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Ice Crystal looked up when he heard rustling in the fern thicket on the opposite side of the stream. Powder looked up too. The plants shivered like something large was working its way through them. A giant, black spider the size of a house rose over the ferns and glared down at them with its lone, red eye.
The two jumped back as the massive creature walked towards them. It was joined by several pony-sized spiders, a scorpion-like creature and three shabbily-dressed women pushing through the ferns. The sly grin the women wore sent a chill down Ice Crystal's spine. He was not sure what to make of these newcomers, but he suspected they were not friendly.
"Who are you?" Powder asked.
"You're worst nightmare, ponies." The oldest woman cackled loudly.
"Get them!" the scorpion yelled, pointing his long whip at them.
The spiders leapt over the stream. Ice Crystal immediately winked out and winked back into the normal plane several yards away. Powder appeared next to him. They dove into a thicket of ferns and watched the strange creatures.
Ice Crystal's heartbeat pounded in his ears. Powder was as wide-eyed as he must have been, breathing rapidly like was. Ice Crystal had never seen this group before and did not know why they were suddenly after them.
"Spread out and look for them," the scorpion said. "They couldn't have gotten far."
Ice Crystal and Powder slowly backed out of the thicket. As soon as they were clear, they bounded away and broke into a gallop. The others had to be warned about these intruders.
Fizzy concentrated to keep her bubble from bursting. This had to be the longest time she had kept a bubble from popping. Her horn itched from the constant flow of magic coming out of it. Hopefully they would be at the Colossus Forest soon.
She had kept her eyes closed to concentrate better. However, curiosity and impatience had gotten the better of her and she opened her eyes to see where they were. The green plain gave way to gray, rounded mountains rising over a dense forest of huge trees. That had to be the Colossus Forest.
Wind Whistler and Hurricane landed on a ledge on one of the peaks and Fizzy finally let her bubble burst. She heaved a sigh of relief and scratched her horn on the ground as it still itched.
She looked around. There was a definite dividing line she could see from this altitude. South of it was the green plain they had traversed between Dream Valley and the coast. North of it was the mountainous terrain and the sea of pine trees between them.
The trees were enormous. Despite being on a high ledge over a thousand feet above the valley floor, the treetops almost reached them. The ground was completely obscured from view by their massive, needle-covered boughs.
"The Colossus Forest I presume?" Hurricane asked.
"You presume correctly," Galaxy answered.
Hurricane heaved a sigh. "It'll take forever to search all that."
"Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," Wind Whistler said. "The sooner we start looking, the sooner we find the rainbow piece."
Fizzy looked over the ledge. The cliff face went straight down under the canopy with no bottom in view. She doubted if she could even make it in one wink and blind winking was something she had always been warned against.
She noticed a branch that could hold her a couple hundred feet below. She winked out and back in on the branch. She could see the fern-covered ground from there which was within range. She winked out again and winked back in on the ground.
Wind Whistler and Hurricane glided down through the canopy. They landed next to her and looked around.
The forest floor was very eerie. The sunlight was mooted by the canopy high above with shafts of light coming down through the tiny breaks between the branches. The sounds of animals Fizzy had never heard before occasionally made their presence known. The air was heavy with the earthy smell of pine and dirt and was quite moist as well. Even compared to the bizarre Mushromp, this seemed like an alien landscape to her.
"All right, we're in the woods." Hurricane glanced in every direction. "Where do we go from here?"
"We should probably look for trails," Wind Whistler said. "The unicorns living here have likely worn some into the underbrush which should lead to them."
"Here's hoping they're in the mood for visitors." Hurricane slowly walked away from the cliff face deeper into the woods. Fizzy and Wind Whistler followed.
Fizzy could not keep her eyes from looking up at the canopy so high above their heads. The reddish trunks of the trees were several hundred if not a thousand feet tall and bigger around than the towers of Dream Castle. "I didn't even know trees could get this big. A full grown dragon could live like a squirrel in some of those branches."
"It makes you feel like an insect in comparison, does it not?" Wind Whistler said.
"If you're insects," Honeysuckle asked, "what does that make us?"
"Germs," Hurricane said.
"I'm sorry I asked."
"What's really impressive is these huge trees start out as these little pinecones." Hurricane kicked a pinecone that was no bigger than a softball.
"These trees must be thousands of years old. That is a long time to grow." Wind Whistler hopped off a small embankment and landed on a strip of bare earth. It was a trail like she had said they would find.
Fizzy jumped down and looked down both directions. The strip of bare dirt cut through the forest, but there was nothing making one direction more remarkable than the other. "Which way?"
Hurricane took a couple of seconds to think. "The cliff is behind us which would be more or less east making our right north which would take us deeper into the woods. So, we should go right."
"Agreed," Wind Whistler said.
They turned to the right but stopped when something large jumped over a fern and landed on the path in front of them. Fizzy gasped and backed away when she saw it was a huge, light tan, cat-like animal with a pair long, sharp teeth coming down from its upper jaw. The massive feline hunched its back and let out a thunderous roar.
"On second thought, left might be better," Hurricane said.
Fizzy could not keep herself from trembling in the presence of the huge cat. She had never seen a cat as big as this. It had to be as large as all of them combined. Another roar made her back up and hide in behind Wind Whistler. "What is it?"
"It is a smilax," Wind Whistler said.
"A what?" Fizzy asked.
"What many incorrectly call a saber-tooth tiger," Wind Whistler said, "but they're supposed to be extinct."
"Tell that to it," Hurricane said dully.
The smilax gave another roar and snarled. Its curled lips revealed many smaller teeth but just as sharp as its two massive tusks. The feline completely blocked the trail in front of them. They could fly and wink around it, but it was possible it was one of many in this forest. They could end up landing right in a den of them.
Hurricane shot a glare towards Galaxy. "Where was your intuition this time?"
"It's strange, but I never sensed danger nearby," Galaxy said. "Even now, I sense we are in no danger from it."
The smilax again roared.
"I think it strenuously objects to that observation," Hurricane said.
"Actually, I'm sensing that it isn't even there." Galaxy's eyes widened. "Of course, it's an illusion."
"An illusion?" Wind Whistler asked.
"Yell out 'I know it's you, Stargazer, so you can stop it now'," Galaxy said.
"All right," Wind Whistler said. She shouted in no direction in particular, "I know it is you, Stargazer, so you can stop it now."
The smilax slowly faded away. Its roars and snarling were replaced with the eerie quiet of the forest. Everyone looked around. Fizzy was at a loss as to what just happened.
A shower of sparkles brought a blue unicorn into existence before him. He looked like a blue, male version of Galaxy. His mark was even a constellation of tiny, five-pointed stars though it was the constellation Orion instead of the Big Dipper. "How would you know that smilax was one of my illusions?" he asked irritably. "There is only one pony I know that can see through my magic."
"I'm here." Galaxy winked over to his nose.
The stallion gasped. "Galaxy, is that you? What's happened to you?"
"A sorcerer attacked Dream Valley and did this to us," Galaxy answered.
The stallion sighed, keeping his snout level. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize they were with you." He turned his attention to the others. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Stargazer, Galaxy's twin brother."
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Stargazer. My name is Wind Whistler."
"Hi. I'm Fizzy."
"I'm Hurricane. How's it going?"
Paradise flew out of Wind Whistler's mane with Morning Glory and Honeysuckle. "I'm Paradise, pleased to meet you."
"I'm Morning Glory, likewise."
"And I'm Honeysuckle."
Galaxy leapt onto Stargazer's head. "Wind Whistler, Fizzy, and Paradise live in Dream Valley like me, Morning Glory and Honeysuckle are flutter ponies from Flutter Valley, and Hurricane is from the Mangrove Islands."
"I guess it's a pleasure to meet friends of my sister," Stargazer said.
"So, what was with the overgrown kitty with a staple puller for a mouth?" Hurricane asked.
"It's to scare off strangers," Stargazer said irritably. "I like my privacy."
"I am sorry for disturbing you. We did not mean to intrude. However, we are searching for an object. It is a locket like these." Wind Whistler held up the locket around her neck and motioned to the one around Fizzy's. "We believe there is one in the Colossus Forest. Have you ever seen one?"
"Personally no, but one of the others might have. Come with me." Stargazer turned around and walked in the direction they intended to go.
Fizzy looked to Wind Whistler and Hurricane. They looked at each other and Hurricane shrugged. "It's not like we have better ideas," Hurricane said. He followed Stargazer along with Wind Whistler. Fizzy trotted up to be closer to Stargazer.
"Did you create that illusion with magic?" Fizzy asked.
"Of course," Stargazer said.
"Stargazer's magic lets him generate realistic images," Galaxy said. "That, combined with his naturally photographic memory makes him a very effective illusionist."
"Unfortunately, I've never been able to fool your intuition," Stargazer said. "Since nothing I make has substance, supernatural senses reveal them for the hollow illusions they are."
"I didn't know you could make sound effects too," Galaxy said.
"That was actually my natural voice," Stargazer replied. "I've learned to throw my voice to make it sound like comes from my illusions." Stargazer opened his mouth and Fizzy heard a loud roar like the one from the smilax, but from well in front of them. "I can do some pretty convincing sound effects," Stargazer said, "but not voices or speech patterns."
Wind Whistler noticed the forest was very monotonous as they walked along. Aside from the trail, there was nothing that could really be useful as a landmark. The massive, reddish-brown trunks that rose from the ground to the canopy high above were practically indistinguishable from one another and the groundcover was a mess of green plants.
It would be very easy to get lost in here or to lose someone if being pursued. The latter would be especially true for someone with winking abilities. They could disappear and reappear in a well secluded place where they would be hard pressed to be spotted. As the Mangrove Islands was the perfect place for pegasi and sea ponies, the Colossus Forest was the perfect place for unicorns.
Her train of thought was interrupted by shouting. Everyone stopped and looked around.
"What was that?" Hurricane asked.
"I don't know," Galaxy said, "but I have a very bad feeling about this."
Everyone directed their attention to a hillside next to the trail from where the shouts were coming from. A beam of brilliant blue light swept down the hillside. A layer of ice quickly formed on everything the beam swept over. Two unicorns, a pale green stallion with white and green hair and a purple mare with white and red hair, slid down the frozen hillside onto the trail.
"Powder, Ice Crystal," Stargazer asked, "what's going on?"
"There are intruders in the forest," the stallion answered. "A bunch of arachnids and three strangely dressed women."
"Who're you calling 'strangely dressed?'" a familiar voice asked.
Everyone looked up. Wind Whistler could barely stifle a gasp at the sight she saw. The witches, Lash, several giant tarantulas, and Aahg towering over them all stood in line at the top of the hill. As if Arachnis and his horde were not daunting enough, an alliance with the witches only multiplied their problems.
"How nice of you to gather into a group," Lash said. "You even brought in both of the priority ones. You've made our job very easy."
Hydia pointed her finger at them. "GET THEM!"
The group jumped off the hilltop. Everyone scattered as they landed on the trail. Aahg's landing actually shook the ground underneath their hooves.
Wind Whistler took to the air and made a quick evaluation of the situation below. They were clearly outnumbered as the arachnids and witches surrounded the unicorns. The presence of Aahg was also an advantage to their enemies as his size and webs made him especially formidable.
"What's the plan?" Hurricane hovered next to her.
"I am trying to think of one," Wind Whistler replied.
A yelp from Fizzy grabbed her attention. Aahg threw a net of web over the four unicorns. The witches grabbed the ends of it and tightened it around them as the ponies struggled in vein against it. The tarantulas closed in on them, brandishing their large, sharp fangs. She felt Galaxy appear on her head along with Paradise, Morning Glory, and Honeysuckle.
"You better think of something quick," Hurricane said. "They've made it just us now."
Wind Whistler tried her best to think of a strategy to work against these kinds of numbers. A thought popped into her mind that any other time she would have dismissed as ludicrous. However, the desperation of the situation made it viable. "Keep the tarantulas at bay. I will deal with Aahg."
She flew down to Aahg. She stopped and hovered in front of him. "Can I barrow a line of silk please?" she asked politely.
Aahg handed her a line of silk.
"Thank you." Wind Whistler took the line and quickly wrapped it around his legs. She then flew up and bucked him in his giant eye. He grabbed his eye and yelped in pain. He then lunged at her, but tripped on the line and fell on his face.
Wind Whistler planted her hoof on her face and sighed. "I cannot believe I just resorted to the use of slapstick. What the mind will come to under pressure."
She turned her attention to Hurricane. He was facing one of the tarantulas down. "Do you need assistance?" she asked.
Hurricane spun around and bucked the tarantula in the face to make it stagger back. "Assistance would be good at this point. What about Big and Ugly?"
Wind Whistler turned back to Aahg. He tried to get to his feet again but tripped and fell back on his face. "He is subdued for a moment."
A tarantula vaulted itself at Hurricane. However, he ducked under it so he could headbutt it over him. The spider tumbled across the ground behind him. "Then grab a partner and get in on the action."
Hydia scowled as she watched. For all the talk of these tarantulas being charged with killing ponies, they were not doing so well against just two of them.
Reeka suddenly grabbed her coat and started shaking her. "We gotta do something, Mom," Reek insisted. "We're losing."
Hydia shot her an enraged glare and curled her lips in disgust of hearing that term. "Let go of me and DON'T CALL ME THAT!" She pushed Reeka's doughy hands away. There were few things she detested more than being called any word related to mother.
Reeka backed away. "Sorry, Hydia."
"I'll take care of our fine feathered friends," Hydia grumbled.
She looked at the tree above them. There was a decent-sized branch right over the two. "Perfect."
She pulled out her spell book and quickly located a rotting spell. She held out her free hand towards the branch. "Ickus terickus zutara bo kozia."
The part of the branch holding it to the trunk quickly withered. The branch fell off under its own weight and plummeted towards the earth. Both Wind Whistler and the stallion with her were pinned under it as it hit the ground.
"There." Hydia snapped the book closed. "That's how you use magic."
Fortunately, the branch landed on top of them and not actually on them. Hurricane had escaped injury. However, it was too heavy for him to even budge when he tried to get out from under it. He looked to Wind Whistler who was also trapped. "Are you hurt?"
"I am uninjured." Wind Whistler tried to push the branch up with the same result Hurricane had. "However, I cannot free myself from this branch."
"Same here," Hurricane said.
With them pinned, the tarantulas returned their attention to the unicorns. "Leave them alone!" Hurricane shouted at them.
"I would be more concerned with your own welfare, pegasus," the scorpion-like creature said. He turned to Wind Whistler. "So we meet again. I didn't have a chance to thank you properly for biting my whip." She showed them the red welts on the appendage. "Who should I eviscerate first, you or your boyfriend?"
"Try neither!" a small voice shouted.
Honeysuckle shot towards the creature. She kicked him right in the eye with all four hooves before darting away. He coiled back and covered his struck eye with his good whip.
"Honeysuckle, get out of there!" Wind Whistler tried again to get free but to no avail.
"That was a very stupid mistake, pony." The creature swiped at Honeysuckle with his whips. She swooped and dodged as soon both whips slashed at the air.
Hurricane could hardly believe what he was seeing. The tiny flutter pony was actually driving him back. "Go, Honeysuckle. Show him who's boss."
"Be careful, Honeysuckle!" Morning Glory shouted.
"You think just because you shrank me I'm helpless." Honeysuckle continued to evade the whips swiping at her. "I got news for you, buddy. I won't go down so easily."
One of the whips delivered a grazing blow to her. The blow knocked her back. She hit a fern and fell to the ground.
"HONEYSUCKLE!" Morning Glory flew to her. Paradise would have followed, but Galaxy stopped her.
Morning Glory flew down to Honeysuckle. She put her ear to Honeysuckle's chest and thankfully heard a heartbeat. She was only knocked out.
She nudged Honeysuckle. "Come on, Honeysuckle, get up."
Honeysuckle slowly blinked her eyes open and groaned. "Did I get him?"
A shadow spread over them. Morning Glory looked up to see Lash standing over them. "Well, well. Who would have thought I would have to come all the way up here to find the two flutter ponies we missed in Flutter Valley?"
"Why are you doing this to us?" Morning Glory asked. "Can't we just live in peace?"
"We will know no peace so long as the Little Ponies are alive. That's why I'll squash you and your pink friend." Lash lifted one of his legs high and held it over them.
Morning Glory backed up as the leg came to dangle over her. She could fly way, but Honeysuckle was too stunned to. She could not leave her friend and knew there had to be a way through to Lash's better nature.
"Leave them alone!" Wind Whistler shouted.
"Yeah! Pick on someone your own size!" Hurricane added.
Lash turned to them. He chuckled cruelly. "When are you going to learn that's not how we conduct business?"
Hurricane gritted his teeth. "If I wasn't pinned, I'd tear your whips off."
"Perhaps if we tried lifting in tandem," Wind Whistler said.
"Worth a shot," Hurricane said. "One, two, three." They both strained against the branch but it would not budge. They both gave up. Hurricane panted from the strain. "No good. It must literally weigh a ton."
Lash turned his attention back to Morning Glory and Honeysuckle. "Where was I? Right, I was about to squash you two like bugs."
"But you don't have to do this," Morning Glory said.
"You have to understand this is how we live," Lash replied. "It might not seem fair, but life seldom is."
He lifted his leg over them again. Morning Glory stood over Honeysuckle.
"No." Honeysuckle tried to get to her hooves but fell before she could straighten her knees. "Save yourself."
"I'm not leaving you," Morning Glory said, not bothering to turn around.
"Have I told you you're a soft-headed fool lately?" Honeysuckle asked.
Lash chuckled. "Good bye." He started to bring his leg down. Morning Glory screwed her eyes shut expecting the end. However, she was instead greeted by the sound of electricity sparking and Lash screaming in pain.
She opened her eyes to Lash staggering backwards. His body convulsed as yellow lightning arced across it. She followed the lightning to an orange unicorn with yellow and white streaked hair standing beside them. Electricity spat and sparked from his horn at Lash.
Wind Whistler was surprised by sudden appearance of the new unicorn. However, it was a surprise she would gladly take at the moment.
Another unicorn winked in next to them. She had a pink coat and red and pink streaked hair. "Hang on. I'll help get that branch off you." She pointed her horn at the branch. The branch suddenly became as light as a feather and Wind Whistler and Hurricane easily lifted it up and rolled it off their backs.
"Thank you," Wind Whistler said.
"Help!" Fizzy shouted.
The tarantulas had encircled the ensnared unicorns. The giant spiders stood on their back legs and rubbed their long, sharp fangs together. They tensed in preparation to strike.
A flurry of bright sparks exploded around them. The stunned spiders backed away. They were still staggering back when a ball of fire flew out of nowhere. It forced the tarantulas together and formed a ring of fire to trap them.
"Now's your chance, Ice Crystal," Stargazer said. "Get us out of this net."
Ice Crystal held his horn to the net. Ice quickly encased the webbing. He and Stargazer butted their heads against the net and it shattered, freeing them.
Two more unicorns winked in next to them. One was a dark pink stallion with purple and yellow streaked hair and the other was a powder blue mare with pale purple and red streaked hair. "You guys are having a party and didn't invite us?" the stallion asked.
"I wouldn't think of it, Fireball," Ice Crystal said.
Several of the tarantulas leapt over the ring of fire. They took their attack pose, standing on their back legs and brandishing their fangs. The six ponies backed up as the spiders lashed at them.
Powder pointed her horn towards them. A torrent of snow streamed from it and blasted over them. The snow quickly built up on them and forced them back. She blew snow on them until it grew into a large pile with several legs sticking out of it.
Aahg pulled the webbing tangled around his legs apart. He stood up and gave a loud, booming roar. The unicorns scattered as he tried to sweep one of his arm-like forelegs at them.
"Looks like Big and Ugly is loose," Hurricane said.
"Then let us take care of him. Get ready to box the sides of his head." Wind Whistler took to the air. She circled around to Fizzy. "Blow bubbles in his eyes. Hurricane and I will then discombobulate him."
"I'm not sure what you're going to do to him, but all right." Fizzy pointed her horn at Aahg. Bubbles streamed from it and struck Aahg square in the eye. The massive spider grabbed his eye and shrieked in pain.
Hurricane flew around Aahg so he was on the opposite side as Wind Whistler. "I'm ready."
"Then go." Wind Whistler tucked in her wings and dove towards Aahg. Hurricane did the same. Both struck Aahg in the sides of what could be called his head with their hooves.
Much like boxing someone's ears, the simultaneous impacts had the effect of disrupting Aahg's sense of balance. He staggered back a couple steps before falling over with a loud thud. His eye, bloodshot from being kicked and irritated by bubbles, spun around in its socket.
"Hydia, do something." Reeka started shaking Hydia again.
Hydia smacked her hands away. She started rifling through the pages of her spell book. "There's got to be something in here." However, the wind picked up and blew the book closed. The wind twisted into a vortex that picked all three of the witches up and tossed them around. Wind Whistler did not even need to see the blue unicorn wink in to know it was Tornado. He directed the whirlwind to toss them onto the pile of snow.
"Long time, no see, Wind Whistler," Tornado said.
"The same, Tornado," Wind Whistler replied. She knew to keep sentences below ten syllables around Tornado or he would finish them for you.
Reeka rolled off the pile. Lash, who was smoldering from the electricity being sent through him, staggered over to them. "I hope you're happy," Reeka grumbled. "You wanted ponies, and now we got them coming out of our ears."
Wind Whistler flew down to Fizzy. "What do you say we let the Rainbows of Light end this?"
"That works for me." Fizzy touched her locket with her snout and Wind Whistler did the same.
The two rainbows streamed from their lockets and snaked through the air. One picked up Aahg and joined the other in picking up the witches and other arachnids. They formed a fat tube to contain them and lifted them above the canopy.
Wind Whistler flew up to them. Hydia stuck her head out the tiny opening in the back of the tube. She grimaced at Wind Whistler as she hovered there. "Words can't describe how much I hate you," she forced through her tightly gritted teeth.
Wind Whistler was not interested in whether or not Hydia hated her. It was almost a foregone conclusion. She had more pressing business with her.
"Take this message back to Arachnis." Wind Whistler was shocked at how cold the words sounded as they came from her lips. However, it would make her message clearer. "We are coming to save our friends and if any harm has come to even one of them, I will afford him and his horde no mercy."
She pointed south to instruct the rainbows. They widened slightly and then abruptly slimmed out. They shot their captives like a cannon towards the horizon. Within a split second they were not even a speck in the sky. No doubt Hydia would use magic to ensure their safe landing, but they were out of everyone's hair which was all that mattered at this point.
The rainbows separated and spiraled back down below the canopy. Wind Whistler followed them back down to the group standing on the forest floor. She landed next to Fizzy. The rainbows flew into their lockets and closed them.
"You mind explaining what's going on?" Tornado asked.
"Where are you manners, Old Chap?" the orange unicorn said with a refined accent. "We should introduce ourselves to these lovely and dare I say dashing young mares and their companion first." He turned to Wind Whistler and Fizzy. "I am Lightning and the one who helped you out from under the branch is Skyflier." He pointed to the pink mare.
"Hi." Skyflier waved her front leg.
Lightning was about to speak again when Tornado interrupted him. "And these are Fireball, Sparkler, Ice Crystal, Powder and I assume you've already met Stargazer." He pointed the owner of each name.
"We did," Stargazer said.
"Everyone, meet Wind Whistler and Fizzy from Dream Valley." He pointed to Hurricane. "And this is…"
"Hurricane, from the Mangrove Islands."
"Thanks."
Paradise flew up to make her presence known. "I'm Paradise. Galaxy and I are also from Dream Valley."
Honeysuckle had gotten the wherewithal to fly. She and Morning Glory flew up to join Paradise. She shook out her head in an attempt to clear it. "I'm Honeysuckle and this is Morning Glory." The slight slur to her voice betrayed how she was still a little groggy from the blow. "We're flutter ponies from Flutter Valley, pleased to meet you."
"Those are some nice necklaces," Sparkler said, sporting a necklace of gems herself.
"The Moochick gave them to us to protect us from magic," Wind Whistler said.
"Now that we have the introductions and Sparkler's issue with sparkly things out of the way can I get an explanation here?" Tornado asked irritably.
"Wait, where's Thundercloud?" Fizzy asked to Tornado's visible chagrin.
"He's looking after his son and mine. We can see them after you tell me what just happened. Who were those guys, why are they after us, and why are Paradise and the others not even an inch tall?" Tornado was practically shouting. He was as impatient as ever, but Wind Whistler could sympathize with him wanting answers with what just happened. She would if the roles were reversed.
"They're agents of Arachnis and the Captor," Paradise answered.
"As well as the witches from the Volcano of Gloom," Wind Whistler added.
"Arachnis is a sorcerer and used his magic to shrink us and all the other ponies living in Dream Valley and Flutter Valley except for Fizzy and Wind Whistler," Paradise said. "He's currently holding everyone captive in Dream Castle."
Tornado's reaction was a first for Wind Whistler. He was struck speechless. His eyes seemed glaze over as he tried to absorb what he had been told.
His lips finally began to work. "Gusty, my daughter?" His voice was a mumble.
"They've been taken captive along with everyone else," Wind Whistler replied in a very small voice.
She was ready for the same reaction she received from Pearl Diver, if not worse. Why did she and Fizzy escape? However, she was instead greeted by Tornado asking as calmly as she had ever heard him speak, "How do we save them?"
Wind Whistler was shocked, but also relieved by his demeanor. "We are currently searching for the six pieces of the Rainbow of Light," Wind Whistler said. "We already have two and believe a third is somewhere in this forest. Do any of you know where it could be?"
"No," Lightning said. "However, Thundercloud has spoken of a treasure in this forest. He might know the location."
Megan sat on her desk, absorbed in her thoughts. Those thoughts were mostly about her family. Should she reveal their presence to them? They were going about their business thinking she was just fine on her camping trip. However, the shock of talking ponies combined with their oldest daughter being an inch tall would be a bit much. They might also react irrationally.
She jumped to her feet and yelled "What should I do?" before thinking better of it.
"About what?" Spike asked.
"I can't decide whether we should reveal ourselves to my parents and siblings or not," Megan said in a quieter tone as she sat back down. "For one thing, I don't think we can hide forever. I was hoping Fizzy and Wind Whistler would find a way to save us, but it's been more than two days since Arachnis came."
Spike nodded. "I'm a bit worried too. However, this is Wind Whistler and Fizzy we're talking about. They always find a way to come through."
Megan smiled and petted Spike's head. His light purple scales were soft and smooth like those of a snake after recently shredding their old skin. "I guess you're right. However, I was supposed to be coming home today. If they hear nothing from me, they might start worrying."
"I don't know what we can do about that," Spike said, seeming to enjoy the petting.
Peach Blossom and Surprise landed next to them. "Megan," Peach Blossom said, "Surprise and I are planning to return to Ponyland for a small reconnaissance mission. We might ascertain the whereabouts and wellbeing of Fizzy and Wind Whistler as well as if they are making any fruitful endeavors to find and restore us. It might give us an idea of how long we will need to remain concealed."
Rose Dust landed on the desk. "You may go," she said. "However, you are not to approach Strike."
"Why would they want to go near him?" Spike asked.
"As we were making our escape from Dream Castle, Peach Blossom voiced her curiosity in Strike's immunizing venom and whether it could restore us to normal size." Rose Dust turned to Peach Blossom with stern frown. "However, it is too dangerous. Go in, collect what information you can, and then get out. Avoid the Arachnid Marauders at all costs. That is an order from your queen. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Queen Rose Dust," Peach Blossom said, bowing. "We will return by tomorrow morning."
The two took to the air and flew out the cracked window.
"Are you sure it's wise to let them return to Ponyland?" Spike asked.
"Perhaps not, but it would be nice to know what is happening there," Rose Dust said. "I must admit even I am becoming restless waiting around here with no knowledge of what is happening out there."
Little Lofty tried to keep up with Little Heartthrob as she flew through the house. "We're not supposed to leave Megan's room," she shouted at Little Heartthrob.
"Don't worry," Little Heartthrob replied. "Megan's parents left, so we have the house to ourselves."
Little Heartthrob flew up to the second story hallway that overlooked the front entrance. She landed on the hardwood floor. Little Lofty managed to fly through the narrow space between the posts holding up the banister. She tried to land, but her legs slid out from under her and slid to a stop on her stomach.
Little Lofty sighed at her latest crash landing. "I'm never going to get it."
"You'll get it eventually," Little Heartthrob said. "Check out the view."
Little Lofty got on her hooves and walked to the edge. The living room was right below them. Though, it was just the couch in front of the TV and a coffee table on a large rug. Directly above it, windows in the wall opposite them let sunlight shine in.
"Megan has a nice house," Little Heartthrob said.
"She sure does," Little Lofty replied.
A sound suddenly caught her attention. It sounded like quacking. It replaced by a short burst of static like when a TV did not work like it should. It was followed by a strange-sounding thud and crude electronic music. After a split second the four sounds repeated themselves in the same order.
They were coming from behind a closed door near them. They walked up to the gap under the door as the sounds repeated themselves again. "What's that?" Little Lofty asked.
Little Heartthrob did not answer. She instead crawled under the gap.
"Wait, Little Heartthrob. We're not supposed to go into the other rooms," Little Lofty said.
Little Heartthrob disappeared under the door. Little Lofty sighed and crawled under the door and into the room on the other side.
The first thing she saw was Danny sitting on a bed. He held what looked like a plastic, orange and gray gun and pointed it at a TV. The TV displayed a crude drawing of tall grass and trees in front of a bright blue sky. A crude, quacking duck flew out of the grass and flew in random directions on the screen.
Danny pulled the trigger on the gun and the TV made the static explosion sound. The screen flashed and the duck stopped. Its eye got big and it fell to the ground with a thud. A brown dog appeared with the duck in its hand as music played.
Little Lofty turned her attention to the rest of the room. The walls were covered in posters of people wearing a white and red uniform of some kind. Some were holding baseball bats and one was standing on a mound of dirt. Little Lofty figured they were baseball players Megan had told them about.
The game grabbed her attention as the noises changed. It played an upbeat tune of beeps and displayed a message of "PERFECT" on a black square. "That's how you do it," Danny said to himself.
"Danny's room is much more interesting than Megan's," Little Heartthrob said.
"But we're not supposed to be here," Little Lofty replied in a whisper. "What if he catches us?"
"You worry too much." Little Heartthrob's stomach growled. "I'm getting a bit hungry."
They heard crunching and looked up. Danny popped a potato chip in his mouth from the bag next to him. Little Heartthrob licked her lips.
"Don't even think about it," Little Lofty said sternly.
"But I'm hungry." Little Heartthrob stamped her hoof.
Little Lofty shushed her. "Keep it down. He'll hear us."
The brown dog on the game leapt barking into the grass. Danny once again pointed his gun and started shooting ducks.
"He's too interested in his game to notice." Little Heartthrob flew up to the bed. She landed next to the potato chip bag.
Little Lofty followed her. She intentionally crashed into a fold in the bedspread and peeked over the edge. Little Heartthrob landed right next to Danny. Little Lofty gulped dryly.
There were a few chips near the opening of the bag. Little Heartthrob crept towards them and gingerly reached for a chip.
Little Lofty shoved her hooves in her mouth to stifle a scream when Danny's hand reached for the bag. He was about to close it on Little Heartthrob when he coiled his hand back. Danny looked down at the pink pegasus and yelped. He fell off the bed throwing the bag with Little Heartthrob in the air.
Little Heartthrob flew out of the bag as it hit the wall.
Little Lofty flew to her. "Now you've done it. We're in big trouble because of you."
She looked back to see Danny huddled in a corner. He was aiming the game's gun at them. His blue eyes were wide and he was actually trembling. Megan was not kidding when she said her family would be scared of them.
She looked back to the door. They might be able to escape and he would forget about them or consider them a daydream. She then saw a blue unicorn crawl out from under it. It was Ribbon. She gulped dryly as she knew they were in for an earful for this.
"Little Heartthrob, Little Lofty, you're not supposed to go into the other rooms," Ribbon said.
She looked to Danny in the corner swinging his gun between her and Little Lofty and Little Heartthrob. "Oh no."