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A Second Chance

by Jay David

Chapter 9: Forest Without Trials

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So...here it is. Twilight stood alongside all of her friends, looking up and the dark and grim entrance to the Everfree Forest. With it's old and gnarled trees, gloomy interior and the constant sounds of the animals within, it was an intimidating sight for anypony, even her. It's strange, all the times I'll come back here. One of the worst places in the world and yet the girls and I keep ending up having to come in here for one reason or another. She looked to her sides, seeing the fearful looks on each of the mare's faces. I'll have to do something about getting them used to being here. Maybe Zecora could help? A thought then occurred to her, her eyes widening as she considered it. Also, must remember to arrange introductions with Zecora earlier than planned. Looking ahead, she took a deep breath before taking her first step, choosing to take charge this time, rather than let the others go ahead. As the rest of them watched her, entering this feared place without hesitation, they looked to each other with looks of both being impressed and fearful all at once.

Eventually, they broke out of this, galloping off to join Twilight, which thankfully didn’t take long. As the group ventured deeper and deeper into the entrance area of the forest, Fluttershy was meekly following close to Rainbow, jumping at every hiss or broken twig she came across, much to the latter's chagrin. Twilight, though, simply smiled at that. Those two...friends since foalhood. Out of all of us, they were probably the closest. But Twilight knew that now was not the time for nostalgia, and so looked ahead with grim determination. Time passed and, eventually, they entered an area that was clear of trees. However, to Twilight's expectation, it was also a high cliff area, leading to quite a steep drop beside it. Here it is, she mused. The first place where Nightmare Moon intervenes on our journey. I remember it like it was yesterday. She'll come along in the shadows, trying everything in her power to stop us. Here, she'll make us fall, and Applejack will help me first. But Twilight prevented herself from smiling at the known certainty of this, instead, turning to hear her friends. She knew that it was a question of hers that started this off, and so cleared her throat before giving it.

"So...none of you have ever been here before?"

Rarity turned to her, looking utterly aghast at the suggestion.

"Heavens, no! Just look at it! It's dreadful!"

Applejack nodded at that, turning to face Twilight as she gave her own thought.

"And it ain't natural. Folks say it don't work the same way as the rest of Equestria."

Although Twilight understood that perfectly, she nevertheless feigned ignorance on the matter.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Rainbow, hearing this, turned to Twilight and the others with a mischievous smirk upon her face.

"Nopony knows! You know why?"

Applejack frowned at this behaviour.

"Rainbow! Quit it!"

But Rainbow wasn't listening. Instead, she approached Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity, like a cat about to pounce on a mouse.

"Cause everypony who's ever come in here...has never...come...OUT!!!"

Her final word was punctuated by her leaping into the air, spreading her wings apart in an attempt to look intimidating. Rarity and Fluttershy both squeaked in a fearful manner, but Twilight merely braced herself for what she knew was about to happen, the collapse of the edge they were standing on. Closing her eyes, she waited. One second, then two, then three, then four. On and on she waited, and yet, as she slowly cracked her eyes open, she saw, to her amazement, that nothing had happened. No cracks in the ground, no collapsing earth, no plummet down below. Nothing. As Rainbow was busy laughing at the fear her friends had shown, Twilight was in somewhat of a panic. Wha...what?! There's supposed to be a collapse here! I remember it! Nightmare Moon made the ground give way! Raising her hoof, she stomped down on the ground below, but yet again, it held firm. This...this isn't how it's supposed to go! Where is she? As she stayed there, wondering what was going on, she failed to notice that the rest had moved on, with only Applejack staying back to call to her.

"Y'all okay there, sugarcube?"

Only now did Twilight realise how she might have looked during all this, and so quickly put on a smile for Applejack's benefit.

"Oh! Yeah! Everthing's fine, Applejack. No need to worry!"

The earth pony watched her carefully, before giving a small smile and nod, after which she turned to re-join the group. Twilight, however, was still unsure about all this, and as she galloped to catch up to the group, her mind became wracked with concern. Something's happened. I know how this was supposed to go, and this isn't it. However, as they carried on, she looked up to see a narrow passage that they would have to walk through to continue, and her face lit up at the sight of it. Yes! The manticore! It'll jump out to try and fight us, then Fluttershy will calm it down! Okay, this time, everything will go as it's supposed to! So, she walked, putting on a false face of concern, trying to match the rest of them. But, as she walked through the passage, Twilight was struck by the very stark realisation that there was no manticore here, nor any other Everfree creature for that matter. Now it was true concern she was feeling now. No, no, no, no, no! This isn't right! This isn't like the memories at all! How...how could it not be happening?

It was a thought that repeated itself over and over in her mind, and as she dwelt on it, the rest of the group began to enter a more wooded area of the forest, filled with particularly thick-trunked trees. Twilight herself finally noticed them, a small smile creeping onto her face. Ah! I remember this! Nightmare Moon makes these things look terrifying, and Pinkie comes to help us laugh about it! Okay, the first two hurdles didn't happen, but that's no reason to assume that everything else won't play out as it's supposed to. However, as the group carried on, Twilight kept her eyes on the trees, waiting for just one of them to suddenly gain a horrific-looking face. And yet, as they carried on, like before, nothing happened. No overt darkness, no creepy faces or anything remotely terrifying. The young unicorn was starting to breathe more heavily now. This...this isn't right! A pang of fear struck her heart as she began to consider something. Could...could Nightmare Moon just not be here. Is that it? What are we going to do if she doesn't show up at the end? It was a worry that carried on for some time as the group kept walking, eventually reaching a large and flowing river.

As the other mares looked at it carefully, Twilight was darting her head left and right in a frantic manner. Okay, Mr sea-serpent! Where are you? Oh, please tell me you're going to be here! But no. There was no sign of a serpent, and the waters before them remained calm and still. Beads of sweat were flowing down Twilight's face as all this sank in. I don't understand it! The memories are as clear as day! Nightmare Moon is supposed to be trying to stop us every step of this journey! So where is she?! As that thought rolled around in her head, her eyes widened with shock as a terrible new thought came to mind. Could...could it be my fault? I know I’ve been making changes here and there, but...I haven't changed anything monumental, at least not yet. But still...what if what I've done so far has changed things enough so that Nightmare Moon isn't following us this time? I don’t understand how that could happen. Unless...unless she has something else in mind this time. But if that's true...what could it be? However, as Twilight considered that, she was soon drawn to the sound of somepony clearing their throat. Turning, Twilight looked on to see Rarity, giving her a raised eyebrow.

"Um, darling? Didn’t you hear me?

Twilight was taken aback somewhat by that.

"Er, what?"

The alabaster unicorn pointed to the river before them.

"I said we need to think of a way over there! Rainbow and Fluttershy can make it over without a problem, but the rest of us aren't so lucky."

Twilight nodded at that, looking around to see how they could cross without the aid of the serpent. Walking to the side, she peered into the water, which was clear thanks to a lack of frantic splashing. Hmmm...not too deep. Retreating from the edge, the unicorn began looking around again, and her face lit up as she saw, not far from them, were a number of large rocks, small boulders that stood near one of the trees. Running to it, Twilight closed her eyes and began to focus, her magical aura starting to illuminate the stone. The others looked to her, watching from afar as, to their amazement, the rocks began to move. From the strain on Twilight's face, it was clear that this was exhausting for her, and so all of them ran to the boulder, pushing it to aid Twilight's magic. The lavender mare smiled at this, seeing her friends aid her, before concentrating once more on the magic, eventually causing the boulder to roll off the edge and into the river. As expected, it sank immediately, allowing enough of itself to stay above the water line, creating a stepping stone.

Returning to the other rocks, Twilight repeated the process, with her friends aiding her every step of the way. In time, and after much balance work and wading, they'd managed to create a crude path across the water. However, rather than simply cross right away, the mares all collapsed, tired from their efforts. Twilight in particular had quite a headache from all this, rubbing the side of her head as she tried catching her breath. Seems this stronger magic is still tiring to me. My magical reserves need some growth yet before I try out the stronger stuff. Even thinking on that, Twilight smiled as she looked at the bridge her friends and she had made, seeming quite pleased with herself. However, that moment was spoiled somewhat as Pinkie then spoke up.

"Um...couldn't we have just had Rainbow and Flutterhsy carry us over?"

All of the other mares lost the smiles on their faces as they turned to their friend Twilight especially seeming more than a little embarrassed after hearing that.

"For the sake of our sanity...let's just pretend that wouldn't have been a better and simpler idea."

"Agreed!" the other four mares said in unison.

Thankfully, Pinkie didn't get their sentiment, and in a few minutes, all of them were recovered enough to make their way across the stepping stones. With all of them on the other side, they continued on walking for some time before, as Twilight expected, they found themselves at a deep ravine, filled with mist and fog. There was the remains of an old bridge, worn and broken with time, and collapsed to them. However, that was not what Twilight concerned herself with. Instead, she looked down at the ravine itself, struggling to see past the fog. Somewhere, down here...lies the Tree of Harmony. One day I'll have to return it's Elements, to make it strong and healthy again. But right now, they're needed. Looking up, Twilight glanced across to the other side, wherein she noticed the vague outline of what she knew was the castle where Celestia and Luna once lived. Looking back at the ruins of the bridge, she placed a hoof upon it before turning to Rainbow.

"Care to do the honours?"

Rainbow turned to her, seeing her hoof upon the ruined bridge, before putting on a sly smirk. After giving a nod, the young pegasus took position on the edge before giving an overly-dramatic leap down, right into the fog. After looking down for a few moments, the other mares breathed a collective sigh of relief as Rainbow flew back up, the other end of the fallen bridge clutched in her mouth. They watched as she flew to the other side, ready to tie it to the other end, but Twilight was instead focusing on what was around her. Okay...let's see if this at least stays the same. And so she waited, squinting to see if she could catch sight of any other ponies on the other side. However, in a matter of moments, Rainbow retuned, looking pretty cocky at what she'd just done. But Twilight kept her expression of concern as she walked up to her.

"Any trouble?"

Rainbow merely shook her head at that.

"Nope! Smooth sailing all the way!"

That’s what I was afraid of, Twilight thought. Still, she put on a smile and patted Rainbow on the shoulder, showing her appreciation. After Rainbow smiled back at her, she turned and started flying back across the bridge, with the other mares close behind. But Twilight stayed behind, looking ahead with worry on her face as her eyes never left the castle before her.

Okay...time to find out what the hay is going on here.

Next Chapter: Confronting a Fallen Princess Estimated time remaining: 19 Hours, 12 Minutes
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