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Fights6,211 words
Nothing But An Empty Shell4,448 words
A Heart So Cold5,043 words
Bridlewood Legends6,966 words
Is There So Much Hate For The Ones We Love?6,944 words

A Heart So Cold

"Yes! Power!" Opaline announced as she flew into the air, causing a ring of fire magic to form and disappear.

Misty quickly moved to the root of the together tree by the entrance of the throne room. She knew that when Opaline got like this, she was as unstable and unpredictable as her emotions. Suddenly, the fire in Opaline's wings went out and she slowly floated to the ground. Misty's heart stopped, not just knowing Opaline was unhappy but feeling her unhappiness.

"More! I need MORE!" Opaline yelled. "Then I can finally finish what I started all those moons ago with Twilight Sparkle and gain control over ALL magic. The way alicorns were MEANT TO!" Opaline looked at Misty with crazed eyes as she slowly walked towards her one step at a time. Misty huddled closer to the root, shaking as she got blasted with hatred, anger, and insanity like she never had before. It chilled her to the core. But, surprisingly, none of it was aimed toward Misty, yet. It was all towards Twilight Sparkle and Sunny and her friends. "No more of this unity and equality stuff! The citizens of Equestria should fear and love their immortal rulers!"

Opaline was right in front of Misty, who crouched down in a half bow, waiting for Opaline to go off on her when she didn't. Instead Opaline turned around, back to her reflective pool. "And they will, because soon, I'll give them a reason to."

Misty, feeling brave, stepped away from the tree root. She had felt Opaline's anger and hatred, but this whole time, it wasn't aimed at Misty. It was aimed at their enemies, which Misty could understand. Ponies hated their enemies, right?

"And you'll give me a cutie mark?" Misty asked hopefully.

Opaline turned around to face her and Misty realized she was wrong. She was so very wrong. The hatred and anger Misty felt before was nothing compared to the hatred, anger, and complete disregard for Misty's wellbeing. In fact, it felt like Opaline didn't care about Misty at all, as long as she got what she wanted. Misty was just a means to an end for her.

"THAT measly drop of dragon fire wasn't enough! YOU won't be enough, Misty. Not until you can prove you're actually USEFUL and get. THAT! DRAGON!!!"

Opaline walked away, leaving Misty with her ears flattened and her head hanging. She's never been more afraid of Opaline than she was at that moment. She took a couple of steps back, just wanting to get away from Opaline and her emotions.

Opaline walked back to the reflective pool and in front of Opaline was a live view of the Crystal Brighthouse. "I'm coming for you little ponies," Opaline said sinisterly. "Especially you, Sunny Starscout."

Misty slowly walked out of the throne room when she was sure Opaline didn't have any need for her at that moment and walked to her room, her soul feeling lighter and lighter the farther and farther she was away from Opaline, but her heart didn't feel better.

She hated how strong Opaline's emotions were. She didn't understand why she felt Opaline's emotions, but she knew it was immobilizing. It made her fear Opaline that much more.

Misty went to her bed and collapsed on top of it. "For somepony made of fire, I've never met a heart so cold," Misty muttered to herself, before breaking down into tears. She never felt so unwanted and so much of a burden in her life.

"An empty shell?" Sunny asked, not sure what Misty could possibly mean. Did she mean that Pipp was a robot? Or that Pipp's mind was not there? Those were impossible, but it wasn't like they'd never seen the impossible before. "What do you mean?"

"And how do you know how Pipp feels?" Zipp asked, almost accusingly, almost glaring at Misty. Misty's ears flattened and she bit her bottom lip. She knew Zipp wasn't really mad at her. Misty could feel her fear, confusion, and worry for her sister all causing her reaction. Still, though, it reminded her a little of Opaline's actions, even though Zipp was nothing like Opaline.

"What aren't you telling us, Misty? What are you hiding from us?" Hitch said accusingly, glaring at Misty. Misty knew that Hitch just wanted somepony to blame, somepony he could interrogate for answers about Pipp's strange behavior, and Misty was the closest one who seemed to have answers.

"I...umm...I..." Misty trailed off, unable to think or even function with Sunny, Zipp, and Hitch all staring at her with a mix of accusation and fear, even though she knew none of it was aimed at her. Not truly.

"Whoa, guys. Give Misty some space. She's not the enemy here," Izzy jumped in, standing between Misty and the three other ponies.

Sunny sighed, trying to reign back her emotions. Suddenly, she felt guilty for allowing herself to go there. To think that Misty betrayed them again when she was nothing but a friend. A friend who's proven time and time again that she's on their side and she would never abandon them, even when times got tough. Misty was loyal to the end.

"Izzy's right guys," Sunny agreed, sighing. She looked at Misty. "We're sorry, Misty. We're just worried about Pipp." Sunny looked to Zipp and Hitch. "Right, guys?"

Zipp and Hitch both seemed to realize what they were doing and Misty could feel their immense guilt radiate off of them. Misty thought they had nothing to feel guilty for. It was fair they first thought that Misty was hiding something from them because she was. Sort of. Feeling other ponies' emotions was just a normal thing for her because she'd had that ability her whole life. It just got stronger after she got her cutie mark.

"Yeah. Sorry, Misty," Zipp finally said, looking down.

"Yeah, sorry. We're just worried about Pipp." Hitch continued.

Misty gave them a weak smile, before looking down. "I know. You have nothing to apologize for. I built my bed when I betrayed you once before. Now I just gotta lay in it. I should have thought of the consequences that would come from stealing Sparky before I did it."

Sunny walked up to Misty, setting a hoof on Misty's shoulder. Upon contact, Misty could feel a blast of guilt, pity, anger, blame, and at the bottom of it all insecurity. Guilt for making Misty feel like they blamed her and that they haven't forgiven her for everything when, in reality, they did. Guilt for turning their back on Misty instead of listening to her when they first found out Misty betrayed them and that it took Misty freeing them and helping save Sparky for them to forgive her when it was clear Misty was already sorry and felt guilty before then.

Pity for Misty that when something goes wrong, she's the first to blame herself and for how insecure Misty felt about herself. Anger at Opaline that she made Misty like this, for treating her so horribly all those years that it changed who Misty was on the inside. Blame for not being a good enough friend to realize the abuse Misty was going through at the hooves of Opaline and not worrying about her enough when she'd disappear for days without being heard from. Perhaps if she did, she would've been able to talk to Misty before she stole Sparky. And finally, insecurity. Questioning whether or not she was even a good friend because she couldn't see the trouble Misty was in. Because even after a year, Misty blamed herself for everything. If she was a better friend, she could give Misty enough confidence and security to know that it wasn't her fault. To know that Misty could come to her about anything and they'd still accept her.

Misty tensed up against the barrage of emotions she felt emanating from Sunny from that small physical contact. Misty felt a stab of hurt go through Sunny before Sunny pulled her hoof away. Misty's friends knew that she didn't like ponies touching her, but they just assumed it was because of Opaline. Misty felt guilty for hurting Sunny, and even more guilty that she was glad Sunny wasn't touching her. Misty already struggled to deal with her own emotions. She didn't want to add others' to the mix.

"Misty, you know we don't blame you," Sunny started, her voice full of sympathy.

"And we already forgive you," Hitch continued, walking closer to her.

"And we don't hold it against you," Zipp added, stepping closer to Misty as well.

"So don't hold it against yourself, okay?" Izzy finished before giving Misty a big hug, followed by the rest of them.

Izzy's emotions were overpowered by all the others, who were so much stronger at that point. For some reason, Izzy's emotions were so much harder to read. Izzy always knew how to keep her emotions in check better than the others, and whenever Izzy touched Misty, it was so brief that all Misty felt was pure joy before she would pull away, but Misty knew it was only covering other emotions that Misty couldn't see.

Soon, they all pulled away, looking at Misty with small smiles. "Now," Sunny started after a moment of silence. "Let's try this again. What do you mean Pipp was an empty shell?"

"And how is it that you know how Pipp feels?" Zipp asked with a lot less accusation.

Misty sighed. "I'm not sure how to explain it. All I know is that I can feel other ponies' emotions. I can feel them like they're my own. I started feeling Opaline's when I was little. I don't remember being able to feel them before. I don't know why or how, but sometimes, I just get flooded with emotions that aren't mine. Sometimes they come with memories or thoughts, sometimes they don't, though, they only did when I got my cutie mark. That's when the feelings got..." Misty shivered. "Stronger."

Zipp gasped as she connected the dots. "Oh, my hoofness. Misty, I think you're an empath!" Zipp exclaimed.

"That'd make sense," Sunny agreed. "It'd explain why she doesn't like to be in crowded places and why she likes her alone time."

Misty was lost now. There was a name for her ability? She always thought she was a freak because of it, but from her friends' emotions, she felt better about it. But still, she had no idea what they were talking about. "What's an empath?"

"An empath is somepony who can feel what others are feeling. They're also known to feel on a deeper level and take on the feelings of others, whether that be emotionally or physically." Hitch explained helpfully. "Some stronger empaths can actually manipulate others' emotions, though, there are not many ponies who can do that."

Zipp gasped, a smile appearing on her face. "Can you tell what I'm thinking?!"

"Umm...it doesn't work like that..." Misty explained. "Unless they're really strong, I can't feel what others are feeling unless I touch them, then anything's available. It also depends on how close I am to the pony. If I really know them and am super close to them, I get a round-the-clock broadcast of their emotions. For strangers, they have to be really strong or I have to be touching them. And I don't always get thoughts and memories with those emotions as well."

"So when Pipp bumped into you earlier..." Hitch started, the dots connecting.

"I felt nothing but an empty void." Misty finished.

"So you think maybe she was burying her feelings?" Sunny asked. "Maybe that's why you couldn't feel them?"

Misty shook her head. "When ponies are burying their emotions, I can still kind of feel them, especially when I touch them, but they're muted. Like..." Misty paused, trying to figure out how to word it.

"Like looking through a foggy glass," Izzy stated, rather than questioned, speaking for the first time since Misty admitted to being an empath.

"Yeah, exactly." Misty paused, took a deep breath, and looked Hitch in the eyes so that he could see the honesty in them. "Hitch, yesterday after your fight with Pipp, she was really hurt. She thought that you didn't understand her at all. But, after Sunny and I talked with her, she felt really guilty. She felt like the worst marefriend in the world for not being more considerate and not asking you before if you were even comfortable with all the attention on your relationship. She just wanted to make things right before she lost you. She didn't want to lose you, for any reason. Especially if that reason was her being inconsiderate. She loved you, Hitch. She loved you more than life itself. And breaking up with you was never even an option.

"If anything, it's Sunny and I's fault that she didn't make things right yesterday. She wanted to go right away but we told her that you two needed some time to cool off. If she did what she wanted in the first place, none of this would have happened." Tears gathered at the corners of Misty's eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut, looking down at the ground. "I'm so sorry, Hitch. This is all our fault. If we had just stayed out of your relationship like Zipp said, none of this would've happened."

Hitch's heart warmed at the thought that Pipp still loved him. That the Pipp who was so heartless, who broke up with him as if talking about the weather wasn't really Pipp. That breaking up with him wasn't an option, and that she actually feared he'd break up with her. That she actually loved him. He could feel the pieces of his heart slowly coming back together, the cracks in his heart slowly mending.

Hitch smiled softly at Misty. "Thank you, Misty." Misty looked up at him with shock. "Had you not talked to her, you would not have known that she wanted to apologize and make things right. That she didn't want to break up with me. And for that, thank you."

Misty gave a small nod and softly gave a small smile in return.

"And that also means...I was right...that wasn't Pipp..." Hitch concluded, earning a nod from Misty.

"Well, then...if that wasn't Pipp...who was that?" Sunny asked, giving voice to the question on everypony's mind.

Hitch didn't know and didn't care. If they hurt Pipp in any way, they were going to have bigger problems. They messed with the wrong pony and if they thought they were going to get away with what they did to Pipp, they were dead wrong. Hitch was going to find out what happened to Pipp, fix it, then hurt the ponies who hurt Pipp. Hitch could feel the anger rising in him, his heart racing in anticipation of finding the ponies who hurt Pipp.

"Whoever it is, they're going to pay! Just wait until I get my hooves on them!"

Hitch began to walk to the doors of the Brighthouse, intent on finding this doppelganger when Sunny put her hoof in front of him. "Wow. Hold on there, Batpony. First, we need to figure out what is wrong with Pipp before we confront her."

"And how do you expect we do that without confronting her?" Hitch asked, just wanting to find Pipp ASAPP—as soon as pony possible.

"I can trail her," Zipp suggested.

"Perfect, I'll come with," Hitch said, all too happy to finally be doing something to find Pipp. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her.

But, Sunny stopped him yet again. "No, Hitch. You need to go to the station." Hitch was about to protest when Sunny interrupted. "You need to interview the Filly Four. I have a feeling the fights yesterday may be related. It's just too...coincidental to be random. If they are, we need to figure out the similarities and the connection and maybe that might give us a clue as to what's wrong with Pipp."

Hitch sighed before nodding. As much as he hated to admit it, Sunny was right. If the fights yesterday were in any way related, then they needed to figure out the connection and figure out how to use it to help Pipp.

"Alright. Zipp, you trail Pipp. Go everywhere she goes but don't let her catch you. We need to keep all this on the down low. If she finds out that we're on to her, it may scare away whoever is behind this before we get a chance to confront them and fix whatever it is they've done. Misty and Izzy, you go search Mane Melody. We may find a clue there. But be discreet about it. We can't have Jazz and Rocky telling Pipp what we're doing. I'll check her things in the bedroom. There might be something there. We'll meet back here tonight and explain what we've found."

All of them nodded before they dispersed. Misty and Izzy left the Brighthouse. Misty was worried, but it looked like Izzy had something on her mind. Like, she wanted to say something, but she didn't know how.

In truth, Izzy was feeling guilty. While empaths, or any variations of such, were not very common in Bridlewood, they weren't exactly rare either. Many famous unicorns in history were known to be powerful empaths. 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.

But, Misty didn't have an Elderflower to teach her and guide her. She had to navigate herself through a mess of emotions. Emotional empaths were rare, even in Bridlewood, and Izzy had never actually met one. But there were stories, and every empath who doesn't know how to control their powers has the same symptoms. But for some reason, Izzy didn't notice when she should have, especially because she went through something similar. She'd always just brushed it off as another result of living with Opaline when if she'd just thought about it, she'd realize the real meaning of Misty's behavior.

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. Izzy hoped that while she failed to realize Misty was an empath, she could at least help in that way.

Izzy sighed heavily. "Hey, Misty?" Misty slowed down, realizing that Izzy was behind her, seemingly lost in her own world. "I just wanted to say...I'm sorry."

"For what?" Misty asked, looking confused.

"I should've known you were an empath. Unicorns are known for it and...I should've seen what you were."

"Oh, Izzy," Misty stopped walking, putting a hoof under Izzy's chin, forcing her to look up at Misty. "There's no way you could've known. I didn't tell anypony. There's nothing to apologize for."

"But there is," Izzy countered. "I'm an empath too. I should've seen the signs. They were so similar to when I was learning how to cope with mine. And, I've seen other foals struggle in trying to cope with theirs."

"But, Izzy, I'm not a filly–"

"That doesn't matter!" Izzy argued. "The behavior was still the same!" Izzy sighed when she saw Misty flinch at her sudden outburst. "I understand how overwhelming and difficult it all is. I understand how hard it is not to let others influence you when you get an inside look into their heart. And I could've helped you deal with it. I had an old pro help me and I could've been that for you. But, instead, I let your past with Opaline explain why you were so quiet and didn't like to be around a lot of ponies and why you didn't like to be touched, even though I went through something similar. So, for that, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Izzy. Nopony is perfect. And my past with Opaline does complicate things. That doesn't mean you should beat yourself up over it. I didn't even know I was an empath until a couple minutes ago, and I'm the one living with it. It's okay though. I've learned to live with it. And while it's not a perfect life, and it can often be overwhelming, I'm okay. Because I have friends who'll be there for me when it does."

Izzy nodded in response, though, she still didn't fully forgive herself for being so blind to what Misty was.

"So...you're an empath too? You can feel another pony's emotions?"

Izzy shook her head. "No. I mean, yes I'm an empath but no, I can't feel emotions. I can see another pony's luminescence."

"Lumi–what?" Misty asked, never hearing that word before.

"Luminescence. You know, your sparkle. Yours is..." Izzy trailed off as she narrowed her eyes, turning her empath power on with her imaginary remote. "Indigo," Izzy said with a nod, smiling at Misty, turning her power off again.

"Huh?" Misty looked down at herself, wondering what it was Izzy was seeing. Indigo? What did that mean? And how did Izzy know?

"And the happier you are, the brighter it shines!" Izzy said with a smile that could light the world. "You know, I can show you how to build a shield around yourself..."

Pipp groaned as she slowly gained consciousness, her head pounding with the beat of her heart. She slowly opened her eyes, expecting bright light to blind her and make her massive headache worse, but, surprisingly, she opened her eyes to darkness.

Then the events of last night came to her mind and she quickly sat up. She looked around to see if she could find a clue as to where she was, but all she could see was that she was in a room with black stone walls and a single mattress. The only notable thing about this room was the green slime in random places. It looked like old green mucus, which made Pipp's stomach turn. She would have to avoid that at all costs.

Pipp stood up, surprised to see that her hooves weren't chained. That was a good sign, right? She stood on wobbly hooves, the world tilting for a moment before she felt stable. She walked to a big metal door that looked heavy. She reached for the knob, not the least bit surprised to find it locked. She groaned and looked around again, noticing a window high in the wall. She flapped her wings, flying up to the window. It was just big enough for her to stick her head out, but that was about it.

Looking out the window, she looked at what she guessed was supposed to be a forest, but there were hardly any trees, and the ones that were there were dead-looking. She looked down and saw that she was high up, at least ten stories. She pulled her head out when she heard the clip cloping of hooves. Her heart racing, Pipp flew to the bed and laid down as she was before, pretending to still be knocked out. If they thought she was unconscious, perhaps they'd talk about important information, thinking she couldn't hear. Information she could use.

Her ears twitched when she heard the click of a door unlocking, realizing it was her door, as it slowly opened. She knew that if Zipp was here, she'd charge the intruder with a battle cry and attempt to tackle them by taking them by surprise, but she wasn't as brave as her sister nor was she as strong or athletic. So she continued to lay there, keeping her breath even, making sure to not even twitch a muscle.

The door closed behind the intruder and the lock slipped into place. She heard a sinister laugh fill the room, bouncing off the walls and echoing into Pipp's ears. Pipp didn't react, keeping her eyes closed. She hated being at this kind of disadvantage, not being able to see the intruder and what their next move would be, but she told herself this was for the best. That eavesdropping could be the thing that saves her life.

"I must commend you for your convincing charade but I am aware that you are awake. The guards informed me they heard you trying to open the door and my guards would never lie to me." A mare's voice said.

Ugh, she was never known for her stealth, mostly because she didn't have much. Deciding to drop the act, Pipp opened her eyes and charged at the mare, not even pausing to assess the situation or see that the mare had a horn. Suddenly, Pipp was stopped by a green magical aura, and before she knew it, Pipp was flung into the far wall.

"I wouldn't try that, either. It won't get you far besides injuring yourself. And if you're unconscious, my subjects can't feed," The mare said, licking her forked tongue along her lips in anticipation.

Pipp shivered at the thought of something else feeding on her. Just one look at the mare and she knew she wasn't a pony, but somehow, she was an alicorn. She didn't know what or who she was, but she got the feeling this thing wasn't holding her ransom for some money. There was something more sinister going on and Pipp had the feeling she should be very afraid, not just for herself but for her friends.

"Who are you?" Pipp asked wearily.

"I am Queen Vespula, queen of the changelings. The greatest race in the world!"

Pipp rolled her eyes. "Must not be that great if I've never heard of you. And anyway, it doesn't matter because my friends are going to find me, and defeat you and whatever evil scheme you're planning."

Queen Vespula chuckled sinisterly, a manic grin on her face. "My dear, your friends aren't even aware you have gone missing, let alone that you are being held prisoner in the changeling kingdom! And once I capture Sunny Starscout and the rest of your friends, nothing will stop me from taking over your puny little kingdom and letting my changelings feed on you pathetic little ponies for all eternity!"

As Queen Vespula laughed maniacally, Pipp swallowed nervously, wondering how in Equestria she was going to get herself out of this mess.

Zipp was beginning to get frustrated. She was beginning to think this whole trailing thing was a bust. Pipp was doing all the normal things Pipp did, and apart from being way more superficial and self–centered than usual, there was nothing really out of the ordinary. She hoped the others were having better luck.

That is until Zipp saw something that blew her mind. Pipp was entering an alleyway with Sprout! Pipp never talked to Sprout. Not after he tried to kill her, Zipp, their mom, and the rest of the pegasi. Not that Zipp could blame her. Zipp never talked to Sprout either. Which made what Pipp was doing all that more strange.

Zipp flew over the alleyway, landing on a balcony above them, just in ears reach. She pulled out her phone, pressed the record button, and slowly lowered it to a windowsill closer to them. She then waited for them to speak, hoping her phone would catch every word.

"How is your mission going? Is everything in place?" Sprout asked, a malicious grin on his face. Zipp first thought that maybe Sprout was blackmailing Pipp into doing his dirty work, but when Zipp looked at Pipp, she knew that wasn't the case.

"Almost. Had to wait until I lost that nosy sister of hers before I could set the final piece. These ponies are so gullible. They believed every word I told them. Even had a little fun with that sheriff. It seems these ponies are still just as dumb as they were before, even after a millennium." Pipp said with a snicker.

"Be careful. You know what our queen said. Don't underestimate them. Have your fun, but make sure it doesn't get in the way of the mission. That comes first. The queen will be furious if we fail. Again!" Sprout hissed.

Zipp was confused. What queen was Pipp and Sprout talking about? The only queen in Equestria was their mother, and Queen Haven would never send Sprout on a mission. She wouldn't even be caught orchestrating a mission this sinister sounding. And what did he mean by "again"? Did they try this before? Whatever this was? And what did Pipp mean by ponies being as gullible as they were a millennium ago? She wasn't even there that long ago. And did she think breaking up with Hitch was fun?! What in the hay was going on?! She felt like reality as she knew it was breaking down around her.

Pipp rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm not stupid. The mission will get done. Tonight."

"It better. If our queen finds out you went sloppy, you know what'll happen." Sprout warned.

"I know, you fool! The longer we talk about this, the more likely we'll get caught and our whole plan will fall to pieces. By this time tomorrow, Equestria will be vulnerable and ripe for the taking!"

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