The Everfree Looms
"We just need to cross the forest, right?" Star's voice rang out in the silence as she looked up at her sister. Their pace had slowed to a crawl as they exited the castle, having to take great care to cross what remained of the castle bridge. The only thing left of the original bridge was four stone pillars linked by a rickety rope bridge. Having already conquered that challenge. All that lay between them and the pillars of smoke in the distance was a vast forest. Hazy maintained her brave face; it wouldn't be that bad, she was sure of it.
"Mhm, we'll be fine, don't worry. If anything jumps out at us, just get behind me, and I'll protect you." Hazy answered her sister with a grin before she leaned down to nuzzle the top of her sister's head. She took care to be mindful of her sister's horn. Hazy had made the mistake of not being wary of its slightly pointed tip before. Ahead of them lay a sea of green and brown, the dark wooden trunks giving way to almost sickly green looking foliage. The earth pony side of her could feel something was definitely wrong with the entire forest. Some lurking taint was twisting the land. Once they were safely in ponyville, she resolved to make sure Star washed her hooves just in case whatever it was contagious.
Hazy lifted her head away, stifling a giggle at the mess she'd made of her sister's mane. Before she could attempt to fix that, Star turned her gaze to the heavens. The filly's green eyes darted across the sky, her brow furrowed in concentration.
The sight reminded Hazy of home, the two of them resting on the balcony to their room as Star pointed out the constellations from underneath her sister's wing. The cloying grasp of homesickness threatened to crack the mask of confidence she had raised for Star's sake. Hazy forced back down the memories of home with a soft shudder and examined the path ahead of them.
If she had to describe it with one word, ancient would be a firm second behind overgrown. Ancient cracked paving stones marked out a route farther into the forest. A slight gap in the trees suggested that it reached all the way to the edge of the forest, from what Hazy had seen when they were in the castle. "They're all wrong…."
When all Star was given for a response was a confused head tilt from Hazy, she took it as a sign to continue. Gesturing to the stars with a hoof as a cartographer would to a map. "We should be able to make out constellations, but there just aren't any. It's like somepony who doesn't understand astronomy made them, look at that."
As she spoke, the blue filly pointed to a specific cluster of stars. If Hazy squinted, she could almost make out a constellation, but it certainly wasn't any that she knew of. Following her sister's hoof as Star pointed out cluster after cluster. "They're all too small... it's like the stars are mourning…."
The pair continued to trot down the worn path, Star's attention firmly fixed on the heavens as she remained silent. All the while, Hazy pulled together what she knew from her mother's stories and history lessons. The mare in the moon was Princess Luna..or was possessing her, that never was really clear in the story. If the elements were still there, then Hazy's mom and her friends must not have gotten to them yet…
Before she could get lost in her thoughts, Hazy's ears twitched at the sound of a branch crunching under hoof. In one fluid motion, she pulled Star behind her, igniting her horn and summoning a small purple shield around them both. Star's yelp of protest was swiftly silenced as a hooded figure emerged from the trees, a black-tipped muzzle protruded from its hood. Hazy glared at the figure, the light of her shield casting long shadows behind it.
"What would bring you here? Into this dark forest that ponies fear." A melodic voice inquired from beneath the hood, prompting a little gasp from Star.
"Zecora!" The blue filly cried as she launched herself at the hooded Zebra, latching herself around one of the Zebra's forelegs. Zecora recoiled in shock. Her hood fell back to reveal her mane and face. Her golden earrings and neck rings shone in the moonlight as she looked down at the blue filly on her leg with utter confusion.
"I do not believe we have met, little one, I surely would remember having done." The Zebra said as she raised her leg, dangling the filly from it. Hazy let out a small sigh of relief that their stolen cloaks hid Star's wings from discovery. When she received no response from Star, Zecora levelled her gaze on Hazy. "Perhaps you can explain what you are doing in the forest on this most dreadful of nights? Please tell me you are not just searching for easy frights."
"No, Ms. Zecora, we were just trying to find our way into town." Hazy replied, recalling her tutor's advice on manners and etiquette. Across from her, the Zebra's eyes narrowed, lowering the blue filly to the ground as she examined Hazy.
"I never stated my name, yet you know it all the same." Zecora stalked closer to Hazy with each word. Star, realising the sudden shift in mood, scrambled back to her sister's side, taking shelter behind her older sister. "You would do well not to try to deceive me, I ask you once again, how do you know of me?"
The sisters backed up as Zecora loomed over them. The look in her eyes made Hazy's blood run cold. Before she could speak, Star's voice came from beside her. "P-please, you're one of our mother's friends. We're not from around here."
Hazy stretched a wing out to pull Star closer, placing herself between the Zebra and Star. Inhaling as she recalled as much of her mother's friendship lessons as she could. "My name is Hazy Sparkle, 6th in line to the Equestrian Throne, Daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle. My sister is Stargazer Sparkle. Please, we don't want to hurt anypony. We just want to find our mom."
Hazy's words stopped the Zebra from advancing further, leaving her visibly digesting the information. As the fillies watched, Zecora's expression softened, and the cold hate in her eyes faded. "I must apologise, tonight I fear I may be rather uneasy until sunrise."
Wordlessly the Zebra turned to journey through the forest, followed closely by the two fillies as they travelled into the darkness. The silence of the woods pressed in all around them. Any sounds that would usually fill the forest at night was somehow more concerning to Hazy than if she could hear timberwolves rustling in the bushes. Hazy tried to keep listening for some sign of life in the forest with a wing protectively over her sister's back. Beneath their hooves, the cracked paving stones finally began to become more well used. Long broken stones gave way to a well-trodden dirt path that split off at seemingly random intervals. With each offshoot they passed, Star glanced down them, peering into the darkness out of curiosity for what may live there.
Eventually, their group halted as Zecora had stopped. Ahead of them, the forest became thinner. Hazy could even make out the sounds of a party raging in ponyville, complete with distant music filtering out into the still night air. "I wish you luck on your trip. You should reach the town quickly at a good clip."
Having said her piece, Zecora turned to leave. Her last glance towards the fillies finished with a flourish to lift her hood once more. Almost melting into the forest, the darkness of her coat and cloak allowed her to vanish from the two alicorn's eyesight. Star hmm'd as she looked at the forest that their guide had just disappeared into. Whatever profound thought she had in mind was dismissed as in the sky above ponyville a blast rung out. Wheeling around, their ears flattened to their head in fright, the fillies were greeted by streaks of coloured light flying into the night sky before detonating. A gasp of excitement from Star was closely followed by a cry of joy. "Fireworks!"
From that moment, it was practically a race between the two down the path. The soft sound of their hooves was utterly drowned out by thundering fireworks and cheers of Celebration from the ponies in town. In her mind, Hazy started to piece together what she knew of Nightmare Moon's return. She had appeared when Celestia was supposed to take the stage, so she hadn't made that entrance yet. If Nightmare Moon hadn't returned yet, all they needed to do was find their mom and warn her of the impending danger. Then everything would sort itself out; she was sure of it.
As they neared the town, Hazy couldn't help but take in the scene ahead of them. Lit by intermittent bursts of colour, the entire town of Ponyville stretched out before them. Landmarks they recognised like Sugarcube corner, the town hall, and in the distance, Sweet Apple Acres were there but not quite how they remembered them. Hazy tore her gaze away from the places she recognised, looking at the small throngs of ponies outside houses and shops. The music was coming from a massive tree in the centre of town; from what she could tell, other songs filtered into the noise, but none really competed with the tree.
A pink blur seemed to bolt from house to house, drawing the sister's gaze as they slowed down to watch. The blur slowed once it reached the tree, revealing itself to be a pony instead of the smear of colour it had been before. Silhouetted in the doorway to the tree, they saw dozens of ponies but had no clue where to start the search for their mother.
Star trailed behind Hazy, still enjoying the fireworks whilst her sister looked at the various parties. Hazy wasn't sure what time it was or how long they had, she knew nightmare moon came back soon, but she wasn't sure when. She hoped that if they just checked the parties, they'd find their mother, the first house they passed was packed with ponies. The front porch was occupied by a green unicorn mare slow dancing with an earth pony mare, whilst behind them, various ponies seemed to be drinking punch.
"Sis!" Hazy turned at Stars exclamation only to feel herself tumble to the ground. She heard a yelp which she swore wasn't her's. With a groan, Hazy blinked and tried to figure out what happened, her vision filled with soft yellow. She heard another cry and felt something trying to move as a hoof pressed against her horn, eliciting a yelp of pain from the alicorn filly.
"S-sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" Hazy protested, trying to wriggle free as she tried to figure out what was on her head.
"Nah, it's okay. Ah was distracted by the fireworks." The yellow object spoke as Hazy felt a set of hooves press against her head and the weight on her head lifted. With her head free, Hazy got a clear look at the pony she'd walked into. A filly maybe a hoof shorter than her, her yellow coat was slightly messy from their fall whilst her red mane was held back in a bow. The filly took a step back before offering a hoof to help Hazy up.
"Ahm Applebloom! Ah haven't seen y'all around before. Are you new?" Applebloom beamed widely as she spoke, not phased in the slightest when both Hazy and Star looked first to her forehead before at her flanks.
"Nice to meet you Applebloom, I'm Stargazer, and this is my big sister Hazy…." A yelp of surprise escaped the blue filly as Applebloom took her hoof and shook it hard enough Star swore her foreleg was going to come off. With a glow of purple magic, Hazy separated her sister's foreleg prompting a giggle from Applebloom.
"Sorry, Mah shake is a little strong for unicorns." Offering an awkward smile, the yellow filly was cut off by Hazy before she could speak again.
"It's nothing to worry about Applebloom, we're just looking for our mom," The dark filly noticed a flicker of emotion across Applebloom's face before her smile reasserted itself almost immediately. "She should have come in from Canterlot to arrange the celebration...we think."
Recognition twinkled in the yellow filly's eyes as her smile widened. Unleashing a burst of words before galloping off, looking back at the two fillies over her shoulder. "Ah know where she should be! Mah sis is at a lil party for her! Follow me!"
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Hmm... I'm not sure how, but to spear oneself upon another's horn must be an accomplishment in itself. I suppose the smaller horn of a filly wouldn't yet be long enough to easily be avoidable, but then it wouldn't also be nearly sharp enough to hurt yourself with by a casual nuzzle. The only thing that comes to mind that would actually get hurtful pretty fast is a fight between siblings... I see, I see.
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It's a mistake Hazy's only made once and will never make again
Hard to poke yourself in the eye if you're Luna nuzzling Celestia with her like 9 inch long horn. Meanwhile a Smol filly horn lurking just above her mane, that'd a landmine waiting to poke you in the eye.
Finally.A story about son or daughter of the mane 6 go through time
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Glad you like it! Ch3 is in the works so stay tuned for that!