A heart of stone

Somewhere, deep inside a forest that was long since forgotten to King Sombra and his guards, the figures of two ponies carefully crept towards an opening in the forest that was bathed in the mighty sunlight and calmness of a soft yet commanding wind. Suddenly, and without any warning, a body fell from the sky and landed with a mighty THUMP!

"What was that?" A mare's hushed voice hissed.

"Do I look like I would know?" The second voice, a stallion's voice, hissed back.

The two owners of the voice eventually made their presence known. The mare's voice belonged to a light brown earth pony mare with a light brown mane and tail. She was named Windy Willows. The stallion's voice belonged to a beige earth pony who had a white mane, his name was Timber plank. The two wondered out into a small clearing in their home of the woody forest.

"Is that a-" Timber was cut off by Windy.

"-It is!" Windy suddenly rushed forward.

The mare came to a halt, just next to two seemingly sleeping bodies. She winced as she tried to get a better look from a distance. One was a pegasus filly with a coat of pink and a multicolored mane. The other, a unicorn foal, a young one by the looks of things, was cuddled up next to the mare.

"What...happened to them?" Timber asked as he came forward towards Windy.

"They fell out of the sky, Timber. They look hurt," Windy stated. "We have to help them!"

"No!" Timber stood in front of the mare. "We have no idea who they are! They could be spies from the unicorn tribes or worst!" he paused. "This one is a bloody unicorn!" Timber hissed. "How do we know this isn't a trick? Don't you remember what happened at the mountain base with our brother tribe?" Timber cried.

"Of course I remember that Timber," she paused. "I was there," she said somberly. Windy shook her head. "We have to at least try to help them," Windy hissed at the beige earth pony. She carefully stepped forward until she could just touch the pink pegasus' shoulder. Windy gently rubbed the pink filly's shoulder. "little one?" Windy whispered. "Little one!"

The pink filly suddenly gasped and sat up, sending Windy racing back to Timber. Peaking around the beige stallion, Windy smiled as she saw the young pegasus filly hide behind a tree.

"There, there," Windy cooed at the pink pegasus. "There is no need to do that. We, or just me really, want to help." Windy smiled as she reapproached the pegasus. "My name's Windy Willows," Windy pointed to herself calmly. "the stallion over there is Timber Plank," Timber huffed and tossed his face up to the sky. Windy sighed and looked back down at the pink pegasus. "do you need help?" she asked quietly. "Do you two have a name?"

The pink pegasus looked up at Windy and nodded. "My name is..." she took a breath in, she knew she could not use her real name, what if these ponies were evil or on Sombra's side? "Mia Denza," she finally said. "The colt's my brother," she paused, trying to think, "Ivory Star." she smiled as she nuzzled the white colt.

"Such lovely names," Windy smiled. "well, Mia Denza, Ivory-" she smiled once again. "come with us."

. . .

It was nightfall by the time the small group returned to Windy's and Timber's home base, "The Swamp" as it was affectionally known as. The homes of the earth ponies who lived there were carved out of old, giant tree trunk that had long since rotted away, leaving an ideal place for the earth ponies to live, raise their young, and heal. Windy smiled as Denza began to look around at all of the surroundings and earth ponies, who looked at both her and the foal on her back with great suspicion.

"You know, Denza," Windy smiled at the pink pegasus. "maybe tomorrow I could give you a tour. Our home used to be much bigger, we use to own the whole of the Everfree, until that witch arrived here!" Windy hissed slightly.

"Everfree?" Denza gasped. "As in "Everfree forest"?" she asked.

"Yes....?" Windy trailed off. "Why? Have you been here before?" she asked. "Did we even make it on the map?" She thought.

"NO!... sorry, I didn't mean to yell," Denza sighed. "by any chance, would you happen to know of a faraway place called The Crystal Empire, and possible where is?" Denza asked quietly as she and Windy climbed up to Windy's home in a hollowed out birch tree.

"The Crystal Empire?" Windy laughed. "That place is full of nothing but posh crystal ponies, why would you want to know where that place is?" Windy asked as she made a second bed for Denza and Star. "Do you come from there?"

Denza shook her head. "No, I.. I used to have family there, but not anymore." she quickly answered.

"Lemme guess, King Sombra?" Windy raised her left eyebrow in a joking matter as Denza slowly nodded. "You don't 'ave to worry about him being here. He never leaves the protection of his precious empire!" Windy remarked coldly. "The Royal Sisters keep him away and at bay wherever they can." Windy smiled.

"Royal sisters?" Denza gasped. "As in, Princess Celestia and Luna?" Windy nodded.

"You sound like you've never heard of them before," Windy stated. "have you?" she asked.

"I have, many times actually, our mother used to tell stories of them." Denza smiled as she looked over at Star, who was fast asleep.

"Who is, or was, your ma?" Windy asked.

"She... I don't like talking about her." Denza looked down to the ground.

"It's okay, Mia. I lost my Ma too. When that witch came, my mother was one of the few who went out to defend our territory... she just never came back. We don't know what happened to her." Windy frowned.

"Tell me, who is this 'witch'?" Denza asked as she lied down on the floor.

"You really want to know 'bout her?" Windy asked coldly.

"Yes, If I can help in any way, I will. Since, I'm guessing Bluei and I are going to be here for quite some time." Denza said miserably.

"Who's "Bluei"?" Windy cried.

"Oh, my brother. Bluei's just a nickname." Denza smiled.

Windy raised her eyebrow at the pink pegasus. "That's a strange nickname, I thought you would 'ave named him something more like "Starry"," Windy answered. "Just saying." she smiled sweetly. "Anyways, back to the witch. From what we've discovered from patrol troops and reports, her name is Prismia." Windy stated. "She's a unicorn with a coat as black as night and a mane as wild as the seas, with twigs and leaves and spiders living up in it," Windy spoke. "She's also a sorceress. A wicked one as well." Windy paused for a long time.

"Once she came to our village, she did somethin' with her horn and poof whoever was unlucky enough to find themselves in her path became "empty". Like, not even love ones could help them, they would go a bit crazy as well - like, something had drained out all of their joy and replaced it with nothingness." Windy sighed.

"She could be using the ponies she finds as 'fuel' for her magic. Unicorns do need to 'rest up' if they want to be at their full potential." Denza explained.

"You know a lot 'bout unicorns, Denza, for a pegasus, that is," Windy said. "Your brother's a unicorn, so, it would make sense for you to know a lil', but not that much. Ponies will get suspicious, Denza. It's best you don't talk 'bout your brother too much 'round here." Windy explained as she looked out of her window.

"But, If I can help, I can't be silent," Denza stated firmly. "You have to be heard to be taken seriously."

"I wouldn't be quotin' that Star Swirl the Bearded. He's seen as a mad wizard to some ponies, being able to open passages to other realms and all that jass." Windy cut in.

"Alright." Denza sighed.

"Best you get some sleep, tomorrow you'll have to earn your keep." Windy rhythmed as she blew out the single candle the brightened the room.