MLP A New Generation 2: The Last of The Alicorns

by TwiShine45

Chapter 9

Despite the warmth that they did not wish to leave, the ponies ventured forth into the forest anyway. Meadow, after much internal deliberation, decided to accompany them, curious about what the forest might hold for her. In short, these ponies were the very essence of exploration, seeking things that held collective interest for Equestria while searching for individual purpose within the shrouded foliage that stood before them. It was a long, winding swath of such things that greeted them with a dense, almost violent outpouring of shadows. Long and hard they crept as the sun launched overhead, creating very real senses of fear within the pony pack. Even Sunny and Izzy, chipper and cheerful as they were, felt as if harm were about to befall them when they entered the wood.

The trees were gnarled and twisted in the strangest of fashions. Like weird wooden roller coasters, they bent and traveled around the empty spaces. Some of them lulled the ponies into a false sense of normalcy until they saw the reverse side, with trunks bent and branches pulled this way and that. Even the leaves themselves seemed to shed fear with each new drop of dew that fell. In tandem, these droplets morphed into an erratic shower that fell upon the ponies while they tried to avoid them. Different members of the group would shake their heads as the wetness met their manes, attempting to get rid of the sour feeling it brought. Life seemed to be sucked right out of them as they steadily moved forward, hoofstep by hoofstep. The only company they kept, aside from each other, was the continued presence of the aforementioned shadows.

“This place is creepy!” Izzy exclaimed softly as she trotted along beside Sunny and Hitch.

“Yeah,” Sunny said, “it’s probably the creepiest place I’ve ever been in my life!”

“But, we’re gonna keep pushing forward,” Hitch said determinedly. “We can’t just turn our tails away, especially when we’ve barely begun.”

“Hitch is right,” Sunny said, “this place might give us the shakes, but we can’t give up.”

“There sure is a lot of whispering going on up there,” Meadow said from her spot in the trailing group with Zipp and Pipp, “anything we can do to help?”

“Hm…” Sunny said, pondering her new Pegasus friend’s question, “…I’ve got it!”

“Got what?” Zipp asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Something that we can use to get through these woods!” Sunny exclaimed. “It’s a song that my dad taught me when I was a little filly and I’d get scared of the dark!”

“But…didn’t you have that carousel light thing with the Earth Pony crystal in it?” Hitch asked.

“This was before Dad built that,” Sunny explained, “and it really helped when I was scared of something! He also said that Twilight and her friends used to use it long ago in Ancient Equestria. If it helped them, surely it can help us!”

“Well…how does it go?” Izzy asked, eager to begin singing.

“Like this…”

So it was that Sunny began singing a song about laughter. It was so catchy and fun that, soon, everypony was singing along. The journey became a lot lighter as they moved forward, joyously harping their tune. Surprisingly enough, the frightening aspects of the forest vanished. The gnarled and twisted trees seemed to straighten themselves out and wave to the beat of the music. Different bushes and thorny shrubs also appeared to bow to the whims of the singers. They laughed as they sang, telling each other jokes and riddles and just generally trying to keep the mood bouncy and fun. Even Hitch, tough stallion that he was, could not resist the allure of the song, especially when he saw Zipp singing. Her smile was genuine, even through the tension with her sister, and her eyes shone. The song seemed to have a terrific effect on everypony, but he was laser focused on her.

Her voice is beautiful, he thought, but…she’s so…forceful about everything, even at work. She’s a terrific deputy, but…I…I just…OH! Why do I have to feel these things?! Why can’t I just figure out what I’m feeling right from the start?! Why is this all so DARN CONFUSING?!

“You okay, Hitch?” Sunny’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, totally fine!” Hitch lied through his teeth. “Just gotta keep singing…da-da-da-da-“

Sunny rolled her eyes and smiled as Hitch moved passed her. She could tell that he was being dishonest about something, but she figured she could speak with him later. For now, their goal was moving forward, which they were doing with surprising speed. In fact, their song and their shared experience as friends was so powerful that they could barely feel their hooves touching the ground. Even so, some sense of mystery and dread still pervaded this place, especially for Sunny. After all, this was where her father’s bloodstained body had been discovered. But for the whole group, it seemed too easy…like something wanted them there…or perhaps needed them there. Throughout their song, they each kept an eye…on each other.

Mistrust can destroy friendships and, for some reason, everypony in the group suddenly felt like distrusting someone close to them. Zipp and Pipp were already at odds, but others began feeling the stench of traitorous malefactions. Even Sunny, friendly as she was, couldn’t help but look around at the ponies with her. Could she trust them? Was it even possible to tell? Was their singing masking some deeper sense of evil? She couldn’t answer any of these questions for the moment, but she shuddered at the thought that somepony would betray her. Death was a very real possibility and she knew that keeping the group together as friends was their only defense against such an eventuality. Her eyes darted this way and that, seeking potential danger.

She was so distracted, in fact, that she didn’t notice Hitch stop in front of her. With an “oof” and an apology, she slowly veered around him and noted that he was staring at something. Looking around at her friends, she noticed that they were looking at the same object. She followed their line of vision and saw that they stared at a tree. But this wasn’t just any tree…it was something much larger and grander. It wound around in a weird design, shooting up out of the forest’s canopy and stretching its leaves to the skies above. In fact, the tree closely resembled something straight out of Ancient Equestrian folklore.

“A castle!” Sunny exclaimed, “it looks just like a castle!”