Regardless of the confident manner she had spoken to Allura hours ago, Opaline Arcana was anything but, as she had been content to remain up on the top floor of the Crystal Brighthouse, watching as the town continued to clean up and repair the water damage. She was so absentmindedly looking out at Maretime Bay that she hadn’t noticed the elevator platform descend behind her, and didn’t notice until it returned back up, with Misty standing there.

“Hey, I thought I’d come let you know dinner is ready,” the unicorn told her.

Opaline gave her a soft smile in return, as she turned to join Misty on the platform, before the unicorn tapped the panel on the side, and it began to descend back into the structure.

“I’m sorry if I’ve been distant. I still feel out of place,” the alicorn told her on the ride down.

“Don’t worry about it,” Misty reassured her. “This is a big change for you. No one’s going to blame you for taking time to find your niche.”

“Even centuries ago in Skyros, I preferred the solitude that working with magical artifacts brought me. I’ve acknowledged the power of unity and companionship… It doesn’t mean I quite understand it yet.”

“I’m sure you will, with time,” Misty replied. “And don’t worry about needing some alone time. I was the exact same way when I moved in here.”

The pair stepped off of the elevator and Opaline immediately smelled the inviting aromas coming from the ground floor. Pipp and Izzy were setting the table when Hitch walked in through the front doors, having traded places with Zipp for the time being keeping an eye on Allura and Twitch at the cave.

“Well, I don’t want to sound too hopeful, but after we’ve demonstrated that we can keep her fed, Allura may be coming around,” the sheriff began as he went over to the dining table to sit down. “In no small part due to Twitch, I’m guessing.”

“Here’s hoping,” Sunny said as she brought over a lidded pot, setting it down on the center of the table, before she turned to Misty and Opaline. “So will the enchanted charms you suggested be much of a headache if we wind up not needing them?”

“Not at all, they’ll be relatively simple, and could be created relatively quickly, such as the bracelets that… Izzy, makes. It’s Izzy, right?” Opaline asked. In her solitude on the top floor, she had endeavored to memorize the names of the ponies who had helped her seal away the Windigos again.

“Yup!” Izzy answered immediately. “I can make as many as we need, and if we don’t need them, I can easily unicycle them into something else!”

As Opaline took her seat at the left corner of the table, Sunny returned from her second trip to the kitchen, setting down a platter stacked high with grilled cheese sandwiches, cut diagonally, optimal for dipping into the steaming hot tomato soup that was ladled out of the pot into their individual bowls.

“Apart from any potential enchanting work you’d want me to do…” Opaline began. “I don’t know how long it will take for me to find my place here, but I would like to make an effort to reverse any of the damage I caused centuries ago. So if there are other tribes of ponies beyond this region, or even reaching out to the kingdoms beyond Equestria… I’d like to do my part.”

“It’s not solely your fault,” Sunny told her. “The blame is shared with everypony that let themselves be divided. And when the time comes to reach our hooves out again, we’ll gladly accept your help, Opaline.”

“Alright, enough mushy stuff,” Pipp interjected. “Let’s chow down!”

Author's Note

Not too much more for this story, aside from another flashback, and then perhaps an alternate ending that I had initially thought of when I was entertaining the idea of Opaline not surviving sealing the Windigos away.

Thanks for reading! A little more to come!