I Can't Help But Expect The Worst

by Clearnote

Chapter 2

I felt brave as I told myself to find Wind Whistler in the Everfree Forest, but now, I'm terrified.

What if I get lost? What if I never find her? What if Wind Whistler never ventured into the forest at all, and Twilight was just mistaken? Then my journey would mean nothing!

But... I must find her, and I have to risk it. For her.

I take a deep breath, and shaking in fear, I step into the forest and start the next part of my journey.

------✴------

Strawberry Sunrise and Luckette are following me through the forest. Sunberry is very brave, while Luckette believes that we have good luck on our side and should stay positive. I really hope she's right.

We trudge through mud, dodge trees of all sizes and shapes, and other such. When we come to a river, Sunberry brings over a long log and we pass over the river. I feel like we can do anything when we work together. As we get deeper and deeper into the forest, I get more and more scared, but knowing that my friends are here with me strengthens me and makes me feel better.

"Shady, we've been searching for hours and we still haven't found your friend. These woods are endless, we'll have to turn around at some point! We have no food, no shelter, and no clue where we're going!" Luckette says in her semi-high, sweet voice. She's starting to look nervous.

"We have to keep searching, we have to!" I cry.

Sunberry nods, and responds with, "We have food, I packed some."

She opens her saddlebag and pulls out a box of strawberries. Luckette rolls her eyes, but she is smiling. Typical Sunberry. All she eats is strawberries. Strawberry pie, strawberry ice cream, strawberry gelatin, strawberry anything.

"We still have no place to go, and no knowledge of the parts of this forest. What will we do?" Luckette says back, sounding scared. I stomp my hoof.

"We must remain calm. There is something we can do about our problems, we can always solve them. We can make a hut. We have luck." I say bravely, winking at Luckette when I remind her of our good fortune.

Sunberry and Luckette stop talking for a while.

After a few minutes, Sunberry says, "You sound very brave, Shady,". Luckette nods. I blush, proud of my courage. I guess this is what happens after adventuring too much.

And so, we continue searching. I will not give up until Wind Whistler is found.

------✴------

We've been walking for almost a whole day, with no sign of Wind Whistler. All three of us are completely exhausted. I collapse onto a bed of moss. I can't go any farther right now. Sunberry and Luckette lay down as well.

"Are you sure that your friend is in this forest?'' Sunberry asks.

I nod.

Sunberry nods her head. She wants me to find Wind Whistler. She says that she would never want to be parted from strawberries, and that this must feel similar.

"Does Wind Whistler like strawberries?'' she asks, yawning.

I don't know the answer to her question, so I just nod my head.

Strawberry Sunrise would be overjoyed if she wasn't so tired. She laid down her head onto the dirt and fell asleep. Luckette gave a smile and patted Sunberry on the back. After a while, Luckette laid down her head as well.

And I followed.

------✴------

I woke to the sound of birds chirping. Yawning, I smiled and got up. I ate a few of Strawberry Sunrise's berries out of her bag, and then I woke up my sleeping friends. While Luckette jolted awake and quickly got up and ate, Sunberry groaned and asked me for one more minute of sleep.

I gave her a minute and then I forced her to wake up.

Strawberry Sunrise ate ten whole strawberries for breakfast, and Luckette had six. (How many did she bring?!) After that, Sunberry's cranky attitude sprang up to a cheerful spirit.

When we continued our search for Wind Whistler, we told stories.

"Once, I had an argument with this apple-lover. She didn't respect strawberries at all! She thought that apples are the best fruit, and food overall! She should know this by now, strawberries are the best food ever!" Sunberry babbles.

I don't know when if she will ever stop talking.

Luckette happily listens, looking awed and happy. Her cheerful attitude rubs off on everyone, we just couldn't help but smile when we looked at her!

"...Anyway, she got really mad at me for disliking apples, but hey, they have worms in them! What if you eat a worm?! That would be so gross, but she still likes them. They are ugly, and taste bad overall. The worst thing you can find in an apple? Half of a worm. Because you ate part of it. And she still likes them! She's crazy!" Sunberry continues.

As we travel through the forest, we make a few turns. If we had a map, we would have seen that we were headed back to Ponyville. And, without knowing it, this was a good thing.

------✴------

I'm confused.

I know that we saw this area of trees yesterday. I don't think that there are any duplicates of land in this chaotic forest. Sunberry and Luckette look confused as well. Do they recognize this area of land, too? In the end, I decided to just continue trotting. It's better than nothing.

"Shady, are you sure we aren't going back home?'' Luckette asks.

Even though I'm not sure at all, I nod my head. The last thing I need is a problem.

As we get closer and closer to where Ponyville was, I feel upset, because we might be going back to the beginning. Suddenly, I crash into a light blue pony with pink eyes. Her pink hair matches her eyes. When she unfolds her wings, I get a good glance at her symbol. Five whistles, two pink, three blue.

Wind Whistler.

Author's Note:

I try to write a chapter a day.