//------------------------------// // Chapter 24 // Story: MLP A New Generation 2: The Last of The Alicorns // by TwiShine45 //------------------------------// After telling this story, Luster Dawn smirked. Evil burned deep in her eyes, and she leaned forward so that everypony could hear her. “In a few hours…you will all join your forebears in tombs of your own, for that is where friendship belongs: dead and forgotten.” With that, she and her guardian entourage turned and left the incarcerated equines in shock. Sunny didn’t think her mouth could get any lower, but she found out that it, in fact, could. Her mind was in a blur, whirling this way and that in a vain attempt to try and make some kind of sense of this. But reconciling logic with a crazed pony who wanted to take over the world was absolutely futile. So, she turned and slowly made her way to one corner of the cell where she began softly pawing at the dirt floor with a hoof. I was never meant to lead… She thought as self-doubt began seeping through her mind. Meanwhile, the other ponies split apart as well, trying to turn something terrible into something adequate. Pipp made her way over to another corner, settling down onto her stomach and crossing her forelegs in front of her. She began to gently groom herself, preening her wings and making herself look as pretty as possible. If she had to die, she figured, she’d at least go out looking the same way she always had. Truth be told, though, underneath her exterior, she was scared of death. She’d seen tons of ponies die, executed at the hooves of her mother’s secret ruthlessness. But this…this was different. This time, it was her neck on the line and nopony was there to save her. She felt tears begin to brim as she began silently asking for forgiveness for all her mistakes. Zipp saw this take place and maneuvered over to her. She had her own mistakes to resolve. The former heir to Zephyr Heights couldn’t believe she’d even considered joining a group as vicious as Scarlet Wing. Moreover, she couldn’t believe she’d been so mean spirited to somepony whom she’d loved since birth. They were sisters, after all. Their bond shouldn’t be something so easily broken or smashed. It could be fragile, sure, but fortification needed to be added daily in order for it to thrive. Zipp knew that she had failed to play her part as a big sister, and right now, she needed to speak with Pipp very seriously. “Pipp?” She asked as she settled onto her own belly. “Yes?” “There’s…something I need to tell you.” “I thought we weren’t sisters anymore,” Pipp said, giving Zipp a bit of a deserved cold look. “I know what I said,” Zipp responded, “and I was wrong. Seeing Scarlet Wing’s evil has shown me that, no matter what, I need to be able to trust my friends and I need for my friends to trust me. So…by means of confession…I…I was solicited by a member of Scarlet Wing.” “What?!” Pipp asked, as her shock caused her to quit preening for a minute. “It’s true,” Zipp said, ears drooping. “She came to me in a cave, while I was separated from the group. After hearing what we’ve heard, I have no doubt that it was Meadow herself. She’d been watching our fight, and…she wanted to take advantage of it.” “But, surely, you told her no right off the bat?!” Pipp asked in a panic, silently begging her sister to answer affirmatively. “I didn’t,” Zipp said, “we kinda parted ways on agreeable terms, and-“ “Agreeable?! With that monster?!” Pipp asked, pointing a hoof to where Luster, Meadow, and the other agents had disappeared just moments before. “I know, Pipp!” Zipp said, tears coming to her eyes. “I know what I did…or…almost did. I’m so sorry! Please, Pipp, please listen to me…please understand…” “Oh, for feather’s sake!” Pipp spat. “You, Zipp, are the biggest hypocrite I’ve ever known. First, you yell at me and disown me for something I had nothing to do with, and now you’re asking ME to understand when YOU nearly betrayed our group?! I’ve half a mind to go tell Sunny about this!” “No, you can’t!” Zipp exclaimed desperately. “If Sunny finds out, she could throw me away!” Pipp glared at Zipp. “…that’s not my problem.” Zipp’s heart shattered. She knew, then and there, that this was all her fault. Even speaking to an agent of Scarlet Wing could be considered treachery of the highest order. Sunny could suddenly decide to not be so kind and leave her to rot in the woods. She needed Pipp’s forgiveness, but she wasn’t sure how to go about receiving it. After all, she’d done some terrible things over their journey. But she also knew of the power of friendship and sisterhood. Now, she placed all her faith in that and decided to try one more time. Tears flowed freely as she grabbed Pipp and pulled her in close, wrapping her wings around the younger mare. “Hey!” Pipp squeaked. “Let me go!” “No!” Zipp exclaimed softly. “I’m never letting you go. Pipp, you’re my sister…my best friend! I can’t let you go. I love you too much to let you go!” “Shallow sentimentality will get you nowhere,” Pipp said, as she attempted to pull herself away. “Besides, you’re just doing this so I won’t tell Sunny!” “No, I’m not!” Zipp said with all the sincerity she could muster. “Go on and tell Sunny, I don’t care! I just want my sister back…” Pipp turned and caught a glimpse of her sister’s blue gaze. The athletic deputy’s pupils were dilated in a mixture of emotion that was difficult for the former pop star to understand. There was a deep fear combined with a sadness that tore at Pipp’s own heart. Toss in a beautiful flash of memories from their foalhood and you have exactly what Pipp saw there. Her own eyes began filling with tears as more past times washed over her. It was a tidal wave of fights, forgiveness, faith, and fun. These are the four key tenets in any good siblingship, and Pipp saw them all placed with the severe emotion present in Zipp’s eyes. Her own eyes filled with tears as she relaxed in her sister’s grip. “Oh…I can’t let you go, either, sis,” she said, “despite what my better judgment is telling me…I just can’t. You’re my only sister and living life without you would be a hell I’m not willing to put myself through.” “Me too, Pipp,” Zipp said, smiling. “You know…that’s probably why I didn’t join Scarlet Wing right then and there. Some part of me just wanted to come back to you.” “Oh, Zipp,” Pipp said, tears falling, “now you’ve got me acting misty.” “It’s alright,” Zipp said, “at least we’re home.”