The group took a second look at the tree after Sunny’s excited proclamation. It certainly looked like a castle. The trunk bent its way around frameworks of pillars and battlements. The branches sprouted out around it, curving this way and that in the tradition of the forest. Large pillars of wood beset the towering arborous mansion, creating a beautifully quirky sense of wonder within the staring equines. Courteously enough, the tree opened near its bottom, and a hole was seen. Within lay a veritable mountain of leaves built up over many centuries of rising and falling with the passing seasons. Ironically enough, this death of foliage seemed to speak new life into the group. The small sense of distrust that they had in one another melted away as if by magic.
Sunny was the first to approach this gateway, plowing through the leaves and attempting to find what was on the other side. She pawed her way along, hoof by hoof, carefully maneuvering forward. Her eyes blazed with determination, however they also softened a bit with understanding. This could be wonderful or dangerous, and the young Alicorn knew not which would win out in the end. She felt like a treasure hunter as she dug through the huge pile of leaves before popping out on the other side and nearly running nose first into a doorway. She turned around and saw her friends standing on the other side of where she’d popped through the leaf pile. They seemed nervous, and for good reason.
“It’s okay, everypony!” She called. “Nothing seems out of the ordinary here.”
“Yeah, except for the flipping tree shaped like a castle!” Pipp called back sarcastically.
“Oh, will you give it a rest?” Zipp growled at her estranged family member.
Pipp gave Zipp a look as the tension between them grew. Even the magical shattering of distrust could only last so long. The two genuinely hated each other, and as they visually tore into each other’s souls, Sunny became worried once more. The way that Zipp and Pipp treated each other carried vitality to the success of their mission, just as it was with everypony involved. Life on the road would be miserable if they all started acting in the same way as the two sisters. Sunny silently hoped and prayed that their mission would be successful, in spite of the vicious behavior shown by Pipp and Zipp.
But she didn’t have time to worry heavily over that now, for once everypony stood alongside her, she gingerly tapped at the door. She was hoping it would be unlocked, or that it would offer some magical instruction on how to get inside. Fortunately for her, it was easier than that, as it was so old that a couple of taps caused it to give way. It landed with a slam on the floor beyond and Sunny breathed a sigh of relief that the place appeared abandoned. She and her group slowly trotted inside to find that the castle tree was actually a fortress in its own right.
Huge halls, rooms, and doorways stood in front of them, each with their own secrets to hide and discover.
“My goodness!” Izzy breathed, voicing everyone’s thoughts.
“I wonder if this place holds any answers about the forest?” Meadow queried.
“I’ll lay you odds that it does,” Zipp said, “and it’s up to us to find them.”
“Zipp’s right,” Sunny said, “so I suggest we start exploring. Maybe we can all individually take one section of the castle and then meet back here in an hour or so with our findings.”
Everypony agreed that this was a suitable idea, so they went off on their search. Sunny took it upon herself to explore what was left of the grand ballroom and the adjacent library. Izzy picked certain hallways and found them to be littered with room after room of mystery. Pipp selected the castle’s old kitchen and Zipp did the neighboring rooms. Meadow found her way to the castle gardens and Hitch explored the battlements themselves. Everypony was excited to finally be inside somewhere so amazing, and they took to their work with great vigor. Even Pipp, who’d questioned the journey and fought with her sister, was interested in what she had to explore. Unfortunately for her, she ran into Zipp multiple times while doing so.
“Will you keep to your own area?” She scoffed.
“I will go wherever I darn well please, thank you!” Zipp snarled. “Don’t forget, I’m an officer back home, and when we get there, you and Mom have a LOT of explaining to do.”
Pipp ground her teeth and stalked back into the castle’s kitchen. She didn’t understand why her sister treated her with such contempt. After all, it was her success in the music industry that had funneled a ton of money into their household back in Zephyr Heights. She couldn’t see why a little thing like injustice had to get in the way of her and her mother’s lives of luxury. If the knock off merchandise that Meadow’s parents were selling had actually gotten through, it could have completely derailed her career! Since she meant so much to Zephyr’s economy, not to mention her own rich ambitions, it would have been disastrous! In her eyes, the execution of those ponies was the right thing to do. Zipp might not have seen it that way, but Pipp did and, much like pop music superstars in the human world, she only cared for herself.
Soon, Zipp, she thought, soon you’ll see things my way. Life wouldn’t have been the same for us in Zephyr Heights without my musical success…
(HR)
About an hour later, everypony met back at the main entrance in order to relay their findings. Unfortunately, the castle held little in the way of answers about the forest. Pipp reported finding old pots and pans rusting in the castle kitchen. Zipp reported old books lying around half read in the rooms adjacent to the kitchen. Unsurprisingly enough, most of these were about cooking. Hitch said that the battlements held a lot of neat old weaponry, but nothing conclusive about the woods. Izzy said that she found bedrooms and bathrooms falling apart, however the most interesting thing was an old smashed mirror. Finally, Meadow reported weeds and tons of overgrowth in the castle gardens.
“Did you find anything in the library, Sun?” Izzy asked.
“Honestly, I never got there,” Sunny responded, “I was mesmerized by something in the grand ballroom.”
“What was it?” Zipp asked, raising an eyebrow.
“…it was a mural,” Sunny said, “…of Twilight and her friends.”