MLP A New Generation 2: The Last of The Alicorns

by TwiShine45

Chapter 1

Sunny Starscout felt lost, or, to be more precise, misdirected. Wings and horns had been gifted her, yet she did not know what to do with them. In a way, she felt as if she’d been given one of the greatest gifts ever to befall her. However, in another, she felt like a work of some crazed patchwork artist. The classic pony character Dr. Maneinstein couldn’t have done better. For, after all, she was a simple Earth Pony…or at least, she had been until she was given these particular parts. They almost seemed like impingements, invading upon her space. Yet, they were also welcome guests, giving her a glorious new sense of self-worth. She liked them, yet she hated them. They reminded her of her hero, Twilight Sparkle, yet they also felt out of place. Her adventure had been with her friends, hadn’t it…or was this just fate’s way of telling her that she was more special than everypony around her?

These thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a rather loud knock on her door. She shook her head in an attempt to shift her brain into entertainment mode. Inviting her friends over for the day had been a two-pronged assault on the questions. Part one was the simple companionship they brought. Ever since they returned from their adventure three months before, they’d all grown closer. Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp had formed a crafting/music circle while Zipp had joined the Maretime Bay police force. Hitch had deputized her after unceremoniously firing Sprout. The red pony had begged for his job back, but Hitch was adamant in his decision. So, Sprout left, lower lip quivering and, quite literally, ran home and cried to his mother about things. Zipp turned out to be the perfect replacement for him, though.

The second part of Sunny’s assault on her questions was also simple…plain old ignorance. Having her friends there could help her ignore the doubts in her mind and restore some of her sanity. She was excited to see them, yet nervous at the same time. Hoping that her two-pronged assault would work, she invited them inside. Her new home was much more spacious than the lighthouse she used to live in. That said, she did miss the old place a lot. It reminded her of a true home, rather than this more modern place.

It had been a gift from the Canter Logic Corporation on behalf of Sprout’s mother, Phyllis. Apologetic to the core, Phyllis had truly embraced the new friendship magic born out of Sunny’s adventure with her friends. Now, the Canter Logic CEO used her company to create products that would help everypony, starting with Sunny. The young Alicorn (though, to be sure, she did not know that this was her title yet) was a bit struck at being named the face of the company, but she accepted with grace and dignity. Now, she and Phyllis worked together. While Phyllis still headed the corporation, Sunny was considered Vice President for Friendship and Fun. Her house had been a gift and the new job paid very well. However, the smiles she got to help create were even more satisfactory.

Speaking of smiles, she was met at the door by her excited friend Izzy, who, as usual, rushed in and knocked her over in a hug. “HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!” The purple unicorn sang out. “We got your invite!” She produced the electronic friendship invitation that Sunny had sent out earlier. These had been an invention of hers and mass produced by Canter Logic in order to ensure that nopony missed a friendly event. One could get them in all types of colors, from blue to pink to orange, and they always played a friendly little song before announcing the event. Considering the occasion, Sunny had selected her own pelt color before sending them out.

“I can see that,” she said, smiling and picking herself up as her other friends trotted in behind Izzy.

“What’s up, Sun?” Zipp asked, fluffing her wings a bit.

“Oh, nothing,” Sunny responded, “honestly, I just needed some friendly company.”

“Well, we’re here to offer it!” Pipp chirped.

Sunny smiled. “Thanks, guys. It really means a lot that you came. I’m so sorry I haven’t been available for these past few weeks.”

“It’s not only your lack of availability that has us concerned,” Hitch said, “frankly, it’s you, Sunny. You haven’t been yourself lately. When you have gone outside, your wings seem to droop and your horn seems…erm…dull.”

“Oh! I have the cure for that!” Izzy exclaimed, “you just take a bird’s nest, wrap it in cobwebs, and then spit on it!”

“Um…no,” Sunny said, “I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

“Well, there are other cures for horn dullness,” Izzy said, “I mean, you could dance around with a trout stuck to your head, tell jokes to a singing aardvark…OH, or you could TOTALLY-“

“-I think that’s enough of that,” Pipp remarked, placing a well-meaning, if forceful, hoof over Izzy’s mouth.

“Horn dullness remedies aside,” Sunny said, “Hitch is right. I haven’t been myself lately. See, I’ve been doing some research and going through my dad’s old things.”

“I figured you’d have done that already,” Zipp remarked.

“Yeah,” Izzy seconded, “I mean, you and your dad seemed to be extremely close. By the way, you’ve never really talked about him in too much detail. If you don’t mind me asking…what was he like?”

Sunny stopped short as tears came to her eyes. Argyle Starshine, her father, had been her entire world. Raising her from the time she was a small foal, he had taught her the ways of genuine friendship. His dream was the same as his parents, and their parents, and their parents before them. He wanted so desperately to be the one to see that dream come to fruition. But, alas, he had died before he was able to do so, killed by some great presence deep in the heart of the unexplored Equestrian forest land. Nopony had dared go near it since his death, and the memory tore Sunny’s heart apart.

Suddenly, she felt four pairs of hooves grace her fur. Looking around, she saw her friends, smiling in support of their suddenly sad companion. They didn’t need to say anything, but she needed to feel them closer. As if by magic, they responded to this silent request, pressing in around her. She felt warm and safe within her circle of loved ones, and it was almost as if her dad were back in the room with them. Her thoughts drifted to wondrous days of yore when her father was still alive, before he’d gone off on his exploratory journey, vowing to find her mother. Hated by everypony in town, no one really cared when he went off. Sunny had been old enough to care for herself while her father was away, and he promised he’d return. But…he hadn’t. Hitch, soon after being elected sheriff, had sent a search party out. They found Argyle’s bloodstained body not too far into the forest.

“We’re here for you, Sunny,” Izzy said as the group broke the hug, “and we always will be.”

“Thanks, Izzy,” Sunny said, “but you’re right. I haven’t spoken of my father a lot. We were extremely close up until he passed.”

“We won’t ask for details,” Zipp said.

“Yeah,” Pipp said, supporting her sister, “when you wanna talk, we’ll be here to listen.”

Sunny smiled. “Thanks for your sensitivity, but I don’t mind talking about him. He was my entire reason for living for a long time. See, something happened to my mother when I was a small filly…just barely born, even. One day, my dad came home and found me crying and my mother just…gone. But she and my dad held the same dream: seeing all three pony kinds coming together in friendship and harmony. According to my father, they were both outcasts here in Maretime Bay, and that’s what drew them together. They were married and moved into the lighthouse together. Not long after, Mom became pregnant with me, and they were both thrilled to become parents. Then…well…she was taken from us.”

“I’m so sorry,” Zipp said, “it sounds like she was an amazing pony.”

“My dad never stopped loving her,” Sunny said with another smile, “it’s why he never remarried…and it’s why I’m carrying on his dream.”

“Wait…I thought getting everypony to get along again was his dream,” Izzy said.

“That was just one. Dad was a huge dreamer,” Sunny said, pulling out a favorite picture of Argyle from a nearby chest, “and he loved to share his dreams with me. I’ll never forget the times we spent together laughing, talking…and even crying. Love defined everything my dad did, and he taught me the same path. Listen, guys. I know this sounds nuts…but I believe we can accomplish what he set out to do that day! We can head into the forest and find whatever it is that took my mother!”

“Wait, what?” Pipp asked.

Sunny nodded. “Again, it seems crazy…but if we could bring friendship back to Equestria, perhaps we might find whatever it is he was seeking when he went into those woods! I mean, what have we got to lose?”

“Besides our lives,” Pipp said sarcastically, “look, Sunny, I love you like a sister but…this doesn’t just sound crazy, it is crazy! Your dad went into that forest and never came out again! You can’t just reset everything and go after the same idea, expecting the results to be different!”

“But what if we could do it together?” Izzy asked, siding with Sunny. “True, I don’t like the idea of…well, dying…either, but…I mean, just think of the reward. Besides, we’ve already been on one quest together.”

Pipp’s brows furrowed. “I know, Izzy, but that quest wasn’t exactly life threatening.”

“-as if Sprout attacking us with a gigantic robot and nearly squashing us under a lighthouse wasn’t life threatening,” Hitch said.

“My point is, that one didn’t feature death around every corner,” Pipp said.

“Maybe not,” Sunny said, “but I know we can face anything if we do it together. What do you say, guys?”

“I’m in,” Hitch said.

“You know I’m up for an adventure,” Zipp said.

“Me too!” Izzy squeaked.

“Well, Pipp?” Sunny asked.

Pipp looked around at her friends. She loved them so much, and she couldn’t bear the thought of losing one of them. Just the potential of harm on this sudden journey was enough to make her pelt crawl. But, then she thought of the way Sunny had taken her in when she moved to Maretime Bay. It had taken the Earth Ponies a bit longer to get used to her than her sister. Ironically enough, the formerly excessively popular pop star couldn’t make friends. She found that the plastic nature of her earlier pursuits were detrimental to her social development. In fact, ponies in Maretime Bay were largely unaware of cellphones and their uses. But Sunny understood and had helped the lost pegasus find a home and her place in the town.

“I know I’m crazy for doing this,” she said, “…but I can’t leave you four behind. Count me in, too!”