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Chapter 3: The First Encounter
Wind Whistler beat her wings as fast as her muscles could and tried to get every ounce of thrust out of them. However, it did not seem fast enough. The staggering wall of reddish-brown rock on the northern border of Dream Valley seemed to remain far away as if it was retreating away from her. That was obviously not the case, but when in a hurry, especially when it is an emergency, you cannot move fast enough. Every second spent getting there is a second for everything to go wrong. Her mind was already there and contemplating everything, though.
Flutter Valley and Dream Valley were adjacent to one another with a ridge of mountains dividing them. Despite their proximity, the two were worlds apart. The flutter ponies were reclusive and did everything in their power to keep their existence secret. They preferred to keep out of the affairs of outsiders and would never leave their home without being asked or taken. It also seemed like something terrible had happened to their species recently. There were only six relatively young mares, and they dodged any questions about other flutter ponies.
The reason for this lack of interaction was geography. Flutter Valley was completely surrounded by formidable ridges even pegasi found almost insurmountable. Dream Valley at least had passes that provided access to the rest of Ponyland. Flutter Valley was a walled city, an enclave surrounded by Ponyland and yet almost completely separated from it. The only connection was a few tunnels that were well hidden and off the beaten paths. The only reason the Dream Valley ponies discovered them was because the Moochick told them how to find them. They were only a myth in fables and legends to them before then, and probably would have remained so.
If they had never met the flutter ponies, this Arachnis and his hoard might have never learned of their existence and left them alone. Though, being from a thousand years ago, they might have known about them already. Still, Wind Whistler could not shake the feeling they would be responsible for what would happen to the flutter ponies if Arachnis captured them too.
They reached the area around the most commonly used tunnel. A thick curtain of current vines grew up the face of the almost vertical cliff, hiding the tunnel behind them. However, the small lake nearby served as a landmark. Fizzy slowed to a trot and then a walk and finally stopped at the edge of the lake. Wind Whistler landed next to her. Her wings felt like they were made of lead as she folded them.
"We made it." Fizzy's chest heaved as she exhaled and inhaled to catch her breath.
Wind Whistler panted as she tried to catch hers. She dipped her snout in the lake and started lapping up the cold, fresh water to quench her thirst. They had kept up an almost grueling pace from the Mushromp to here.
She paused from her drink to speak. "We have made it to the entrance at least. Hopefully, we are ahead of Arachnis."
Fizzy paused from her drink. "What can we do though? We're just two ponies."
Paradise forced a cough.
"I mean four," Fizzy corrected herself.
"The same thing we did in the tunnel when the magma was coming," Wind Whistler said. "We will use every advantage we have. That is all we really can do and hope it is enough."
"Okay…I guess," Fizzy said halfheartedly. Her mouth sank into a disappointed and discouraged frown and the rest of her body followed suit into a slumo. She was probably hoping for a better answer, but Wind Whistler did not have a better one. There had never been this many ponies captured at once and they had never faced an enemy as numerous as the Arachnid Marauders. However, there always has to be a first time.
Wind Whistler lapped up some more water to completely quench her thirst. She then walked around the lake to the current vines. She decided to stay on her hooves as her wings were still tired.
The broad-leaved vines were dense and thoroughly obscured what was behind it. If one did not know what to look for, they might never know there was a tunnel hidden behind them.
However, there was one telltale sign and morning was actually the best time to find it. The cave breathed. It inhaled air during the cooling of the night and exhaled it as the air outside warmed during the day. Actually it was just air moving to fill space in an attempt to equalize pressure, but so is respiration when one thinks about it.
Wind Whistler examined the vines carefully. She finally found was she was looking for in leaves trembling. As she drew near, she could feel the cold 'exhale' leaving the tunnel. She looked to Fizzy and shouted in her direction, "It is over here."
She then turned her attention to the ground near it for clues of recent visitors. Aside from where they had been, the grass did not look like it had been recently trampled and there were no imprints in the bare dirt. She did not see any leaves that had been knocked loose from the currents as well.
"Has Arachnis been through here?" Fizzy joined Wind Whistler at the mouth of the tunnel.
"It does not look like it," Wind Whistler answered. "However, it is possible he has already gained access to Flutter Valley from another tunnel."
"Then we should hurry up and get moving," Paradise said.
Wind Whistler pushed her way through the currents and into the tunnel with Fizzy close behind. It became pitch black almost immediately as they walked away from the entrance. Fortunately, the tunnel was more or less straight with no branches. As long as they pressed ahead, they would arrive at the other side.
A yelp from Fizzy suddenly echoed off the cave walls. Wind Whistler spun around. She could only see Fizzy's very faint silhouette in the darkness. "Are you all right?" Wind Whistler asked.
"Yeah," Fizzy said. "I almost tripped over a rock. I can't even see my hooves in here."
"Perhaps I can generate enough light for us to see." Galaxy made her horn glow but it did nothing to cut through the darkness.
"At least you tried," Paradise said.
"No. I won't let this beat me." Galaxy made it glow brighter. She strained to increase the illumination. However, just as it looked like she could create appreciable light she had to stop. She panted several labored breaths.
"Don't hurt yourself," Paradise said. "If you can't do it, you can't do it."
"I can't stand it!" Galaxy yelled. "This blasted spell has left us helpless!"
"I know," Paradise said calmly. "It's how an arachnid hunts. They make their prey helpless first either with a web or a sting. However, fuming about it won't help matters."
"Paradise is right," Wind Whistler said. "We are the only hope the others have against the marauders. We should concentrate on what we can do, not on what we cannot do."
"Correction: you and Fizzy are," Galaxy grumbled. "It's easy for you to talk about abilities when you're full-sized."
"But you're the one who felt the flutter ponies could be in danger," Paradise said. "Your intuition might also be the only lead we have on finding the pieces of the Rainbow of Light. That's something you can do at any size."
"I guess," Galaxy said halfheartedly.
"Besides, we're already there," Fizzy said.
Wind Whistler looked forward and saw light pouring in from the Flutter Valley side of the tunnel.
Fizzy ran past her out into the light. She trotted up to bush filled with bright orange and yellow blooms. "I never get tired of smelling all these flowers."
Wind Whistler walked out into the light. She blinked as her eyes got use to the sudden increase in light. She inhaled deeply, drawing the sweet fragrance permeating the air into her nostrils.
Fizzy buried her nose in a bush. She picked up her head as a hummingbird flew out. She watched it as it flitted around her for a couple seconds before flying into another bush.
Wind Whistler walked past Fizzy down the ravine towards the actual flutter valley. "We do not have time to stop and smell the roses."
Fizzy trotted to catch up to Wind Whistler. "What's the plan when we get there?"
"If we reach the flutter ponies before Arachnis, we'll warn them and then lie in wait," Wind Whistler said. "When he comes, we'll ambush him and take our Rainbow of Light."
"And…" Fizzy gulped. "What if he's already there?"
Wind Whistler took a moment to think. "Then we will have to save the flutter ponies and take the Rainbow of Light from him. I will have to see what the exact situation is there."
They rounded a corner and a faint sound reached Wind Whistler's ears. She picked up her ear and concentrated to hear it better. It was a haunting melody of a flute. It sent a chill down Wind Whistler's spine. There was a sinister quality to it. If it had been visible and tangible, it would creep along the ground like fog and coil around you like a snake.
Fizzy shuddered. "What spooky music." She gasped. "It must be Arachnis casting his shrinking spell! We're too late!"
"At least we know these pendants work." Wind Whistler looked down at the pendent hanging around her neck. It seemed to be doing nothing, but it was clearly protecting her and Fizzy's was protecting her. "If it was affecting us, we would not be able to hear it."
"I wonder why we're able to hear it and not getting any smaller," Paradise said.
"Probably because the spell has had its full effect on us," Galaxy said. "It can't make us any smaller."
"Whatever the case, you two should probably find cover. This could get ugly." Wind Whistler waited from them to leave her mane and hide in the bushes.
She turned to Fizzy. "Let us go!" She broke into a gallop towards the heart of Flutter Valley. Fizzy followed close behind her.
Arachnis played the Diminishing Melody on his flute. He had played it so many times he knew every note and rest by heart. Even after a thousand years of imprisonment, he played it perfectly. It was a haunting melody with an ominous tone indicative of the spell it cast.
He looked down into Flutter Valley. It was picturesque and teeming with life. Unfortunately, almost all that life was of the plant kingdom. Grasses, shrubs, trees, flowers, vines; it was a botanist's dream. Even the waterfall-fed ponds where colored in the green of lily pads and other water plants. However, it was a depressing sight for a band of carnivores who had no use for plants.
The flutter ponies were the only thing substantial in the valley and even they were not much. They were smaller and looked weaker than the ponies they found in Dream Valley. They were also so few in number at a half dozen. There were actually more open gazebo-like structures he figure were houses scattered around than ponies to live in them. However, Arachnis knew looks were often deceiving and underestimating your enemy was just as often fatal.
The flutter ponies were little more than specks of pastel color now. They flew around aimlessly in the meadow, no doubt confused by what was happening to them. They were like flies in a web, hopelessly entangled and ready for them to move in for the final strike.
Lash scoffed and crossed his whips. "So much for the legendary flutter ponies. Your spell shrank them as easily as everything else."
Arachnis pulled his flute away from his lips. "You would think differently if we had let them attack us first."
"Tell me, why aren't we eating the ponies now?" Lash asked. "Some have complained about it."
"Because they locked us away for a thousand years." Arachnis scowled and looked forward, but not at the valley. He could still remember that white unicorn with wings and the fateful battle with her. The mere thought of her brought rage in him. He wished they had escaped in time to do this to her, but he could settle with her civilization. "This is not merely a hunt. This is revenge. So, it's not enough to simply eat them like normal prey. I want them to suffer. I want them to watch us ravage their land until there is nothing left while they can do nothing. Then, once their spirits are broken, we will eat them."
"So they'll be the dessert to our Dream Valley main course," Lash rubbed his whips together greedily. "I like the way you think, Boss."
"My spell is complete," Arachnis said. The spiders crawled out his clothes and gathered around him. "We can now begin capturing."
A turquoise, full-sized unicorn suddenly ran out of the pass into the meadow where the flutter ponies had gathered. Lash's red eyes widened at the sight. "What the…how did a unicorn get here?"
"More importantly: why was she not affected by my spell?" Arachnis bared his tightly gritted teeth. "Nothing except the horde was supposed to be immune to it." He turned to Lash and pointed at her. "Go find out."
Lash followed the spiders down the ridge and towards the meadow.
Arachnis watched as the unicorn ran towards the specks that were the flutter ponies. Who was she? She could not be from Dream Valley. They were all under lock and key and shrunk by his spell. More importantly, she seemed to be immune to his magic somehow.
Something suddenly struck him in the back. He fell forward and his flute flew from his hand. "No!" he shouted as it rolled towards the edge. He grabbed it just as it was about to fall off.
He rolled over on his back looked up to see a pale blue pegasus with a pale pink hair glaring at him. "Just how many of you are there?" he said with a growl to his voice.
"Enough," the pegasus said coldly. "Now return the Rainbow of Light."
"I'm afraid it's not here." Arachnis stood up and batted at his sleeves to knock off some dust. He threw his head from side to side to make his neck crack. "I thought I got all of you yesterday, but apparently you and your unicorn friend somehow slipped through the cracks. No matter. I'll just correct the oversight right now."
"Queen Rose Dust." Fizzy stopped in front of the flutter ponies. They were as tiny as Paradise and Galaxy. The flute music had also stopped. Arachnis must have been able to complete his spell.
"Fizzy." Rose Dust flew up to her followed by the other flutter ponies. "Why are you here? Actually, forget that. Do you know what is happening to us?"
"And why haven't you been shrunk like us?" Honeysuckle said. The pink mare darted around, clearly fuming.
"It's hard to explain," Fizzy said. "You have to get out of here now. Arachnis the Captor's coming for you."
"Who?" Rose Dust asked.
"Leader of the Arachnid Marauders," someone said from behind them and gave a cruel chuckle. Fizzy turned around and gasped. It belonged to a black, pony-sized arachnid with long whips coming out of his sides. He crawled towards them with a large group of spiders. "Capture the flutter ponies," the large Arachnid said. "The unicorn is mine."
Fizzy hunched her back and backed up a couple steps as the creature drew near. She had never been very brave when it came to arachnids. Just seeing a small spider would make her yelp. This large, strange one was particularly frightening. "Y-you can't use your magic against me," she stammered.
"What a shame." The arachnid threw out one of his whips and quickly wrapped it tightly around Fizzy's neck. It was loose enough to not choke her, but tight enough she could not get out of his grip. "I don't use magic," he said.
"Fizzy!" Rose Dust and the other Flutter Ponies flew towards her.
"No. Get away." Fizzy strained against the whip around her neck.
"Get the flutter ponies!" a spider shouted. They started throwing strings of web in the general direction of the flutter ponies.
Rose Dust barely dodged being ensnared. "I'm sorry." She flew away with the others as more strings were chucked their way.
The arachnid used his free whip to caress Fizzy's cheek and sweep her mane out of her face. "What pretty eyes you have, my dear."
"Uh…thank you?" Fizzy was not sure what he meant by complimenting her.
"Yes. They look just like rubies. They'll make a fine pair of trophies." The arachnid held up one of his pincers with several sharp spines on the inside perfectly suited to plucking out eyes.
Fizzy panicked as the arachnid pulled her towards him and his pincers. She tried to back up, but he was too strong. He pulled her closer and closer, dragging her hooves through the dirt. She tried to think of possibilities like Wind Whistler had said. However, she could not wink out of his grip and she did not know if she could make a bubble big enough to hold him.
They only thing left was screaming. She shouted "HELP!" as the arachnid dragged her closer.
Wind Whistler bucked Arachnis in the gut before he could jump on her. He let out a grunt and instinctively wrapped his arms around his middle. He staggered back several steps before falling onto his knees. Despite his frail appearance, Arachnis was incredibly strong. It was all Wind Whistler could do to maintain a draw.
Wind Whistler heard a frantic cry for "Help!" from Fizzy. She looked down into the valley and saw the giant whip scorpion had her by the neck and was dragging her towards him. She bought this reprieve just in time. She took to the air before Arachnis could recover and flew down to the meadow. She saw that the giant arachnid swipe at the air with his pincer as he dragged Fizzy closer.
"Jeepers, creepers, where'd ya get those peepers," the whip scorpion sang in a sinister tone. He dragged Fizzy in, barely impeded by her struggling. "Jeepers, creepers, where'd ya get those eyes." He chuckled.
Wind Whistler dove down and bit as hard as she could into the whip holding Fizzy. The whip scorpion screamed in pain and released his grip. He coiled the whip into his body and examined the reddening bite marks she had left on it.
"Are you all right?" Wind Whistler landed next to Fizzy.
Fizzy coughed. "Yeah, thanks."
"Go help the flutter ponies," Wind Whistler said. "I will deal with this ruffian."
The whip scorpion glared at her and snarled. "These whips are sensitive."
"I know that," Wind Whistler said. The arachnid was a giant version of a tailless whip scorpion which used its whip-like front legs to feel the surrounding area. Apparently, at his size, this individual also used them to grab prey.
"Why you…" The whip scorpion threw his whips at her. Wind Whistler flew up to an altitude where he could not reach. He swiped at her with both whips, but only grabbed air. "Get down here, you miserable pony."
Fizzy stopped at a token safe distance from the spiders. They had the flutter ponies caught in webs and were wrapping them in silk.
Fizzy gulped dryly. She did not want to get too close. The spiders could bite her or harm the flutter ponies. The incident with Surf Rider suddenly popped in her head. She could trap them in bubbles like she did to her.
She pointed her horn at the stream nearby and concentrated. A surge of bubbles erupted from the water and floated towards the spiders. The bubbles encased the spiders and floated away from the webs.
Fizzy walked up to the webs. "I'll get you out of that." She concentrated on her telekinesis magic to pull them out of the web.
"Fizzy, watch out!" Rose Dust shouted.
Fizzy looked up just in time to see a purple bolt of lightning shoot straight at her side. However, it suddenly stopped just before hitting her. The pendant must have blocked the magical attack like the Moochick had said it would.
Fizzy spun around to where the lightning bolt had come. Arachnis leapt off the ridge and landed on the ground below in a squat. He stood up and walked towards her.
"You and your friend seem to have some kind of protection against magic," he said in a low voice, "those pendants around your necks most likely."
Fizzy backed away until she came against the cliff rising up behind her. She huddled there, making herself as small as possible. She trembled uncontrollably and she could only manage a whimper. Looking into his eyes staring back at her filled her with paralyzing fear.
Arachnis stopped and glanced up. His mouth bent into a lopsided smirk. "Fortunately, there is more than one way to skin an equine." He threw a bolt of lightning at a tree overhanging the ledge above Fizzy. Bark and a large piece of the trunk exploded on contact, flying off in splinters. The tree collapsed on its weakened trunk and fell from the ledge.
Fizzy looked up to see the massive tree falling towards her. Her mind suddenly focused on one thing: wink out. In a flash of sparkles she was suddenly a few dozen feet away as the tree struck the ground with a thunderous crash where she had been.
Wind Whistler looked to where a loud crash came from. Fizzy stood near a fallen tree and Arachnis was walking towards her.
Wind Whistler gasped. "Fizzy!"
"You should be more worried about yourself!" The whip scorpion shouted.
Wind Whistler turned around in time to see him wrap his good whip around a large rock. He heaved the jagged boulder at her. She flitted to the side to let it sail past her at incredible speed.
She watched the whip scorpion cautiously. He wrapped his whip around several nearby rocks and boulders one after another, probably gauging their weight. Apparently flight was not as big of an advantage as she first thought if he could lob boulders at her.
Fizzy backed up again as Arachnis strolled towards her.
He stopped and held up his hand. Glowing, purple pins shot from his palm at the bubbles holding the spiders. The bubbles burst and the spiders landed on the webs. They gathered up the captured flutter ponies and carried them to Arachnis. He picked them up and looked at him. He grinned more evenly and nodded.
He then turned to the giant arachnid. "We're leaving, Lash."
Lash dropped a large rock. "What about these two?"
"Leave them. We have what we came for." Arachnis looked at the flutter ponies in his palm. "We can deal with them later."
"Feel lucky you got away this time," Lash grumbled at Wind Whistler.
Arachnis swept his hand to the side and a powerful blast of wind that kicked up dust in a think cloud. Fizzy closed her eyes to keep out the sand blowing against her. The wind subsided and she opened their eyes to find her and Wind Whistler alone.
Fizzy heaved a sigh and held her head low. "Some help I was?"
Wind Whistler landed next to her. "You did your best."
"No I didn't," Fizzy said meekly. She glanced to Wind Whistler, but felt ashamed to look her in the eye. "I was too scared. I just stood there and let them take the flutter ponies with barely a fight."
"You did more than you think. The two of us escaped," a small voice said. Fizzy picked up her head and looked around for where the voice came from. Morning Glory and Honeysuckle emerged from a flowering bush. "We managed to hide during the commotion you caused," Morning Glory said.
"Unfortunately it didn't save us from being shrunk," Honeysuckle grumbled. "Look at us. We're no bigger than bugs."
"You're not the only ones." Paradise flew in. "Except for Fizzy and Wind Whistler, all the ponies in Dream Valley have been shrunk too."
Galaxy winked in on Wind Whistler's nose. "The four of us are the only ones still free."
"Why would they do this?" Morning Glory asked.
"From what we can ascertain, these arachnids and that humanoid creature traveling with them are a band of marauders who ravage the land. When they came to Ponyland one thousand years ago, Queen Majesty defeated them and sealed them away. However, the seal has been broken and now they are seeking revenge on us for what Queen Majesty did to them," Wind Whistler said.
Honeysuckle shook her head. "That's all we need: a powerful sorcerer with a grudge. What are we going to do about him?"
"The Moochick told us we need to collect the six pieces of the Rainbow of Light to form the Master Wand which Queen Majesty used to defeat them," Fizzy said.
"Speaking of which," Paradise said. "There wouldn't happen to be a heart-shaped locket somewhere in Flutter Valley, would there?"
Morning Glory pondered. "I remember Queen Rose Dust telling me about a treasure in the Flutter Sanctum at the center of the valley. Could that be it?"
"It's as good a place as any to start," Galaxy said.
Wind Whistler looked down into the dip in the land at the large, gray stone with a hole in the side at its center. "Is that it?"
"That's it: the entrance to Flutter Sanctum," Honeysuckle said.
She and Morning Glory flew down to it. Wind Whistler fluttered down to the bottom and Fizzy winked out and back in front of the stone.
Considering the beauty of Flutter Valley, the entrance to Flutter Sanctum was rather mundane. There was not even something to close off the entrance. Though, being in Flutter Valley was probably protection enough.
They descended the spiraling tunnel leading from the entrance underground. Luminescent gems jutted out of the walls providing at least paltry light for them to see. The air quickly cooled and became more humid. There was also that heavy odor organically rich soil had to it. Wind Whistler thought of how Posey would kill to have loam of this quality.
The tunnel wound and descended until it opened into a large cave. More luminescent gems provided a little better light. The cave was unremarkable except for a stone pedestal in the center with a violet, heart-shaped locket sitting on it.
"Could that be it?" Fizzy asked.
"There is only one way to find out." Wind Whistler walked up to the locket and tapped it gently with her hoof. The locket popped open and a brilliant rainbow streamed out of it. The ribbon of color twisted and circled around the cave, casting colorful light on the walls.
"All right!" Fizzy jumped for joy. "We found one."
"I never realized the treasure was a Rainbow of Light," Morning Glory said.
"Who cares about that now?" Honeysuckle started throwing her front hooves forward as if she was punching. "We now have a weapon, and we can kick some spider butt with it."
"I am afraid this is just the start." Wind Whistler slid the locket over her head. The Rainbow flew back into it, and the locket closed. "There are still four more pieces out there, scattered across Ponyland. There is also the Rainbow of Light Arachnis took from us."
"It seems your intuition took us to a piece of the rainbow after all," Fizzy said to Galaxy in her mane. "Perhaps you can find another."
Galaxy pondered for several seconds. "Well, thinking about it, I get the sense we should head southeast. My thoughts about the Rainbow of Light point to somewhere in the ocean."
"The ocean?" Honeysuckle asked. "Why would there be a piece of the Rainbow of Light be in the ocean?"
"I have an idea of where it could be," Paradise said.
"Then we should head there immediately," Wind Whistler said. "If we start now and keep up a good pace, we can reach the coast sometime mid-afternoon."
"We're coming to." Honeysuckle landed in Fizzy's mane with Morning Glory. "Flutter ponies and water might not mix all that well, but I'm not about to stay here and wait for those spiders to come back and make sure they finished the job."
"Suit yourself," Wind Whistler said.
She walked back towards the entrance. Fizzy followed her up the winding pathway.
"I wonder how the others are doing," Fizzy said.