//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Bifrost // Story: Little Ponies Lost // by Al-1701 //------------------------------//           Wind Whistler opened her eyes and picked up her head from the pillow.  She was expecting her bedroom to greet her, but it was instead the ceiling of light in the underground chamber.  She remembered she was too tired to go back up to the surface, so she used Twilight’s bedding instead.           She sat up and looked to Twilight Mist sitting in the chair and staring at the screens.           “How did you sleep?” Twilight Mist asked, not bothering to turn around to face her.           Wind Whistler pushed off the covers and rolled from the mattress to the floor.  “Well enough.  Thank you for letting me use your bedding.”           “Don’t mention it,” Twilight Mist said.           “Did you sleep at all last night?” Wind Whistler asked.           Twilight Mist shrugged.  “I’m a night owl.  Another one of the reasons I wanted to be well removed from all of you.  I don’t disturb you, you don’t disturb me.”           Wind Whistler paid little mind to the comment.  Ponies were typically diurnal, but some preferred to be active night.  It was no concern of hers.           Their look into the machine was more important anyway.  “Did you find out anything?”           “Still can’t make heads or tails of the language,” Twilight Mist said.  “Fortunately, the numbering system is simple enough.”           Wind Whistler remembered that row of keys.  The vertical line had smaller branches coming off the side each representing a value of one and a triangle representing five.  There were no keys for ten, 50, 100, 500, or 1,000 like the Equestrian numbering system.           “The numbering system seems to be a composite between a positional digit system and a tally system like ours,” Twilight Mist said. “The rightmost symbol is zero and used to represent positions with no value.”           “That’s what I figured,” Wind Whistler said at the same time she had to yawn.           “This means they can deal with numbers far larger than our numbering system with ease,” Twilight Mist said.           “That makes some things fall into place,” Wind Whistler said.  She stretched.           “They were the only keys that could type something into those boxes next to the map and they seemed to change at random sometimes,” Twilight Mist said.           “Since we’ve confirmed the keys are numbers, perhaps they will make sense.”  Wind Whistler said.  “Type ‘nine hundred’ in the first box.”           Twilight Mist summoned two clouds of mist around her horn, and they took a shape similar to the claws of a dragon with fingers and a thumb.  The hands of mist descended onto the keyboard and tapped the nine key once before the zero twice.  The symbols appeared in the box, pushing the flashing line to the right.           “I also discovered what a couple of the other keys do.”  Twilight Mist tapped another key on the left side of the keyboard.  The flashing line went to the box to the right of the first, and the value in the left box went from ‘900’ to ‘180’.  The line going from the center of the map straight down became brighter.           “Now, try ninety-nine in this box,” Wind Whistler said.           Twilight Mist did so and the value changed to ‘39’ when she moved the flashing line to the box underneath them.  The line on the map split with the brighter line slight to the right by a little more than half a degree.           Knowing those symbols were digits, Wind Whistler better understood the diagram.  The labels around the outside of the outermost circle were angles in 45 degree increments and the labels running along the line going from the center straight up had to be distances.  There were four circles, and each was labeled in increments of 500 that stopped at ‘2000’.           Wind Whistler thought she had this figured out.  “Type in some number bigger than two thousand in the last box.”           Twilight Mist typed in ‘3125’.  This time, she struck a key on the right side.  The flashing line went back to the right of ‘180’ and the value in the last box became ‘2000’.  The bright line became a bright dot right on the edge of the outermost circle.  Lights on the large slider came on as well.           “I think we just figured out how to use this thing,” Wind Whistler said.  She pointed to the slider.  “My guess is the large slider will activate it”—she then pointed to the dot on the map—“and the machine will create a connection to that point.”           She looked away and noticed they were alone.  “Where’s Fizzy?”           “She woke up a little before you did and went up to the get the others,” Twilight Mist said, not even trying to feign interest.           “You seem even more standoffish this morning,” Wind Whistler said.  “Something wrong?”           “While you two slept, I was able to work my magic on this thing a bit further,” Twilight Mist said.  “I don’t like it.  We should brick off the elevator and pretend we never found it.”           “How could you think of bricking up such a discovery?” Wind Whistler asked.  “This could mean we have the ability to move freely anywhere within two thousand kilometers.  Earthbound ponies could travel to other locations and use their expertise to explore this world and make contact with its civilizations.  We could even find our way home thanks to it.”           “Because of what was thought here,” Twilight Mist said.  “Conquerors walked here, and their dreams of glory were swiftly snuffed out.  This was a machine of war, and it brought ruin to those who wielded it.”           That comment gave Wind Whistler pause.  The ability to travel anywhere instantly could be used as a weapon.  You could send an army right past the defenses of another kingdom and strike at its heart.  Why send an army even?  A large bomb or a canister of poison gas would do just as well.  However, this machine was simply a tool and the good or ill consequences of its use were completely up to the user.           “We’re not conquerors,” Wind Whistler replied.  “We’re just curious.”           “For now,” Twilight Mist said.  “Who’s to say how long we are here.  We could end up building a new civilization, and new civilizations looking to expand tend to look past their borders with ravenous eyes no matter how virtuous their original founders were.”           “Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?” Wind Whistler asked rhetorically.  “We’re all mares here, so it’s not like we would last past the current generation.”           Twilight Mist shrugged.  “Lofty found those ponies from the Crystal Empire.  Who knows how many ponies actually came here and if there are stallions among them.”           Wind Whistler had to give Twilight Mist that one.  She turned her attention the screen.  “But even if we do build a new pony civilization here, I remember my history teacher once told us, ‘Never let fear of the future keep you from it.’”           “And ‘those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,’” Twilight Mist added.           “Which is why we learn,” Wind Whistler said.  “Aren’t we supposed to be better than those who came before us?”           Twilight Mist remained silent for a second.  “Supposedly.”           “You’re awfully well spoken for a simple drifter,” Wind Whistler said.           “I’m also a consumer of information,” Twilight Mist said.  “In my travels I’ve accumulated the knowledge of the different tribes and nationalities of ponies as well as griffons, dragons, you name it.”           Wind Whistler felt a little jealous.  She had spent hours at the library reading about Equestria and its neighbor’s culture and academia, Twilight Mist was able to get it from the source.           “Something all too common in both myth and history is how power corrupts.  We cannot deny is this machine gives the user incredible power over those within its reach,” Twilight Mist said.  “Even if we don’t use it for evil, there are plenty out there who would.”           Wind Whistler instantly thought to the harpies.  They must have known of the locket’s connection to this machine.  That is why they would want it so badly.           The chime of the elevator sounded and its doors opened for Fizzy to trot out of it with Blueflower, Magic Star, and Galaxy following her.           Magic Star yawned.  “Is there any reason you had to wake us up so early?”           “I’m sorry,” Fizzy said.  “I didn’t know it was that early, and I was just so excited.”           “It’s perfectly fine, my little pony,” Blueflower said.  “It sounds like you’ve made quite the discovery.”           “We think the machine is used to instantly access other geographical points,” Wind Whistler said.           “You mean like how unicorns can wink out one place and back in another?” Magic Star asked.           As a limited form of teleportation became a common unicorn magic, it came to be known as ‘winking’ rather to differentiate it from the more complicated teleportation spells used by experts.  Winking had a limited range and could not be done through any object a pony could not pass through normally—whether solid or even mesh—but let them cross gaps too far to jump or just move more quickly than on hoof.  That little factoid help Wind Whistler wake up her mind.           Galaxy looked at the diagram of the tube with flared ends.  “Though, it appears to be a sustained tube of folded space rather than an instantaneous pocket like winking.  And obviously it isn’t as short ranged or stopped by solid objects.”           “Then anyone can travel outside the valley,” Magic Star said, suddenly more alert upon hearing this.           “Have you tested this?” Bueflower asked.           “No,” Wind Whistler answered.  “We wanted to wait until morning so we can have ponies at the other end.”           “Well, it’s getting light now,” Fizzy said.  “I can go find more ponies to go outside.”           “Have them go east about a kilometer from the castle,” Twilight Mist said, not bothering to turn to Fizzy.  “If something appears, we want them to take some nearby object and throw it in.”           “You got it!”  Fizzy ran back to the elevator and got in just before the doors closed.           “Sounds like a rather primitive way to test it,” Magic Star commented.           “Would you rather use a pony?” Twilight Mist asked, again not bothering to turn around.           “Point taken,” Magic Star replied.           “So, how does this thing work?” Blueflower asked as she looked at the readouts spread over the panes.           “That circular thing is a map with us in the middle.”  Twilight Mist pointed to the display of circles.  She typed in a set of coordinates.  “We type in an angle, which in this case will be ninety degrees and zero minutes, and distance, which will be one kilometer.”           The dot hopped around as she made the changes until it was just right of center.  “That little dot is our target.  We’ll give them a few minutes to get their act together and out there.”           “I bet a lot of ponies would like to get out of this valley,” Magic Star mused aloud.  “Cupcake wants some real ingredients other than grass and flowers, Buttons found some sewing equipment and wants fabric and thread, and Truly has been nagging for medical supplies.”           “Looks like we’ll be using this mechanism often if it is functional and safe,” Wind Whistler whispered to Twilight Mist.           “I’ve become accustom to disappointment,” Twilight Mist replied.  “Just remember, if this all comes back to bite us in the tails, it was I who warned you first.”           “I’m sure you will make certain we never forget,” Wind Whistler said.  “Think we’ve given them enough time?”           “Probably.”  Twilight gripped the slider with her mist hand.  “So, we just pull back, and let her rip?”           “Seems like it.”           “Then here goes nothing.”  Twilight Mist pulled back on the slider.           Whirring came from the tunnel and the inside of the rings started glowing from the end of the tunnel to the mouth.  A flash brought a swirling vortex of light and color into existence, contained by the rings.  It was just red of yellow, but the red was diminishing and the green was increasing with time.  The harsh light from it filled the chamber, easily drowning out the soft light of the ceiling above.           A small object appeared from the end of the tunnel and bounced a couple times on the ramp before coming to rest on it.           Magic Star broke the silence beyond the gentle purr of the machine.  “That was anti-climatic.”           “At least it works,” Blueflower said.  “Now, did it come out safely?”           Wind Whistler glided down and landed at the mouth of the tunnel.  The vortex was now transitioning between green and cyan, apparently cycling through the spectrum like a rainbow in time instead of space.  She thought of what Daniel had said about the Valkyrie Queens traveling anywhere instantly on a rainbow bridge.  This machine fit that description.           As she stepped onto the ramp, she could feel a charge building in her mane and coat.  The stinging smell of ozone surrounded her, suggesting electromagnetism was at least a component of forming this.           She reached the object which was a piece of dead bark.  It felt normal to the touch—no signs of heat or cold—with no signs of singeing or recent damage.  From the looks of it, the transition had no side effect on it.           “How does it look?” Blueflower shouted.           “It looks like it suffered no ill effects during passage.”  Wind Whistler tossed it back at the end of the bridge where the vortex appeared to suddenly come to a point and it disappeared.           She noted that the vortex was once again past red and going back to yellow.  It cycled through the color wheel in about a minute as best as she could tell.  Her observations were cut short as something pink and electric blue appearing from the end of the vortex and flew past her.           Firefly flew out of the tunnel and did a loop before landing.  “Now that was a rush.”           “That was extremely dangerous,” Wind Whistler corrected as she stepped out of the tunnel.  “What if the vortex was a vacuum between the exit points, or the buildup of static electricity caused a fatal discharge, or—”           “Danger?” Firefly scoffed, cutting Wind Whistler off.  “Danger is my life!”  She did a back flip.  “Besides, now you know it’s safe for ponies.”           “She has you there, Wind Whistler,” Blueflower said.  “Now, go get whoever went out with you and bring them through.”           Firefly saluted.  “You got it, boss.”  She flew into the tunnel and disappeared.           Wind Whistler fluttered back up to the control panel.  She noticed a new box had appeared with two numerical values separated by a ‘:’ decreasing in value.  “When did that count down appear?”           “When we activated the thing,” Twilight Mist said.  “Apparently, it will only remain open for five minutes.”           Firefly came out of the tunnel with Medley and Fizzy.  “It’s great Wind Whistler!”  Fizzy skipped from the mouth.  “It’s like walking through a tunnel of rainbow!”           “Does it have to remain open for five minutes?” Blueflower asked.           “I don’t think so.”  Twilight Mist pushed the slider forward.           The purr of the machine wound down the vortex faded.  The displays and backlighting of the panel turned red, and a large box appeared on the pane with the map displaying a countdown starting at ‘30:00’.  Twilight tapped at the number keys, but nothing happened.           “What happened?” Magic Star asked.  “Did you break it?”           “No.  Looks like it has to recharge for a half hour after it’s been used.”  Twilight Mist tried pulling on the slider, but it stayed in place.  “We just have to wait until then.”           “Still, ponies can use it to travel,” Blueflower said.  She turned to Wind Whistler.  “I think we’ve discovered the secret to your farmer’s locket, and you may return it.  In fact, you can use our new device, and I think several ponies are chomping at the proverbial bit for a chance to see your humans as well.”           “Perhaps we should wait until an hour or so after sunrise,” Galaxy said.  “Dawn and dusk come later the further west you are in this world.”           “Then I guess we should go up and see who wants to go.”  Blueflower walked towards the elevator.  “Come along, everyone.” * * *           Fizzy watched Cupcake’s face open into beaming smile as she told her about the tunnel thing under them.  “That’s perfect!” Cupcake cheered.           “It is pretty great,” Fizzy agreed.           “I mean, I can finally go out and get real ingredients for cooking and baking.”  Cupcake glanced at the piles of grass and flowers and bent her mouth into an exaggerated frown.  “No more weed salads and twisted grass pasta.  I could even get fresh produce, dairy, and eggs.  I thought I would never see those again.”           “So, are you coming?” Fizzy asked.           “Most definitely.”  Cupcake turned back to Sweetie and Gingerbread trying to make grass and flowers look presentable on plates.  “Can you two cover morning scullery and lunch on your own?”           “You can count on us!” Gingerbread chirped.           “Well, they’ll be leaving after breakfast,” Fizzy said.           “Save a seat for me,” Cupcake said, and then paused to think.  “Does this thing even have seats?”           “Uh…I didn’t see any,” Fizzy replied.           “Well, I’ll be going, that’s all that matters.”           Fizzy left the kitchen and headed to where Truly had made a makeshift infirmary.  She noticed something out of the corner of her eye that was quite vibrant.  She turned and the vibrant pink earth pony—Shady was what popped in her head—was looking at her from around the corner.           Fizzy turned around.  “Hi there!  I’m Fizzy!”           Shady flinched and disappeared from view.           “Wait!” Fizzy shouted after her.  “Don’t run away!”           She ran to the corner, but Shady was gone.  “Was it something I said?” * * *           The doors slid open and Wind Whistler gazed in the room directly under the control panel.  Although much of the chambers dimensions were exaggerated, this was quite an efficient use of space.  It was a storage area of some kind with wires and cables of different sizes and colors hanging in loops, parabolic dishes held in trays like flatware in a dishwasher, other things, and a row of black lockers against one wall.           Wind Whistler opened the locker and pulled out the canvas bag hanging inside it.  The bag was bulging and heavy with something hard in it, and a cord led from it to a headset consisting of a black band with a microphone on an arm and two earpieces on cords.           It was surprising to see fabric like this in such good condition despite it being unattended for however long it had been down here.  Though, if the environment had been kept sterile until they entered it, there would be no microbes to breakdown the threads and the temperature and moisture levels would have been constant at this depth.           She slung the bag over her back and left the room, the doors sliding shut behind her.           “It’s a storage compartment for what looks like communication equipment.”  Wind Whistler held up the bag.  “I think this is a personal radio set.”           “That’s nice,” Twilight Mist replied from the control panel, but clearly not paying as much attention.           Wind Whistler came to the top of the stairs to see North Star standing over Twilight Mist sitting in the chair.           “That’s where the horse ranch is,” North Star said, pointing at the map and practically inserting Twilight Mist’s muzzle in her leg pit.  Wind Whistler suppressed an urge to grin at the twisted look of absolute disgust on her face.           “Bearing two seven five mark eighteen, distance forty-seven kilometers.”           Twilight Mist pushed North Star back so she had to stand on all four hooves.  “Are you sure?”           “Am I sure?” North Star asked loudly.  “I have the best sense of direction of any pony you’ll meet.  It’s so precise they use me to make sure compasses are right.”           “Right.”  Twilight Mist leaned back.  “Just know the farther out you go, the less accurate the destination point is.  So, don’t be surprised if you come out in the next farm.”           She looked to Wind Whistler.  “What were you saying?”           Wind Whistler turned to show the radio.  “I believe I found a personal radio set in the compartment below us.  It might communicate with the machine.”           Wind Whistler looked at the bag someway to activate the radio.  There was a relatively small, metal lever sticking out of a metal-lined hole beside some knobs.  She carefully flicked it up with the tip of her hoof and looked to the panes.  One of them changed to display a bar, a traditional longitudinal and latitudinal map, and some numerical values.  The side of the large button on the panel also glowed blue as well as smaller key.           Wind Whistler slid the headset onto her head and said, “Does it work?” into the microphone.  There was no reaction from the machine.  She then remembered the microphone of a radio had to be switched on to work to prevent feedback.  She felt where the microphone’s arm connected to the headset and it depressed.  She held it down and said, “How about this?”  This time it came from speakers in the panel, the line in the uppermost bar became wavy for the time she was speaking.           She put in the earpieces as best she could.  “Try it on you end.”           Twilight Mist glanced to the larger and smaller buttons that illuminated.  She held down the smaller.  “Can you hear this?”  Her voice came through the earpieces.           “Well, it looks like, or should I say sounds like, we can communicate,” Wind Whistler said.           “The machine also appears to track the radio’s location,” North Star said.  She looked to the larger button.  “I wonder what that one does.  It lit up when Wind Whistler turned on the radio.”           Twilight Mist turned back to the ponies down there.  Paradise, Bow-Tie and Posey had already come down.  They were still waiting on Cupcake, Truly, Buttons, and Sparkler.  “Since we have time, I guess we can try.  I doubt it will blow us up.”           Twilight Mist pressed the button and the circular display and three boxes where the target coordinates went changed to the grid and displayed three rows of boxes, the first two rows having three boxes and the third having one.  A dot appeared right at the center.           “What just happened?” North Star asked.           “I think it just went to longitude and latitude down the tenth of a second as well as gained elevation,” Twilight Mist said.  “So, we’re about a hundred meters below sea level down here.”           “What would cause that?” North Star said.  “Wait!”  She looked to the display that came up with the radio.  “I think it locked onto the radio.”           The numbers of both displays matched perfectly.           “Then hitting the button again would—” Twilight Mist pressed the large button and the old circular display returned with the angle and distance she had typed in.           “Odd that it has the ability to understand longitude and latitude, but uses such a crude targeting system normally,” North Star mused.           “About as odd as building your control panel with an empty space to the side?” Twilight Mist replied.           The chime sounded and the last four ponies walked out of the elevator.  “Are we ready to go?” Buttons asked.           “We’ve been ready,” Twilight Mist said.  “Go down to the tunnel and be ready for the light show.”           The nine gathered at the mouth of the tunnel.  The machine whirred up and the lights of the rings came on.  The vortex formed only it started from deep blue.           “So, we just walk up the ramp and pop out somewhere else?” Cupcake asked.           “Basically,” Wind Whistler said.  “I could give the theoretical explanation, but I think we should just utilize it.”           They ran up the ramp towards the wall.  As they reached it, the light and colors enveloped them, a tube of pure energy that somehow had form for them to gallop on.  A second later, the colors peeled away to reveal a dirt road, and Wind Whistler leapt from the vortex onto it.  She turned back and watched as the others emerged and leapt from it.           Wind Whistler pressed the button for her microphone.  “We’re all through.”  She pulled her hoof away from the button.           Twilight Mist said nothing, but the vortex collapsed in on itself until it disappeared completely.           “So, this is it?” Truly asked.           “This is it,” North Star answered.           They were in the broad valley they had visited the day prior.  There were pastures and farmsteads with dirt roads dividing them.  There was a gray, dingy deck of stratus clouds on the western horizon, and the sun was low on the eastern horizon.  It was lower than would be expected for an hour after rising meaning Galaxy was right about the sun coming up later in the west.  Or rather, the world was constantly rotating and its surface was moving into and out of its shadow.           Wind Whistler needed some time to get her bearings.  Suddenly appearing in a completely different location was a tad disorienting, especially since this was a different view of everything.  However, white farm house and barn were nearby.  She did not recognize it at first because of the view from the back, but there they were and the hodgepodge herd of horses was milling about in a nearby pasture.           “The Williams’ home is over there.”  She pointed to it.           They made their way around the perimeter of the pasture.  Polaris noticed them and ran to the edge of the fence.  She whinnied and nodded her head.           “Top of the morning to you, Polaris,” North Star said.  “Though, I do wonder what that name means.”           Polaris snorted.           They went around the house to the front porch.  The windows of the house were dark, but there was light coming from the windows of the barn.  Daniel stepped out of the main doorway.  “Good morning.  I didn’t expect you back this soon.”           “Good morning, Mr. Williams,” Wind Whistler replied.  “How’s your cranial injury?”           Daniel had a bandage tied around his head.  “I got a nasty bump, but I woke up remembering who I was.  I would say I’m fine.”           “Well, we said we would return the locket when discovered its properties,” Wind Whistler said.           Danny popped his head out from the barn’s doorway.  “So you know what it does?”           Wind Whistler nodded.           “We’re also here to learn more about your culture,” Cupcake said.  “Like your local delicacies.”           “Umm…” Posey trailed off.  “What are those?”           Wind Whistler and the others spun around to Posey pointing to the south southeast.  Three long and narrow objects where just above the horizon and coming towards them.  They occasionally bent, suggesting large wings.  She felt her heart step up its pace and a chill go down her spine.  “Trouble.”           “It’s the harpies!” Paradise shrieked.  “They’re back too!”           Wind Whistler pushed the button on her microphone.  “Twilight Mist, are you still there?” “Where else would I be?” Twilight Mist’s voice came from the earpieces.           “The machine takes a half hour to recharge, right?” Wind Whistler said, trying to keep the panic from her voice as the objects drew closer.  “Any way to speed that up?” “I can’t tell without knowing the language,” Twilight Mist answered.  “Why?”           “Because our adversary from yesterday is approaching with a couple of friends and very quickly.  I estimate maybe five minutes before their arrival,” Wind Whistler said. “Unfortunately I can’t help you with that,” Twilight Mist said.  “Try to avoid them for the next twenty-eight minutes.  I’ll get you back as soon as this thing is ready.”           “Easier said than done.  Wind Whistler out.”  Wind Whistler watched as the objects grew nearer and their silhouettes gained the familiar features of harpies.           “Maybe we can run from them,” Paradise suggested.  “They’re so far out, they might not see us.”           “If they’re like birds of prey, they have extremely keen senses of eyesight especially when it comes to distance,” Wind Whistler said.  “They already know we’re here.”           “Then we’ll hide,” Daniel said.  “Everyone into the storm cellar!”           They clambered to a pair of wooden, cellar doors behind the house.  Daniel pulled them open and they filed down the stairs into the basement under the house.  Daniel came in last, closed the door, and slid a heavy beam of wood into holders.           Daniel pointed to a set of stairs.  “Lock the door into the house too.”           Danny ran up the stairs and turned a deadbolt on the door.  “We should be safe now.”           They waited, remaining silent.  Wind Whistler’s heart pounded and her mind raced.  Hiding was an unnatural state for ponies.  They were built to run and use quickness or foot or wing to escape or turn and fight if escape was made impossible.  However, neither would work against harpies with the advantages of flight and weapons.  If it had just been the pegasi, they could have used their maneuverability to evade them until the machine was ready.  However, they had earthbound ponies as well as the humans to worry about as well.  They would be easy targets for the harpies, and they were sure to use that against them.           Their options were limited now, basically they could only wait and hope the heavy, wooden doors and beam were enough to thwart the harpies until the machine could recharge and they could make their escape.           “How long?” she asked quietly into the microphone. “A little less than twenty-four minutes,” Twilight Mist answered.           Everyone jumped that three thumps outside.  Wind Whistler walked around to see out one of the small windows.  The feet of a harpy stood outside.  Even through the grunge on the glass, she could make out the long claw coming harp point as one of the talons flexed.           She was once again reminded how far they were from Equestria.  There were no royal guards, alicorn princesses, Elements of Harmony, or Pillars of Light.  There was just them—a ragtag group of regular ponies—thrust into this unknown world with nothing but the contents of that castle and facing a species more dangerous than anything their kinds had ever faced.           “I don’t see them.”  The voice was of the harpy they had met yesterday.           “Use your eyes, Desdemona,” a more forceful voice said.  “They went down into the cellar.  Break it in.”           The doors suddenly shuttered.  A loud bang came at them followed by another and another.  After the sixth impact, a plank cracked.           Molly hid behind Daniel.  “They’re not going to hold!”           “All we’ve done is trap ourselves,” Sparkler grumbled.           “What do we do now, Wind Whistler?” Paradise asked.           Wind Whistler went through their options.  She was almost scared out of mind as a trapped animal, but not completely.  She had to remain rational in this situation, and think of a way out.  Suppress the emotional reaction so that logic could lead her to the answer.           There was that problem of being tied to the ground.  If only they could force the harpies into the same constraint.  “Is there any area of extensive cover near here?”  Her mind was drawing a blank of their general vicinity.           “There’s some woods a kilometer or two northeast of here,” Daniel answered.  “Why?”           “We need to vacate this cellar,” Wind Whistler said.           “Are you crazy?” Paradise’s outburst was punctuated by a slam on the doors and the sound of wood cracking.           “We stand a better chance against them where we have a chance to maneuver,” Wind Whistler explained.  “We just need to evade them until the machine is charged.”           “They don’t seem to be in the house,” Daniel said.  “Hopefully their concentrating on the cellar door, so we can slip out the front.”           Danny ran up and unlocked the door.  He pushed it open enough to look out.  “The coast is clear.”           He stood aside as Wind Whistler climbed the stairs and into the kitchen of the house.  The basement door was under the stairway leading to the second floor, facing the back of the house.  Through the window, Wind Whistler could see the harpies pounding at the cellar doors.  The one with the symbol on her chest stood aside while the other two—with flame red and bright orange hair—slammed their balled fists into the wood.  While still unmistakably feminine, they were noticeably larger and more muscular than her.           “You were right,” North Star whispered.  “They’re too focused on the cellar door.”           “They might not even realize the cellar has an exit into the house proper,” Wind Whistler answered.  “Go to the front door quickly, but be quiet.”           They quickly but quietly went around the stairway to the front door and pulled it open.  The harpies, in their assault on the cellar door, were oblivious to them slipping away.  The horses were whinnying and huddled in the far corner of the pasture as they made their way around the house.           Wind Whistler peaked around the side at them still punching and kicking at the doors.  She retreated back to the porch.  “They’re still attacking the cellar.”           “The woods are over there.”  Daniel pointed to a mass of trees on the other side of a pasture.  Their canopies were dense and their trunks were spaced well for ponies while being constricting to a creature the size of a harpy.           “That should do nicely,” Wind Whistler said.           “Hop aboard, love.”  North Star presented her side to Molly so she could climb on.  “Remember, hold on tight.”           “I can carry you, Danny,” Wind Whistler said.           She then looked to Daniel.  He was large and looked heavy.  He was definitely too heavy for a pegasus to carry, and she even doubted an earth pony could without being significantly encumbered.           “I can carry him just fine,” Bow-Tie said.           “You sure?” Daniel asked.           “Don’t let the bows deceive you.”  Bow-Tie smirked.  “I hold the jumping records for my home town.  When I say I can carry you, I can carry you.”           “All right.”  Daniel sat on her back gingerly.  Although she tried to hide it, Bow-Tie had to strain a bit to take on his weight.           Danny got on Wind Whistler’s back.  Looking at those woods, she truly understood the phrase ‘so close yet so far’.”           She walked and built into a trot, spreading her wings.  She was going to need more lift to get airborne with Danny on her back.  She accelerated to a gallop, flapping her wings.  The process of taking off was in slow motion, so she could feel herself getting lighter until finally her hooves left the ground. * * *           Frona slammed her foot into the door and finally shattered into a storm of splinters.  She looked to Desdemona who ducked into the small opening.           After maybe a minute, she poked her head up.  “They’re gone.  There was a door into the farmhouse.”           “What?”  Frona leapt to the roof of the house, crushing the shingles in her talons as it dug into the central beam.  Nine colorful ponies were headed towards woods nearby.  Three of them were airborne on feathered wings, two of which had the other juveniles on their backs.  The remaining six were on the ground, the one carrying the father falling behind.  Her body tensed, the beam popping and cracking in her tightening grip.           She turned to Desdemona and Melinda.  “We’ve been tricked!  They’re headed for the woods!” * * *           Wind Whistler beat her wings as fast as they could, but it still seemed too slow.  Even more than yesterday, she felt hunted.  They couldn’t get under the cover of those trees soon enough.           She pushed the button the headset.  “Time update.” “Eighteen minutes,” Twilight Mist answered.           “We’ve been spotted!” Paradise screamed.           “What makes you say that?”  North Star was answered by a giant arrow streaking past her.  “Oh, that.”           Wind Whistler looked back at the three harpies in a broad formation with their longbows in talon.  She turned back to the woods.  They just had a few dozen meters to go.           She looked down to Bow-Tie several meters behind the others.  Despite her claims, she was being taxed by carrying Daniel.  The harpies seemed to notice as well as they aimed their neck volley downward.           Wind Whistler spun around, forgetting she was carrying Danny and got him wrapping around her neck to keep from falling off.  “Bow-Tie, WATCH OUT!”           The arrows rained down on her and Daniel.  The two larger harpies were also more accomplished archers than the smaller one.  There was not a wasted motion in taking an arrow from their quiver, placing it on the string, drawing back, and releasing.  Bow-Tie jumped every which way to avoid the deadly hail.           Wind Whistler felt powerless.  Any advantage of maneuverability was gone with Danny on her back.  Even if she avoided the barrage of arrows that would answer her approach, she would have no chance in close combat.           Sparkler suddenly appeared, and immediately released an explosion of brilliant sparks.  They surrounded the harpies and flashed, causing them to stop and shield their eyes.           “I’ll hold them off!” Sparkler shouted.  “Get to the woods!”           Wind Whistler turned back to the woods.  Finally, she glided under its branches and landed between its trunks.  North Star and Paradise landed and bled off their speed by galloping deeper into the woods.  Bow-Tie followed the others in, gasping for air.           Daniel dismounted and placed his ear to her chest.  He then felt her chest and leg joints.  “How do you feel?”           “Like I’ve been turned inside out,” Bow-Tie wheezed.           “I don’t feel any permanent damage,” Daniel said.  “You’re just exhausted and should recover with some rest.”           “That’s good to know.”  Bow-Tie turned to Wind Whistler.  “The next time I say I can do something, talk me out of it.”           Sparkler appeared in a shower of sparkles.  “Now what?”           “Split up and hide,” Wind Whistler said.  “We have about fifteen minutes before the machine will be ready.  The harpies can’t fly in here, and they’ll have a hard time working around the trees.”           “Let’s just hope they don’t set the woods on fire,” Truly said.           “You just had to mention that,” Cupcake replied.           “Here they come.”  North Star pointed to the harpies approaching the perimeter on foot.  While they were frighteningly graceful on the wing, the harpies seemed unnatural walking.  At least pegasi were able to gallop across the land with little trouble.           “Let’s go.”  Wind Whistler bounded deeper into the woods.  The others disappeared into the shadows.  Wind Whistler made a wide loop so she could keep an eye on the harpies as they entered the forest and shimmied between the trunks.           Those stratus clouds spread across the sky above the canopy, muting the light even further.  A light rain began, pattering against the leaves and falling through the tiny gaps in the canopy.           “I can’t really talk too much,” Wind Whistler said in a hushed voice.           The harpy with the red hair stopped and slashed deep gouges in a trunk with no sign of difficulty.  “Tell me something, ponies,” she said in no particular direction.  “Where do you come from?  I’ve been across Pangaea, and never even heard of something remotely like you.”           Wind Whistler stopped and hid behind a trunk.           “And why are you helping these humans?” the harpy asked.           “Time?” Wind Whistler whispered into her microphone. “Ten minutes,” Twilight Mist answered.  “What’s going on over there?”           Wind Whistler thought about their predicament.  If they completely frustrated the harpies, they might try to light the woods on fire to smoke them out.  They needed to be given a lead.  “We’re helping Mr. Williams because you kidnapped his daughter.”           She darted away several meters.  She hid behind another trunk, eyeing the harpy.           “Maybe you can answer this question,” Wind Whistler said before going up two meters.  “Why did you return to this land?  You already shattered it a thousand years ago after it had suffered for years.  Why menace a simple farmer and his family?”           She darted to another hiding location.           “They didn’t tell you the whole story,” the harpy said to where Wind Whistler had just been.  “The long winter when the sky was a sickly green and the sun was dim hit everywhere.  A massive volcano erupted, sending its ash and gases into the upper atmosphere.  They blocked out the sun, robbing the world of its light and warmth.           “It was the Boreans who invaded us first.  They used their Bifröst to send their armies into the heart of our homeland and behind our defenses.”  She stalked through the woods as best as she could, but having to collapse her wings against her back and forcing herself through the narrower gaps.  “They stole crops and killed the farmers if they were so inclined.  They believed they had to right to leave us starving to end the famine in their empire.”           Wind Whistler paused.  She remembered her conversation with Twilight Mist.  She had thought of just that strategy offhand.           “I figured they would forget to tell you that part of history,” the harpy said, slipping around Wind Whistler.  “The Boreans are a warrior people who fight amongst themselves in this frigid land.  The rust haired one, his people were originally brought to this valley as slaves.  I bet he neglected to mention that as well.”           He had paused when he was explaining how his people came to live here.           “He seems to be a free man,” Wind Whistler said.  “Cultures can evolve and grow beyond their past mistakes.”           “Not the Boreans,” the harpy said as she made a wide circle.  “The Valkyrie Queens convinced them to unite, but they only turned their aggression outward for their personal benefit.”           Wind Whistler backed out of the circle she felt was being made around her.  “I have no way to test the veracity of your statements.”  Wind Whistler then remembered her original question.  “However, if your original incursion was in retaliation, why come back now?”           “You ask too many for your own good, pony,” the harpy snarled.           Wind Whistler realized she had not moved from her spot, and the harpy was facing her.  She backed away to keep herself hidden by the trunk before weaving through more to a place of safety.           “Why do you care anyway?” the harpy said.  “You’re kind wasn’t involved, and you shouldn’t be involved now.  Give us the locket, and we’ll leave you in peace.”           “Like you would return the daughter for it?” Wind Whistler asked.  “Even if the Boreans are as terrible as you say, you’ve done nothing to win our trust.”           She weaved away from the harpy, but kept her eyes shifting from side to side for any sign of the other two or her companions.  What the harpy said invaded her thoughts.  Yes, there was no proof of what the harpy had said was true.  However, it all sounded logical.  Daniel’s explanations also seemed whitewashed in retrospect.           She pushed the thoughts from her mind.  She needed to concentrate on the here and now, not what happened a thousand years ago.  The machine had to have recharged by now, or at least be close.           “Are you ready, Twilight Mist?” Wind Whistler asked. “We have about another minute to go,” Twilight Mist answered.           “Then I need to collect the others,” Wind Whistler said.           As cover, the woods were quite effective.  However, now that she had gone from being a hider to a seeker, they were as confounding to her as the harpies.  She dared not call out as the harpies would hear as well. “We’re ready to go here,” Twilight Mist reported.           “I have to find the others,” Wind Whistler replied.  “Wait for my signal.”           Wind Whistler slowly collected the others.  Bow-Tie had recovered to some degree, just a bit sore from her overexertion.  They had to scurry for cover whenever they saw a harpy prowling through the woods.  Posey was the last, and they weaved towards the perimeter of the woods.           “You said when you’re locked on my radio, you can target to within a tenth of a second of a degree, right?” Wind Whistler asked Twilight Mist. “It looks like it,” Twilight Mist answered.  “That means I can put the portal within a few meters of you.”           “Good,” Wind Whistler said.  “Once we’re in the clear, I want to escape through it quickly so the harpies don’t have a chance to notice.”           The tangle of trees began to show gaps as they approached the perimeter.  Wind Whistler allowed herself to relax as they were almost to safety.  A snap of a twig caught her attention.  She turned to see the harpy with the orange hair looming over them.  All of the tenseness and alert returned to the point it hurt.           She could see just how large this one was, standing at two and half meters at least.  She swiped at them, and snagged Danny by his shirt.  She exhaled a cackle as she held him.           “I’ve found all of them!” she shouted back into the woods.  She then eyed Wind Whistler with yellow eyes that ripped straight through you.  “They have the locket with them too!”           Wind Whistler’s mind went to the speed of light.  She processed the entire world in a blink of an eye.  The harpy threw Danny to the ground, and she realized what the primary target was.           “Get to the edge!” Wind Whistler shouted.  “She wants me!”           “We aren’t leaving you,” Buttons insisted.           Wind Whistler jumped to avoid a swipe by the harpy.  “Go, NOW!”           “Come on.”  Daniel herded them away.           “Give me the locket,” the harpy snarled.  She swiped at Wind Whistler again, tearing down a branch.           Wind Whistler jumped from trunk to trunk to avoid the harpy.  The trunks slowed her, but not enough.  If Wind Whistler tried to get to the edge, she would be followed for sure.  She needed something defeat the harpy or at least stun her long enough to put some distance between them.           A branch suddenly hit her in the underbelly and threw her back.  She saw the harpy preparing her talons to strike.  She twisted her body to leap from a branch to avoid her reach.  The branches of these trees were able to absorb and release tension easily.           The harpy turned and leapt for her.  Wind Whistler grabbed a branch at the right height, and let it absorb her momentum.  The harpy was off the ground, unable to do anything but continue forward.  As the branch took the last of Wind Whistler’s kinetic energy into its potential energy, she let it go.           The branch snapped back and struck the harpy right at the level of the eyes.  She flew back against a nearby trunk, striking it head first.  The tree shuddered, dropping a shower of rain-soaked leaves.  The harpy slumped against the trunk, apparently knocked unconscious.  Wind Whistler was not about to approach to confirm this.           Wind Whistler weaved through the trees back to the edge of the woods.  “What happened?” Paradise asked as she came under the shower of rain.           “I stunned her,” Wind Whistler answered.  She pushed the button on her headset.  “Open the portal at our present location.”           A colorful vortex swirled into existence a few meters from them.           “Well I’ll be—”  Wind Whistler interrupted Daniel by shoving him towards the vortex.           “You can marvel at it later.”  Wind Whistler gave him on last shove.  “Just get in.”           Wind Whistler looked back at the woods for any sign of movement.  There was none, at least none within view.  She waited until everyone else was through and gave one last glance towards the woods.  She then leapt into the tunnel of light and galloped until she was galloping out of the mouth into the underground chamber.           “Close it!” she shouted.           The machinery whirred down and the vortex collapsed to nothing.  After the last color faded, and the chamber returned to the soft light of the ceiling above, she finally allowed the tension in her muscles to release.           “Where are we?” Daniel asked.           “You’re under our castle, almost fifty kilometers from where we were,” North Star answered.           Daniel spun on his heels back to the tunnel.  “Fifty kilometers?”           “I told you the rainbow bridge was real,” Molly teased Danny.           That reminded Wind Whistler of the comments the red-haired harpy had made while she was avoiding her.  “Mr. Williams, while we were in the forest, one of the harpies conversed with me.”           Daniel turned to her.  “What did she say?”           “She told us the Boreans did not send envoys of diplomacy to their land, but an invading army,” Wind Whistler said.  “She claimed Boreas is a land of violence, including your kind originally being imported as slaves.  Is this true?”           Daniel removed his hat.  “The term was thrall, but the meaning was the same.  However, when the Borean Empire was formed, slavery was outlawed and all the thralls were made freedmen.”           “What about the first encounter with the harpies?” Wind Whistler asked, her skin prickling at her nervousness.           Daniel paused for a second.  “You have to understand how desperate it was here in Boreas.  Snow fell in the middle of the summer, crops were constantly failing.  Even the fishing was poor.  They needed food.”           “Did they invade?” Wind Whistler insisted.           “Relax, Wind Whistler,” Paradise said.           “No!” Wind Whistler snapped before she thought better of it.  She took a second to regain her composure.  “We were almost killed out there.  If we’re going to involve ourselves in this, we need to know the truth: the whole truth.”           Daniel drew in a breath and slowly released it as a sigh.  “It was a military invasion.  It is something that the Boreans look back on in shame.  Raiding was something they were supposed to have put behind them when the Empire was formed.”           “Are you happy now, Wind Whistler?” Truly asked.  “This poor man has been through more trauma than should be asked of anyone, and you’re demanding a history lesson from him.”           Wind Whistler paused as her mind wound down.  “I—I’m sorry.  It’s just, I need to know.”           “I think you’re going too much with your head and not with your heart,” Truly said.  “It’s those monsters who care about what happened a thousand years ago, we should care more about the here and now.  They’ve kidnapped and girl and assaulted her father, they’re the bad guys now regardless of the past.” * * *           Frona squeezed between a pair of trunks to Melinda slumped against a tree.  Burgundy lines of dried blood led down from her nostrils.  She took her cheeks in her talons and pealed back her eyelid to see her eye shift towards her.           Melinda opened her other eye and slowly got to her feet with the tree as a brace.           “Where are they?” Frona asked.           “I don’t know.”  Melinda winced and rubbed her head.  “The one with the locket split from the others.”           “The ponies have the locket?!” Frona exclaimed.           “Yeah.”  Melinda felt her nose.  “I think she got me with a branch, and the next thing I knew you were here.”           “No,” Frona hissed.  She climbed a trunk, slashing branches away as she erupted from the canopy into the rainy gloom.  She rose up until the woods were in full review around her.  She spun around, looking for any flecks of color.  However, it was just green and brown under a blanket of gray.           Desdemona and Melinda climbed through the hole she had made in the canopy and rose to her.  Desdemona spun around like she had.  “Where did they go?  It couldn’t have been more than an hour.”           Frona balled her talons into fists, their claws digging into their scaly palms.           “I say we burn their home and kill their horses,” Melinda snarled.           Frona loosened her fists and thought it through for a moment.  “No.  Humans are creatures of place.  They’ll be tempted to return to their home at some point.  If they find it burned out and their animals slaughtered, they’ll run away and never return.”           “So what do we do?” Desdemona asked.           “Melinda, stay near the farmhouse and wait for any sign of them,” Frona answered.  “Desdemona, we’re going back to the stronghold.  The Glorious Alpha will have to know of the change in possession of the locket”—a chill crept up her spine—“and our failure.”