//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Spectral Compass // Story: The Quest for the Rainbow of Light // by Al-1701 //------------------------------// Lord Merv grinned as he gazed into the glass display case and the treasure inside. The round, gold stand had beautiful artwork along the side of ponies. The most prominent artwork was of two alicorns flying around a tarnished silver button. It was a piece of art, but that was not what made it so valuable to him. Merv’s face reflected faintly on the glass. His white, feather-covered head lacked the crest of most griffons so it looked round and bald. A monocle balanced in his eye socket. The reflection of Garth came into the glass. Garth was massive, head and shoulders taller than Merv when standing on all fours and bulky with large muscles clearly defined under the gold fur of his lion-like body. He was the quintessential enforcer. “Lord Merv,” Garth said, “our envoys have returned from the nearby pony baronies. They will all send representatives to the auction.” Merv’s grin widened to one side. “Excellent.” He directed his attention back to the display case and the object inside it. “The Spectral Compass, Starswirl the Bearded most protected treasure, lost to the world for more than two thousand years until we dug it up. Oh you are going to make me one fabulously rich griffon.” Merv rubbed his eagle claws each other eagerly and ruffled his wings to work out an anticipatory twitch building in them. He could only imagine how much those silly baronesses would be willing to pay for the artifact. He built his stronghold at the crossroads between several baronies so he could pump the ponies for tolls and other fees. However, this auction could get one of the ninnies to empty their treasury to have this little piece of their history. Garth lowered his brow. “Are you sure we should let the ponies have this?” Merv separated his claws and stood on them. He turned to Garth. “Of course. It doesn’t work for us, so there’s no reason it should take up space.” He shrugged. “It might not even work anymore period.” “If the ponies can make it work, they might use it for its intended purpose,” Garth said. “If they find the Rainbow of Light, they could use it against us.” Merv exhaled a laugh at the notion. He held up his claw with all three front talons up. “That assumes the Spectral Compass will work---” he folded in one talon “---the Rainbow of Light exists---” he folding in another “---and it’s close enough for the ninny who gets the compass to bother to go after it.” He folded in his last talon. Merv turned back to Garth. “You’re an enforcer, Garth. You’re job is not to think but follow my orders. I know how these baronesses work. They only care about themselves. The Spectral Compass will become part of a collection to show off at parties, nothing more.” Garth paused for a moment. He finally planted his closed claw against his chest and bowed his head. “Of course you’re right, Lord Merv.” * * * Lord Merv’s stronghold stood as a reminder to the local ponies of just how far they had fallen over the last thousand years. Obviously no pony alive would know what it was like during Pax Equestria, but there was plenty of literature about ponykind’s heyday. Back then a community of griffons being allowed to set up a racket this deep in pony territory would have been unheard of. However, those days were long gone and ponykind had fallen far from grace. There was not much the ponies could do about the griffons now that they were entrenched anyway. They were too strong for one barony to drive off and the baronies were too fractured to unite against them. Tonight, however, Magic Star and her friends could at least give the griffons a collective black eye. Magic Star stared out at the castle from their cover. It was her first time seeing the fortress in person. It was a square wall of stone around a basic manor house. She expected more considering the fortune the griffons made off shaking down the ponies. She turned her attention to their security. The gate was closed and griffons paced on the battlements. Floodlights on the towers at the corners pierced the increasing darkness of the evening to flood the clearing in front of the castle with light. She knew more griffons were inside the walls too. She turned back to her colleagues. Gusty, North Star, Powder, Hurricane, and surprisingly Shady were there. Wind Whistler was absent, but she had done enough by making flybys to gather intelligence. Monsoon and Paradise were not there either, but they never went out into the field. Gusty looked like something was wound too tight under her white coat or more likely under her straight, green and red streaked mane. Her aqua eyes were fixed on the castle, and Magic Star could see the faintest glow around her fluted horn. Gusty never liked playing the waiting the waiting game. “Go in horn first,” was a line Magic Star had heard all too often from her even in planning this raid. However, they needed to wait for the right moment to act whether Gusty liked it or not. Shady was a trembling hump of dark pink with curly, bright yellow hair on top and to the back. Her light blue eyes where big and filled with his fear. Magic Star did not know why Shady always put herself through this torture. She would volunteer for something, but be a trembling pile of nerves when she got to see they were not kidding about it being dangerous. North Star and Powder were somewhere in between in terms of readiness. They just sat there patiently. They were ready, but not on a hair trigger like Gusty. Hurricane was the lone stallion of the group. He almost always wore one of his signature aloha shirts, but was completely bare for this mission. It was actually odd see all of his white coat that stood out against his dark red mane and tail. His deep blue eyes were directed skyward as the blanket of low clouds spread across the celestial dome overhead. “Right on time,” Hurricane mused aloud. It was the clouds they were waiting for. They could not muscle their way in and out of the castle, but some misdirection and hidden movement might let them get what they came for and get out before the griffons were the wiser. Magic Star returned her attention to the group. “You all know the plan, right?” she whispered. “For the thousandth time, yes,” Gusty snapped barely able to keep her voice to only a whisper. “Hurricane and I fly into the cloud deck and hide above the castle,” North Star said in her Trottingham accent. “Gusty and I take up position in the woods near the south wall,” Powder added. “Right,” Magic Star said. Magic Star turned her attention to Shady. Shady made somehow made herself even smaller when she realized everypony’s attention was directed her way. She swallowed nervously. “Then I created a…a distraction, so the others can slip in unnoticed,” she said timidly. Gusty lowered her brow. “Really, Shady, you’ve got the safest job in this raid.” Gusty then motioned to Magic Star with her head. “Except for Magic Star being lookout,” she said in a mildly condescending tone. Magic Star was ready to take issue with how Gusty said that. She might be the farthest from the griffons, but she would be the one everyone on was counting on to get the timing right. Besides, she and Shady were earth ponies. The wall was designed specifically so they could not jump over it, so there was no getting in for them. Magic Star looked up at the clouds. They were now stretching over the castle. She turned to North Star and Hurricane. “It’s time.” North Star and Hurricane nodded and spread their feathery wings. With a single flap they took to the air. They flew straight up and disappeared into the blanket of clouds overhead. Magic Star turned to Gusty and Powder next. “Make your way to the south wall and wait for my signal.” Gusty and Powder nodded. They kept their heads down as they carefully slunk into the underbrush with barely a sound. Magic Star turned to Shady still hunched over. “You’re on, Shady.” Shady swallowed. “You’re sure this isn’t dangerous?” Magic Star motioned to the castle. “You just have to stand out there and talk.” “Okay,” Shady replied timidly. Shady stood up and sulked past Magic Star. Magic Star turned to watch Shady step out of the brush and slowly cross the clearing in front of the castle. Magic Star felt a prickling go down her spine. There was no turning back now. Shady eventually drew the attention of the griffons on the battlements. They stopped and look down at her. “Halt! Who goes there?” one of them shouted loud enough Magic Star could hear them clearly. Shady stopped and maybe even backed up a step. She looked up at the battlements. Magic Star had told her to “bring the grievances of ponies to them” to make her look like a dissatisfied customer of their “services.” Knowing how egotistical griffons could be, so expected them to find this hysterical and gather around to watch. Shady’s inoffensive nature would only make it more humorous. Sure enough she heard the unrestrained laughter of the griffons. She could even see a few looking back and motioning to griffons out of her view to come on up. The front battlement was soon crowded with griffons giggling and laughing as Shady stood there probably mumbling how they are mean and should leave ponies alone. Now came the dangerous part. With much of the stronghold watching the show, North Star and Hurricane dropped out of the clouds and into the castle. Magic star picked up a mirror and held it to reflect light at the tongue of woods near the south wall while keeping the reflection away from the griffons. Magic Star set down and mirror and waited. She saw aqua and purple flashes of Gusty and Powder teleporting out of the woods and into the castle. They were in, and all she could do was wait. * * * North Star landed in a dark and secluded part of the castle’s grounds. She flicked her purple mane back to get it out of her eyes and quickly surveyed the area inside the walls to get her bearings. She was the perfect navigator with a sense of direction almost as good as a compass and a photographic memory. The aerial photos Wind Whistler had taken were burned into her mind and she assigned each shape from the photo to the building it represented. Hurricane landed take to her and looked around. While North Star made a mental map, he made sure the grounds were clear. The griffons were giggling and laughing on the front battlement. Shady was apparently keeping their attention. It had to be humiliating for the young mare, but they would all have the last laugh if they pulled this off right. “The coast is clear,” Hurricane said in a whisper. Gusty and Powder appeared in flashes of aqua and purple respectively. North Star remembered Wind Whistler saying there was a lot of activity around a smaller building next to the manor. The Spectral Compass was probably being kept in there since the main manor would have been too obvious. It was like hiding jewelry in a book next to the safe instead of the safe. North Star noticed a small outbuilding next to the main manor. “Follow me,” North Star said as she quietly trotted towards the building. The four snuck towards the outbuilding. They stayed in shadow as much as they could. They reached the outbuilding and slunk around the wall facing away from the main manor. North Star peeked around the corner. The area was empty. She glanced to the crowd of griffons on the battlement still chuckling away and blissfully unaware their castle had been invaded. North Star motioned with her head and slowly crept around the corner to the door. She reached out for the door handle as soon as she could get her pink hoof on it and pushed down. It stopped almost immediately: locked. North Star turned back to Powder. “I believe this is your expertise.” “One impromptu key coming up.” Powder walked out from behind the corner and the others followed her. Powder pushed her white and red streaked mane behind her ear and pointed her purple horn at the lock in the handle. She concentrated as a purple aura appeared around it. The aura became brighter at the tip and shot out as a beam. The beam quietly hit the lock. Frost formed around the lock and ice grew out of it. The ice formed into the round head of the key. Powder made the beam stop, but the aura around her horn remained. A similar aura surrounded the key and it turned until the lock clicked: unlocked. Powder let up and North Star gently pushed on the handle. This time it gave and the door sprang open slightly. North Star pulled it open and the other three quickly slipped in. She swung around the door and closed it behind her. North Star turned her attention ahead of her to two griffon guards in front of a mesh door leading to lift shaft. North Star gasped as the two grimaced and slunk towards them like big cats approaching their prey. A sudden gust of wind blasted one into the other and so hard into the wall it made North Star set her teeth on edge. The two fell to the floor and slumped over unconscious. North Star took a moment to realize it was Gusty’s magic. The aqua aura around her horn faded to the nothing. Gusty trotted to the elevator. “Come on.” North Star followed Gusty to the lift shaft with Powder and Hurricane behind her. Gusty pushed a button and the pulley lines in the shaft began to move. A rather large but basic lift car came up and stopped. Gusty pushed the mesh door aside and the stepped in. Hurricane stopped and pointed to the unconscious griffons. “What about them?” “If we’re quick they won’t come to until we’re gone.” Gusty motioned in with her hoof. “Let’s go.” Hurricane joined the others in the lift. Gusty pushed a button on the side wall. There was no need to bother with the door as they were going to be coming right up. The lift began to descend. The shaft was brick with no other features of note. The lift came to a stop after maybe fifteen seconds to another mesh door. Hurricane pushed the mesh aside. It was bright, stingingly so after been in the dark for so long. The walls and peaked ceiling were painted a light gold color with white columns and arches. Crystal chandeliers hung down from each arch and flooded the hall with light. North Star took a few seconds to adjust to the light before stepping out of the lift. As she could see better she could see doors spaced evenly on the walls. Gusty had already opened one. Gusty looked in and turned back to the others. “You need to see this,” she said. North Star poked her head inside the doorway. The room beyond was filled with gold and jewels. No doubt the hoard they had built off the ponies. North Star wished they could take some of it back to its rightful owners, but they were here for one thing. North Star pulled her head back and looked to another door as Hurricane approached it. He opened the door and looked in. He pulled his head out. “I think I found it.” North Star clambered to Hurricane along with Gusty and Powder. She practically ran into the room part way before stopping. There were several glass cases along the opposite wall. Most were empty, but one had a gold stand inside it. It looked just like the artifact in Paradise’s book. “I don’t believe it. It’s the Spectral Compass,” Powder said in amazement. “To think it’s been lost for all these centuries, even during the height of Pax Equestria.” “At the time everypony cared more about the Elements of Harmony and the princesses,” Hurricane replied. “Starswirl the Bearded also didn’t want a power like the Rainbow of Light to fall into evil’s possession, so he kept almost no record about it. The only clue about its location is that compass, and even its existence was kept secret.” “Well, let’s grab it and get out of here,” Gusty said impatiently. Powder heaved a sigh. “Fine, killjoy.” Powder pointed her horn at the case. The aura surrounded it only with a much brighter glow. A much larger and brighter beam shot from the tip. The beam hit the case and ice quickly formed and thickened on it. The glass suddenly shattered and blew away from the case. An aqua aura surrounded the artifact and it floated from the case. It floated to Gusty with a similar aura around her horn and slipped into her saddlebag. “Let’s bolt.” North Star could not argue with the sentiment. There was no telling what had been happening on the surface. She trotted into the lift with the others. Gusty pushed the button as soon as everypony was inside. The lift began to rise up. North Star felt herself growing tense. Once the lift reached the top it was that one hallway and she could fly away from here and back home to Ponyville. Her heart almost skipped a beat when the lift came up to Lord Merv himself and two other griffons entering. The two griffons who had been standing guard were just coming around. North Star let out a gasp as her eyes made contact with their seething eyes glaring at her. Another gust of wind blasted the three back and Merv right through the door. North Star did not even think of it being Gusty. She did not even think of saying anything. She just ran for the opening as the griffons tried to collect themselves. The doorway passed by her and she opened her wings. She leapt off the ground and flew high above the wall. She then finally hazarded a look back. Hurricane was behind her and Gusty and Powder teleported away. Merv got to his feet and spread his wings. Merv getting ready to take flight was all North Star needed to see. She directed her attention forward and flapped her wings harder to move faster. * * * Magic Star watched as North Star and Hurricane flew right above the griffons and Gusty and Powder flash into existence outside the front wall. They were supposed to come back they way they came through cover. They had apparently been spotted. Gusty shouting, “We’re coming out hot!” only confirmed that they did not make a clean get away. Shady joined Gusty and Powder running back towards the woods. The griffons leapt off the battlement and spread their wings to glide after the ponies. Shady, being an earth pony and undoubtedly scared out of her mind, pulled away from Gusty and Powder. However, the two teleported ahead before the griffons could reach them. North Star and Hurricane disappeared into the clouds, and the griffons broke off from chasing them. Gusty, Powder and Shady practically leapt into the woods in front of Magic Star. The three panted as they tried to catch their breath. “Did you get it?” Magic Star was almost afraid to ask. They would never reach it again after this. Gusty gulped some air to even her breathing a little. “You bet we did.” She tilted her shoulder to show the saddlebag with clearly something in it. “We just ran into a little trouble coming out.” Magic Star looked to the clearing. Merv stood on the battlement chasing his claw in the air. “Find those blasted ponies and tear them apart!” she shouted. Several griffons made their way towards the forest boundary. Magic Star turned to the three still catching their breath. “You all know your routes home?” The three nodded. “Then let’s get out of here,” Magic Star said. Magic Star bounded over a bush and started on her route back to Ponyville. She heard the others begin making their way through the brush. After a minute she heard the distant shouting of Merv calling his troops back. Comfortable she was no longer being pursued, Magic Star made her way to a dirt trail through a field of tall grass. It would lead her straight home to Ponyville and hopefully a good night’s rest after a bit of evening excitement. * * * Wind Whistler opened her eyes and rolled to the side in her bed. The clock on her night stand showed quarter to six with its ornately crafted hands. Wind Whistler sat up and stretched, spreading her wings as far as they would go comfortably before folding them against her sides again. She hopped out of bed and stretched her back and hind legs some more. The front most lock of her pale pink mane fell over her eye. Wind Whistler glanced to the mirror above her dresser. From the front the lock partially covered her pink eye. She scowled and blew out of the corner of her mouth to blow it back, but it fell right back to where it had been. She sighed and decided to let it have its way again. Wind Whistler was a lark. She was actually a pegasus, but ponies called her a lark because she was always up early. While other ponies lay in bed, Wind Whistler was up and about literally greeting the day. This was actually a little late for her. She just hoped she was not too late. Wind Whistler walked up to the shutters covering her window. The faint glow was already coming through the seam between the two wooden doors and the frame. She gently pushed the shutters open and basked in the cool, crisp morning air carrying the sweet scent of flowers. Some of those flowers were the impatiens in the flower box under her window. Wind Whistler hopped onto the sill. She spread her wings as she hopped out of the window and flew up onto the thatch roof of her house. It was like most permanent buildings in Ponyville: thatch roof and white walls with pink wooden studs. The town looked like a sea of yellow waves from the rooftops. Wind Whistler looked east. The sky was peach color just above the eastern horizon and transitioned to a similar shade of pale blue as Wind Whistler’s coat. The few clouds in the sky had glowing, pink undersides, but the Sun had not yet made her presence known. She was just on time. Then it happened. The orange disk of the Sun peaked out from behind the mountains in the distance. It cast light across the countryside and town making everything look ablaze in red and oranges. “Good morning,” Wind Whistler said, greeting yet another day. * * * After her typical morning rituals, Wind Whistler came out her door to begin the day for real. She was unusually giddy today with a skip to her step. It had to be the anticipation. The others raided Lord Merv’s castle last night, and she wanted to know how it went. She wished she could have come, but her job as weather mare had kept her in town and she was not the best for field work. Hopefully her forecast for evening clouds was useful. Wind Whistler took in the town around her. Ponyville was like it was frozen in time. Many towns and cities collapsed with the fall while others sprang up over the centuries. However, Ponyville was much like it was a thousand years. Even many of its more iconic fixtures like the Carousel Boutique and Tailor Shop were still standing and open for business. Though, this was because those who wielded power in the barony preferred to keep Ponyville as is. What would they think of Wind Whistler and her colleagues’ plans now that they hopefully had the instrument to carry it out? Wind Whistler began her morning rounds by trotting to Posey’s Flower Shop. The yellow earth pony opened the top half of her door and leaned on the bottom half as Wind Whistler drew near. “Hello, Wind Whistler.” Posey waved. Wind Whistler trotted up to the door. “Salutations, Posey.” “You seem unusually giddy today,” Posey said. Wind Whistler did not want to give away why she was in such high spirits this morning, but she had to give some answer to the florist. “Let’s just say I’m expecting big news.” “So he’s finally going to propose?!” a familiar voice practically shrieked. Heartthrob landed next to Wind Whistler. The pink pegasus threw her hooves around Wind Whistler. “What a glorious day this will be for you.” Heartthrob turned to Poesy why still having Wind Whistler her grip. “We’ll need a bouquet of red roses. Make sure there are no white ones since that’s a funeral flower.” “I know what the different colors of roses mean,” Posey grumbled, obviously insulted. “I’m the florist. You don’t see me telling you how to match ponies.” Wind Whistler took a few seconds to let what was going on soak in. Ponyville’s matchmaker was known for taking her “customers” by surprise. When it all came to together Wind Whistler pushed herself out of Heatthrob’s grasp. “Hurricane’s not going to propose today, at least as far as I know,” Wind Whistler said more forcefully than she intended. “I’m expecting other big news.” “Hmph,” Heartthrob exhaled. “What are you two waiting for? Really, if he can’t work up the courage to make a commitment, you should start looking elsewhere. A beautiful mare like yourself can have your pick of a stallion.” Wind Whistler caught some stallions out of the corner of her eye looking her over. As soon as she turned to face them they started walking away acting like they had been doing nothing. Wind Whistler knew she was beautiful and took very good care of herself. However, most the stallions who noticed her seemed to only see her pretty face did not care about anything else. Hurricane appreciated her mind and company as well. He might be too shy to propose marriage just yet, but Wind Whistler wasn’t ready for marriage either. She enjoyed his company, and that was what was important in a relationship. She returned her attention to Heartthrob and Posey who were now arguing over the issues of love. Wind Whistler figured now was a good time to remove herself from the situation and continue her rounds. She could give Posey her garden weather report later when Heartthrob was elsewhere. More ponies came out of their homes and businesses as the town collectively woke up. Sparkler unlocked the front entrance to her “Jewels and Joules” shop and flipped the sign in the door window from “CLOSED” to OPEN.” Wind Whistler trotted past the odd shop where a pony could buy a diamond ring and a stick of dynamite. The scent of fresh bread baking then caught her attention as her route took her near Sugar Cube Corner, another one of those businesses frozen in time. Something unfamiliar grabbed Wind Whistler’s attention. She stopped and strained to hear a frightened shout. She looked to where it coming from. The shouting had been coming from a street leading out of town. Wind Whistler came around a bend to see three ponies on the street. She recognized Apple Bumpkin and Apple Cinnamon Crisp immediately. The hulking yellow stallion and muscular light green mare were looming over a turquoise unicorn mare hunched up against a fence post. Wind Whistler rolled her eyes. The Apple Family was known for three things: farming apples, being against change, and harassing ponies outside the family for the stupidest reasons. Bumpkin and C.C. were the worst offenders. Hopefully Wind Whistler could defuse the situation before they did something that got them another night in the law station’s corral. As Wind Whistler got nearer she could hear the conversation between the three. “Why won’t you just let me get into town?” the unicorn pleaded. “I’m tired.” The unicorn sounded young like an adolescent or very young adult. Wind Whistler was now starting to get angry at the two Apples. Her merry trot turned into a storming stomp. They were thugs, but even they should have the decency to leave a young filly alone. “You’re not from one of the neighboring baronies,” C.C. said in an arrogant drawl. “I’ve never seen a pony with four hair colors.” “Yeah. I’ve never seen a pony with eyes like yours either,” Bumpkin said in his dull manner of speaking betraying his lack of intelligence. “And what’s with the fancy ribbons and stuff?” “I told you I’m a crystal pony who is just looking for a place to stay,” the unicorn practically sobbed. “I don’t want any trouble.” “Well, you’re in trouble, foreigner,” C.C. said in a threatening tone. “Cease your harassment at once!” Wind Whistler snapped. Bumpkin and C.C. looked back to Wind Whistler with glares. Wind Whistler stopped in front of them, glaring at the two. “This unicorn has not caused any trouble,” Wind Whistler said sternly. “Let her through.” “She’s a foreigner,” C.C. replied. “For all we know she’s a bandit or a spy.” Wind Whistler looked at the unicorn. As she guessed was somewhere between an adolescent and a young mare. She trembled and stayed hunched against the fence. She wore a pair of saddlebags against her sides along with a sleeping bag, canteen, and lantern. Her eyes were ruby red with light glinting off some of their many polygonal faces. Her hair was Dark green, white, and two shades of pink, and styled with pink ribbons far more elaborate than the simple bows Ponyville mares and fillies tied around the base of their tails. She was too flashy to be an effective spy and would be one of the youngest and least hardened bandits in the history of banditry. Though, that basic level of observation was beyond these two. Wind Whistler returned her attention to Bumpkin and C.C. and sharpened her scowl. “Let her pass, you two. Otherwise we can take this up with the constable, and he can prepare your secondary residence at the law station.” “On what grounds?” C.C. asked sharply. “On the grounds you are a public menace,” Wind Whistler said, “harassing a poor filly who has done nothing wrong. You should be ashamed of yourselves.” C.C. ground her teeth apparently taking Wind Whistler’s last sentence as a personal affront. “Fine---” she pointed her hoof at Wind Whistler “---but any trouble she causes here is on you.” Bumpkin and C.C. slunk past Wind Whistler and towards town. Wind Whistler ignored the two and concentrated on the unicorn. She was still against the fence, but more relaxed. She heaved a sigh and stood up. “Thank you so much,” the unicorn said. “I’m Fizzy.” “You are quite welcome, Fizzy,” Wind Whistler replied. “My name is Wind Whistler.” Wind Whistler turned toward town and motioned with her head for Fizzy to follow. Fizzy walked with Wind Whistler down the road. “I would suggest avoiding the Apple Family,” Wind Whistler said. “They can be quite territorial, especially since their matriarch left a few years ago.” Actually, the Apple Family had been territorial since the Cherry Family came into town centuries ago and they had to give up a third of the land for cherry orchards. It was just that they had gotten worse since Applejack left for greener pastures. “A Crystal Pony, eh?” Wind Whistler asked to get her mind off the Apples. “I have heard of your kind living in the Jewel Desert.” “That’s where I’m from,” Fizzy replied. “I lived in Berylon.” Wind Whistler was not sure where Berylon was, but it sounded like a name the crystal ponies would give a barony. “What brings you this far east?” Wind Whistler asked. “Well, I’m not really cut out for the desert,” Fizzy replied. “Check out my unicorn magic.” Fizzy concentrated and a pink aura surrounded her horn. Several bubbles appeared out of the air around it. Fizzy pointed her horn at the stream along the road and bubbles formed on its surface and floated off. The bubbles floated away and popped. Fizzy relaxed and the aura faded. She turned to Wind Whistler. “I can teleport and move things too. However, my bubble magic doesn’t work very well in the desert.” “Probably because the desert atmosphere does not have much moisture content,” Wind Whistler said before realizing her explanation was a little much for this filly or very young mare. “I guess…” Fizzy trailed off. “Anyway, I wasn’t much help there, so I figured I would find somewhere to live where my magic worked better,” Fizzy said giddily This young unicorn certainly recovered from being terrorized by the two Apples quickly. After only a minute or so she was as happy as a schoolfilly and babbling like a brook. There was also an innocent sweetness to her. The reason Wind Whistler was in such high spirits suddenly rushed back to the forefront her consciousness. They were having a meeting this morning at Paradise’s to look over the Spectral Compass. “I am sorry to cut our conversation short, but I have to be somewhere,” Wind Whistler said as politely as she could while still being in a rush. “You can’t leave me alone.” Fizzy looked at Wind Whistler with her huge eyes. “What if those two jump me in town?” Wind Whistler heaved a sigh. It was not just those two she had to worry about either. “All right, you can come with me,” Wind Whistler said. * * * Paradise’s was both her home and Ponyville’s library. Ponyville had once built a library out of a living tree which was cute. Then the tree died from nothing but old age and fell over, and ponies decided living things did not make the best buildings. The library was a normal building but had a slate roof instead of thatch. Otherwise it looked like any building in Ponyville from the outside. Wind Whistler walked up to the door. She pushed down the handle pulled the door open. Fizzy walked inside and Wind Whistler followed. The front door led straight to the front desk where Paradise was sitting. To the left was a large room with several rows of shelves crammed with books as well as desks to sit down and read. The desk cut off access to the right side with a staircase leading up to the second story. Paradise looked up as they entered. The white pegasus mare had unruly orange hair that curled every which way and one of those curls lay right between her green eyes. A pair of eyeglasses with green, turtle shell frames perched on her nose. A pearl chain connected the temples of the glasses and went behind her head. “Who’s your friend?” Paradise asked. Wind Whistler motioned to Fizzy. “This is Fizzy. She had run into some trouble with a couple Apples on the outskirts of town. She is new here, so she has nowhere else to go.” Paradise frowned. “Do you expect to take some stranger who just got into town into the back right after we got the you know what?” “What?” Fizzy asked. Wind Whistler walked up to the desk and beckoned Paradise to come close. “We cannot leave her out here since she would try to imagine what we are doing back there,” Wind Whistler whispered in Paradise’s ear. “I take full responsibility for her.” “Please don’t turn me away,” Fizzy pleaded. “I won’t cause any trouble, I promise.” “Fine,” Paradise said as Wind Whistler stepped back. “Just be prepared for the others to object.” “Thank you, Paradise,” Wind Whistler said. “The others are waiting, so go right in while I close up.” Paradise lifted a part of the desk for Wind Whistler and Fizzy to walk into the area behind it. There was a door behind the desk labeled “PRIVATE.” Wind Whistler pushed down on the door handle and pushed it open. She walked in with Fizzy close behind her. The room took an immediate turn to the right. It then turned right again into the main area. The room was where Paradise stored old and damaged books before sending them to the recycler and stacks and boxes of books filled the corners. It was also a good meeting room with no windows into the rest of the library or outside. As Paradise had said, everyone was there. Magic Star, Shady, North Star, Hurricane, Monsoon, Gusty, and Powder were all seated around the table in the middle. Hurricane immediately caught Wind Whistler’s eye with the light blue aloha shirt with white hurricanes printed all over it like he almost always wore. Gusty looked up and scowled. “And who is she?” Wind Whistler looked back and saw Fizzy hunch over slightly. Wind Whistler turned back to Gusty with a glare. “Her name is Fizzy and she will be joining us today.” “Don’t be so confrontational,” Powder said dismissively. “Besides, it’s nice to have another unicorn in the group. It had been turning into a wing fest lately.” “Welcome, Fizzy,” Magic Star said. Magic star stood up and walked over to them. She offered her yellow, front hoof for a shake. Fizzy slowly raised her hoof and gently touched it to Magic Star’s. The two shook hooves and Fizzy seemed to instantly relax. “You have to forgive Gusty,” Magic Star said. “It’s just that what is seen and discussed in this room cannot be discussed with anypony else.” “Is this some kind of secret society?” Fizzy asked. “Kind of,” Wind Whistler said. “We are dedicated to reuniting ponykind, but there are very powerful ponies in this barony who would rather keep things the way they are.” Paradise came around the corner. “Let’s take a look at last night’s spoils, shall we?” Everyone sat down around the table with a pair of saddlebags on it. Gusty opened one of the bags with her magic pulled out the gold stand about as big around as a small dinner plate. Magic Star looked to Paradise. “Is this it?” Paradise nodded. “It looks like the artwork I’ve found of it.” “Then let’s turn the sucker on and see what it does.” Gusty reached for the button on it. Before anyone could even tell her to stop she pressed the tarnished silver button in. Everything came to a standstill in the room as all eyes were on the compass. Was it a fake? Was it broken after so many centuries of neglect? The top opened in quarters and a colorful crystal cut into an octahedron floated out. Energy sparked across its faces. It suddenly flared. Wind Whistler shielded her eyes from the flash of light with her hoof and turned her head away. The light seemed to fill the room with tangible color and a warm feeling that came over Wind Whistler inside and out. Everyone looked to the crystal as the light faded. The color and warm feeling faded too. A circle with degree marks and labels projected from the crystal and an arrow pointed from the crystal past the edge of the circle. The circle and arrow seemed to slowly shift through the spectrum. Magic Star exhaled a laugh. “It works. It actually works.” “But what was that flash?” Shady asked timidly. “Do you think it was dangerous?” “Probably a discharge of built up energy from not being opened for so long,” Wind Whistler said. “It should be harmless.” “Should?” Shady squeaked. Before Wind Whistler could gather her thoughts to reply a heavy and rapid thumping came at the front door. “I thought I put out the closed sign,” Paradise grumbled. Paradise stood up and disappeared around the corner. * * * Paradise came out the door to the back room. Whoever was so impatient to check out a book better be ready for a grumpy librarian. Paradise fluttered over the desk and stormed to the door. She opened the top half and came face to white face with Baroness Crown Jewel. Paradise fought back the urge to tell their self-important leader to go away. “Hello, Baroness Crown Jewel,” Paradise said as politely as she could. “Hello, Paradise,” Crown Jewel replied haughtily. Paradise opened the door. Crown Jewel walked in a graceful and fluid movement. Her light blond, immaculately styled mane and tale bounced with every step. She was a living example of the old saying that beauty was only skin deep. Her pretty face hid a spoiled brat from a very long line of spoiled brats. “Why are you closed at this time of day?” Crown Jewel grumbled as she walked into the lobby. “Well, I was doing some cleaning,” Paradise said. “I didn’t finish up last night, so I had to finish up this morning.” “What brings you to my humble business?” Paradise said trying to not sound patronizing. Crown Jewel stood up on her hind hooves and leaned against the desk. “I got a message from Lord Merv this morning. He had been planning an auction of an ancient pony artifact.” “I wonder how many sacred sites and graves he desecrated to find it,” Paradise mumble under her breath. Crown Jewel flicked her ear, apparently hearing Paradise. She scowled. Crown Jewel began rubbing her hoof against her chest. “I was hoping to win this piece of pony history. It would increase my…er…subjects status to have it in our possession.” Paradise rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m just a simple librarian, not a super thief.” Crown Jewel lowered her brow. “Don’t play dumb with me. I know about your little group.” She turned towards the door. “Step lightly, Paradise. I’m the big dog in this barony and I do bite.” “And there’s always a bigger dog out there that will bite harder,” Paradise retorted. “You don’t frighten me, Baroness.” Crown Jewel stormed out of the building and bucked the door closed behind her.