, turning to face Celestia.

"As in I know you could never say no to Lulu? Maybe?" Celestia smiled before pushing Starswirl towards the party with her head. "Well, go on. She's waiting for you." Suddenly, Starswirl's hat was engulfed in a yellow aura. "And what did I say about this musty hat? Throw it off and go dance!"

Starswirl was about to protest when Luna poked her head from around the corner. "Aren't thou coming?"

Celestia smiled warmly. "Worry not, Starswirl. I'll finish up your diplomacy letter."

"Very well. Let us go child. I shall blow the citizens of Equestria away with my ghastly dancing abilities." He announced before he and Luna left.

Celestia chuckled to herself before she looked over the letter. As she read it to herself, Misty saw a pony she didn't recognize enter the study. He was a unicorn stallion with a black coat with a subtle sheen of violet and a black mane. He cleared his throat, startling Celestia, who turned to face him.

She smiled kindly. "Raven Feather. I hadn't expected to see you. Are you here for the diplomacy letter? I'm afraid it isn't quite finished yet. Starswirl was…distracted. But I swear it will be finished momentarily."

Raven Feather shook his head. "No, Your Majesty. That is not why I'm here. You have a visitor. A unicorn mare."

"Clover? Let me guess. She was in the study researching the Sirens. I swear, that mare is as bad as her mentor. Tell her there will be no talk of Sirens tonight. It's my coronation, and I have the feeling I won't have a chance to have fun like this until it's Luna's turn–"

"Apologies for the interruption, Your Majesty, but it isn't Clover the Clever. It is not a mare we have ever seen before, Your Majesty, but she claims to know you and you her, however, she refuses to give her name."

Celestia nodded and both the alicorn and the advisor left the study to head to the grand hall of the castle. Misty stayed where she was, expecting the scene to shift again, but Twilight followed the two ponies without another word. Misty quickly followed her, not wanting to get left behind so she could get lost in a foreign castle. When they arrived, Misty saw that surrounded by guards was a unicorn in a black cloak, its hood over its head, hiding its identity.

Celestia stopped a good distance away, watching the figure. She didn't know very many mortals, she hadn't had the chance. Magic lessons took up most of her and Luna's time.

"Who are you?" Celestia asked. "Take down your hood and reveal yourself."

Slowly, the pony raised a magenta hoof and slowly pulled the hood back, an emotionless look on the magenta mare's face, causing Celestia to gasp, before the mare spoke. "Hello, sister."

Misty gasped as she recognized the alicorn once again. Opaline. But while before, Opaline's face was so full of emotion, now it was just blank. A mask to cover up her true feelings.

Before the two mares could say another word, the scene froze and with a single hooftap from Twilight, the world seemed to turn in circles, making Misty feel sick. As the world turned around them, Twilight spoke, though Misty struggled to focus on her words as she tried to keep from throwing up. Misty was surprised when the floor beneath them began to actually move and Misty struggled to keep her balance.

"In the five years that Celestia and Luna were training under Starswirl the Bearded to be rulers of Equestria, Opaline remained in Skyros, under King Skotos's care, learning her own lessons."

Suddenly, the world stopped spinning in circles and Misty fell off her hooves from the sudden lack of movement. She groaned, slowly standing back up on shaky hooves, her mind and head dizzy. The world continued to spin in her eyes but in a different way. She squeezed them shut, shaking her head before opening them to study the new scene around them.

"Again!" A voice commanded, making Misty jump.

She looked around to see Opaline standing in the middle of an arena, her face devoid of emotion, huffing heavily before lighting her horn in a purple flame-like aura, seeming to cast a spell. She squeezed her eyes shut, grimacing as she struggled to cast the spell. Soon, however, her horn gave out and her body seemed to sag with exhaustion.

"Pathetic," a voice hissed, making Opaline flinch. Misty widened her eyes, completely caught off guard. She'd never seen Opaline flinch in her life.

Misty looked around to see at the top of the arena seating was King Skotos, walking around the top of the arena in slow, easy strides, watching Opaline with a skeptical eye. Misty cowered under Skotos's judging eyes, even though she was positive that Skotos couldn't see them. Opaline, however, kept her eyes to the ground in a show of submissiveness, but she was glaring at the dirt beneath her hooves, her mouth twisted in a scowl.

"No wonder your father chose your sisters to go to Equestria and left you behind. Because you weren't good enough. Because you couldn't prove yourself and show that you were strong and actually useful."

Misty swallowed, Opaline's own words playing in her head. 'THAT measly drop of dragon fire wasn't enough. And YOU won't be enough, Misty! Not until you can prove that you're actually USEFUL and get! THAT! DRAGON!' They sounded so similar to the words Skotos just said.

"That wasn't why," Opaline muttered with such hate, that it surprised Misty. Sure, she'd seen Opaline hateful loads of times, it was basically her default emotion, but not like this. This was different. Stronger.

"Oh?" Skotos asked as though he were curious. "Then tell me? What was the reason? Since you think you know so much."

Opaline faltered as she searched for a reason. "I…I…um…"

"I'm waiting!" Skotos snapped, making Opaline flinch. "I dont have all evening!"

"I…I…I" Opaline stammered, her expression of panic clear.

"Well?!" Skotos yelled, leaning down toward the ground where Opaline was.

"I don't know!" Opaline snapped, tears filling her eyes. She began to break down. "I don't…know."

Skotos twisted his lips in distaste, scoffing in disappointment. "They abandoned you because they thought they were better than you just because they could raise the sun and moon. And from your performance today, I'd say they were right. They are better than you'll ever be unless you straighten up your act and actually do something more than a ten-year-old filly can!" Skotos paused, watching as Opaline hung her head, tears falling down her face and onto the dirt beneath her. "And wipe away your tears. What have I told you? Emotions are a weakness because they make you lose control of your powers. And when you aren't in control of your powers, you can't control your actions, and that makes you weak."

The scene froze as Skotos walked away, while Misty stared with open-mouthed shock at Opaline. She had no idea. No clue. Opaline was being treated the same way Opaline treated Misty. Tears filled Misty's eyes.

But before Misty could fully register everything she just saw, Twilight tapped her hoof and the world spun again. Misty struggled once again to stay on her hooves and keep her balance as the floor also spun.

When it stopped, Misty fell off her hooves again. She stood up, panting heavily, trying to keep her stomach still. "Please…warn me…next time…you do that," Misty said, but Twilight remained silent.

Suddenly, Misty heard voices and she looked up, gasping. She remembered this scene. She had seen it before in a vision. "I've seen this before," Misty muttered.

"…oh, and Lulu's gotten so big, you wouldn't believe it. She's no longer the little ten-year-old that left Skyros four years ago," Celestia explained giddily as she and Opaline walked through the gardens of the castle from earlier. "Though, she's gotten into the strange habit of saying thou and thee and whatnot. Starswirl and I have no idea where she got that habit from. I mean, I'm sure she'll grow out of it soon. Oh, Linnie, it's so good to have you back. You have no idea how much we have missed you." Celestia gasped, her smile growing. "Wait until Starswirl meets you. He'll be beside himself. You should have seen his face when Lulu and I raised the sun and moon for him for the first time. He looked like he was about to faint, though with surprise or relief we could not tell. Seeing a fire alicorn, he won't know what–"

"I'm not staying, Tia," Opaline muttered, looking away.

Celestia stopped walking, looking at Opaline with a concerned look. "W-what? What do you mean? Of course you're staying."

"No, Tia. I just came to visit. To make sure you were doing okay. And it seems you're…doing fine."

Even though Misty'd seen this before, it was like she was looking at it with a whole new pair of eyes. Before, she knew nothing. The only thing she knew was that Opaline was in it. Now, somehow, in the span of a few minutes, she knew Opaline's true motives. She knew what Opaline was really doing there. She wanted to see if what her uncle said was true. She wanted to prove to herself that he was lying, just like he always did.

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

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

Misty then understood why Opaline defended Skotos so fiercely. It made sense. It was why Misty was so loyal to Opaline for such a long time. Because…Skotos raised her. She could barely remember her own father. If Skotos was truly a monster…did that make her one too?

"He murdered our father!" Celestia yelled.

"And yet, you left me behind with him!" Opaline threw back. There was a moment of silence as Misty felt Opaline's skin grow hot. Opaline took a few calming breaths to calm herself down.

"Linnie, I…we…" Celestia started, but Opaline looked up at her with blank eyes.

"It's okay, Tia. I understand. Father…Father was right. The mortals needed you two. You were the special ones, the golden ponies. Everypony's favorites while I…I was just in the background, with a father who feared me."

Opaline clenched her jaw, and Misty could sense the anger and hate welling up in her. But as quickly as it rose, it quickly died down.

"What? No, that's…that's not true." Celestia said, sounding appalled that her sister would think about herself in such a horrible way. "Father loved all three of us equally."

Opaline sighed, looking away. "Look, Tia. I just…I just wanted to make sure you're okay. And now that I know you are…I really ought to be going now." Opaline turned away, tears filling her eyes.

"Linnie, wait–" Celestia started, but Opaline already flew into the air. She seemed to throw something ahead of herself before flying forward and disappearing out of thin air.

Celestia stared after her little sister, tears filling her eyes. The scene disappeared and once again, Twilight and Misty were left alone again. Misty turned to Twilight, confused, but Twilight's face lost all traces of sympathy and compassion and instead was numb, blank, and even a little cold. Misty was confused.

"Um...Princess Twilight? What does this have to do with saving Skyros and Equestria?" Misty asked.

But Twilight just remained silent before tapping her hoof again as the scene changed. Misty gasped as the new scene came into focus. Misty knew this couldn't possibly be a scene from the past because standing in the throne room were King Skotos Malum, Prince Winter Moon, and her friend, Sunny Starscout.

Sunny walked back into the castle, her head hanging, confused, dejected, and hurt. She didn't know what the hell just happened. One minute, she was happily in love, the next, she remembered memories she hadn't thought about in years, and then Winter told her to leave Skyros before it was too late. What did all of that mean? What was Winter not telling her?

Sunny yelped when she accidentally ran into another pony. She was so busy looking at the ground, she wasn't watching where she was going. She looked up to see an alicorn guard standing in front of her, glaring down at her. Sunny gasped. She knew this guard. River Watch. Rocky Ice's sister.

Sunny tried to put on her most charming smile, but River was unamused. "I'm so sorry, River. I--I wasn't watching where I was going and--"

Sunny stopped when River Watch lowered her spear and pointed it at Sunny. Sunny started, staring at it dumbly before looking up at River Watch. "Turn around and walk."

Sunny blinked, sure this was some kind of mistake, but since she wasn't the one holding a huge spear in her hooves, she decided to comply, sure that this whole misunderstanding would be cleared up soon. She did as she was told, walking down the maze of hallways and walking where River Watch told her to walk without argument. They walked through a familiar pair of double doors and into the throne room. Sunny breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Winter standing next to his father's throne, King Skotos sitting atop it. He would get this whole misunderstanding cleared up. She knew it.

King Skotos stood up and smiled, but his smile was cold, callous, and calculating, causing Sunny to shiver. River Watch stopped Sunny a few yards away from the throne before walking out and leaving the throne room. "Miss Sunny Starscout. How wonderful of you to join us. We have waited oh so long for this moment."

Sunny swallowed nervously, a bad feeling churning in her gut. She glanced at Winter, who refused to look at her. She couldn't read the expression on his face, but she had the feeling this wouldn't end well. "Uh...what is this all about?" Sunny asked, her guard up.

Skotos's smile grew wide and manic. Sunny took a cautious step back. "Why, this is all about you, don't you see? This whole trip, everything was to lead up to this very moment."

"W-what are you talking about?" Sunny turned to Winter, her voice trembling a bit from fear. "Winter? What is he talking about?"

"Oh, you still think he's on your side. How sweet," Skotos said mockingly. "He's been helping me the whole time."

"H-helping you? I...I don't understand. Helping you do what?"

"Steal your soul, of course!" Skotos announced with much vigor, his body shaking with ecstasy, as though he had been awaiting this moment for a long time.

Sunny's eyes widened, confused. Where the hell was this coming from? What the hell did he mean? "Steal my what?"

Skotos rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I thought you'd have more information by now. You see, I never cared a flying feather about your useless unicorn friend. I know my niece didn't tell her any information that could bring Skyros to ruin. I raised her better than that. This whole time, this was about you."

"M-me? B-but Spike...he...he said..." Sunny stammered, her mind searching for some plausible explanation.

Skotos rolled his eyes. "A simple shape-shifting spell and voila. I suddenly look like the leader of the dragons."

Sunny's eyes widened as she started to understand what Skotos was saying. "That...that was...was you? And...and the letter to Flurry Heart...?"

"Was me as well. Actually, it was written by Winter, but it was my idea." Skotos walked down the stairs of the dais that held his throne as he explained. "You see, Sunny Starscout, this whole thing...everything from the moment 'Spike' warned you, from the moment you came back to Maretime Bay, was just an elaborate ruse to put your guard down and get you here. So I can finish what my lovely niece failed to do what I sent her to do."

"O-Opaline? But...but you banished her...you..." Sunny stammered, her mind whirling from everything Skotos was telling her.

Skotos scoffed. "Wow. You mortals really are gullible. That was a farce. She was never banished. I sent her to Equestria to take over. But, as I should've known, she failed to do so. The first time she failed, I put together a master plan of my own. A... fail-safe, you can call it...a way to gain more magic..."

"He waited for me to perish," Twilight explained, her face full of sorrow.

Misty was full-blown panicking now. She knew her friend was in danger, hearing what Skotos told her, but before she could warn Sunny to get the hell outta there, her surroundings disappeared and she and Twilight were back in the dream realm. She turned to Twilight, her stomach in knots from dread.

"When I did, he used a spell to tether my soul to his. He believed that since I was the Element of Magic if he absorbed my soul, he'd gain my power. But, little did he know that for each bearer, a small part of their soul is tethered to their Element, to help the next bearer. So when he tethered my soul to him, it was too late. I had already perished, so the part of my soul that was connected to my Element, the very part he needed, was already awaiting to be reincarnated into the next worthy pony. So...in order to gain the full power of the Element of Magic..."

"He has to absorb Sunny's soul while she's still alive..." Misty muttered. Then something else Skotos said rang through her head. 'This whole trip, everything was to lead up to this very moment.' Misty's eyes widened as she began to understand. Chess. Twilight said this was all a game of chess. And now…now they were in checkmate. "This is a trap. Me learning the truth, it was to immobilize me. This...you...you trapped me! You distracted me by my desire to learn the truth! Winter he...he asked Sunny to the dance to...to get her alone. And me and my friends would be distracted learning the...how...how could you?! You...you tricked us! WHY?!" Misty yelled, suddenly feeling like a huge fool for falling for Twilight's trap. For walking into her own demise and letting her friends follow.

Twilight looked away, finally looking guilty. "I had no choice. My soul is tethered to his. It belongs to him now. But I was able to sneak in the key to defeating Skotos without him knowing. It was before we met again in the dream realm. If you think back, and with a little help from your friends, you'll figure it out."

"How the hell am I supposed to believe you?! How can I believe anything you say?!" Misty could feel her anger rising. "You...you hurt my friend! A pony who was nothing but loyal to you her whole life!"

"I am truly sorry. None of this was willingly," Twilight's eyes filled with tears, but Misty was too angry to care. "Believe me, I tried to resist him. But it was no use. His magic was much too strong."

"Let me go," Misty said in a dangerously low voice. "Let me GO! NOW!"

"I can't do that. Not until it's done."

"You have to! I have to help my friends! Zipp, a-and Izzy! I...I have to--"

"I'm afraid it's too late for them," Twilight said simply and Misty's heart stopped. Too late? What did she mean it was too late?! She looked up, praying with everything she had that her friends would be okay. That against all odds, they'll still win.

Zipp paced the length of the secret room, praying Misty was okay. She had been unconscious for nearly an hour now. When she passed out, Izzy was luckily quick enough to grab her with her magic before she hit her head on the floor, and she was now lying down on the table filled with papers. All of them were blank, of course, which meant there was some kind of enchantment on them. Unfortunately, they only had one unicorn, and Izzy had no idea the spell to use to remove cloaking enchantments.

As Zipp paced, she heard something. She froze and looked at her friends. She could tell by the way Hitch tensed that he heard something too. "You guys heard that...right?" Zipp asked, her voice trembling.

Hitch nodded. "It sounded like...pounding?"

Suddenly, they all heard a bang and the sound of hooves running directly above them. "Shit! We've been caught."

Zipp ran up the staircase without thinking, slamming the door shut just in time before the guards could enter. She put her entire body weight against the door, flapping her wings to keep the door closed against the guards that kept ramming their bodies against it. It was a losing battle, but she wasn't about to give up.

Hitch turned to Izzy. "Quick! Teleport us out of here!"

"I-I can't! Not so many full-grown ponies at once. My...my magic isn't strong enough!" Izzy yelled, shaking her head, her panic rising.

Pipp hesitated for only a second, but when she heard Zipp grunt, she knew she couldn't abandon her sister. "Izzy, teleport yourself and Misty back to our room. You should be able to teleport Sparky and the Pippsqueaks because their smaller. Teleport yourselves somewhere safe, out of here, and get some help! Hitch, come with me! We're gonna buy them some time!"

"W-what? But...but I can't leave you! And...and what about Sunny?!" Izzy yelled, tears filling her eyes.

"You can and you will! Misty is the only one who knows the truth. She can't be caught!" Hitch yelled as he and Pipp ran up the stairs and pushed themselves against the door to keep it closed.

"And...we're just going to have to...trust that Sunny can...take care of...herself!" Pipp added, grunting as she put all of her weight against the door. "Go! Just get out of here!"

Izzy was silent for a moment, unsure of what to do. "What are you doing?!" Zipp yelled before all three of them yelled, "Go!"

Izzy smiled softly at her friends, touched by their sacrifice. "I won't forget you!" Izzy yelled.

"GO!" All three ponies yelled again, springing Izzy into action. She hurried next to the unconscious Misty and held her hoof before lighting her horn and disappearing in a flash of cerulean.

Sunny stared in shock at Skotos as his words sank in. No. She wouldn't believe it. This...this wasn't possible. He...he had to be lying. Sunny shook her head, stumbling back in fear. "No...no...this...that can't be true. It can't be!"

Skotos smiled villainously. The smile looked so much like Opaline's, it made Sunny's stomach twist in fear. "Oh, but it is. Prepare to meet your fate, Sunny Starscout."

Skotos's horn lit up in black aura and Sunny lit her horn moments before Skotos blasted Sunny with a huge bout of black magic. When it disappeared, Sunny was still standing with a purple shield around her. The shield then flickered out of view as Skotos charged Sunny, knocking her to the floor, Skotos standing atop her. She tried to struggle out of his grip, but his hoof atop her was too strong. She looked at Winter pleadingly, but Winter looked so conflicted like he didn't know what to do, she knew he'd be no help. She was on her own then.

"Pathetic. Even as the Element of Magic reincarnated, you still couldn't beat me. Though, that's only because you don't know how to control it. How to wield it."

Suddenly, Skotos lifted Sunny in his black magic. She tried to fight out of his grip, but he was much too strong. And she didn't know how to use her magic like Misty did. Sunny watched in fear as his magic suddenly turned orange and an orange ball appeared at the top of it. Suddenly, an orange and purple stream of magic was being sucked out of her. Sunny screamed as it felt like a part of her was being painfully ripped out of her. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks as her body seized in pain. She screamed as Skotos slowly sucked all of the magic out of her.

Slowly, Sunny's eye color dimmed until it was a faded greyish green rather than her usual bright grass green color. Her cutie mark, a pink star with a blue-green trail and two smaller stars on either side faded until her flank was blank. Skotos closed his eyes, breathing in as he felt himself absorb all of Sunny's magic.

He smiled maliciously at Sunny as he opened his newly black eyes. "It's a shame really. Maybe if you knew how to use your magic, you may have been able to defeat me." He paused, as though thinking it over, before seeming to come to a decision. "Nah"

His horn lit up again, this time to cast a different spell that would take Sunny's soul, when a light blue blast of magic hit him, throwing him across the room. Sunny, who was still in Skotos's magic flew across the room, farther than Skotos himself, and crashed to the ground, rolling a bit. She landed in an unconscious heap and for a few moments, the world was completely still, as though waiting for her to get back up, like she always did, time and time and time again. But she didn't. She just lay on her side, completely unconscious, barely even breathing.

"Sunny!" A voice called, but they got no response. "Sunny!" They called again, but still, the alicorn was completely motionless. "SUNNY!"

Sunny started to come to, and she felt hooves pick her up. She opened her eyes, but they were half-lidded, as though it was impossible to open them all the way. When she saw the pony before her, her body tensed. "Get...get a...way..." She fell as she fainted, landing in the pony's hooves. The crown she was wearing for the ball fell off her head and clanked against the stone floor, echoing louder than a hoard of rampaging elephants in the silence of the throne room.

"Give her to me," Skotos yelled, charging his horn and marching towards them.

Winter hesitated before picking Sunny up in his magic and softly setting her on his back. He jumped out of the way, avoiding his father's grasp, while trying to keep Sunny on his back.

"Son! Give her to me! Now!" Skotos demanded, charging his horn.

"No! I have had enough, you deranged stallion. Don't get used to having all that power. I will stop you if it's the last thing I do!" Winter yelled, charging his own horn. And with that, Winter, Prince of Skyros, and Sunny, the Element of Hope, vanished from the throne room in a burst of light blue magic.

Author's Note

Oh...My...Dear...God above! That was a long chapter. This thing took me three days to write and that was with me writing most of the day! That's not even including editing! My fingers hurt from all that typing.

So, the reason this chapter is so long is because I wanted to whip this out as the pre-story finale, so then there's only one chapter left, and I'll be done with this story. The reason for that is because, as we make more progress, the revival is taking up more and more of my time, meaning I have less and less for writing. As well as other…writing obligations. SO…I wanted to get this story completed before the revival takes up most of my free time (and by most, I mean 90% percent of it). So, there will be one more normal-length chapter, and by normal I mean not 15000 plus words and the story will be complete.

So, keep an eye out for the next chapter because it will be out in the next couple of days. What will happen to Pipp, Zipp, and Hitch? Will Sunny wake up? Will Misty get herself free from her own mind? What was the mysterious book from the restricted section? Will Sunny and her friends be able to stop Skotos before he tries to take Equestria?

Well, you'll just have to wait to find out. See you in the next chapter . I can tell you now that all of Winter's betrayal has yet to be admitted. Oops.

And yes, I did use a scene from Stranger Things