"Futures Past Ch. 8&9" by Michelle B. Lackey

Chapter 8 - Proximity

Everyone waited in silence as the two mares glared at one another. There was a deadly feel to the air as if something long forgotten boiled with anger and hate. No one moved for fear of launching it into an unstoppable force. It was impossible to understand what silenced them, but even Rau stopped in shock as he stared at his two friends. Something was far from right...

"What in the world are you doing here?" Turbo asked again into the silence, her voice cold with unfeeling. Akria shivered beside her but moved a little closer for comfort.

"I was asked to come," Elyria answered, startling everyone with the uneasy anger that dripped from her remarkably smooth voice. "He wouldn't run without me."

"Not using names today?" Turbo hissed as Akria backed up against her. Turbo surprised the onlookers as she gently pushed the filly away. "The safest place for you is not beside me."

"Protecting yourself?" Elyria asked as Akria briskly moved to her parents' side. "We are trying to help you and you block us out. What do you want from me? We even tried to stay away from them, but you wanted us to bring your medicine."

"No, I did not," Turbo retorted in the same unfeeling voice. "I have a failsafe that requests the medicine. I would rather die than live forever as a honking, clanking piece of blasted machinery!"

"But... it was you," Elyria stuttered. "I heard you."

"You heard a recording, Elyria," Turbo snarled. "A thrice-blasted recording of a Human's voice mimicking me. Just like that day you found me in the city. It was a blamed recording, not me!" All those of the Past stared at the mare who searched for words, then looked at the young Elyria who huddled next to Akria in fear and surprise.

"You didn't tell me..."

"I told you many times. I told you time after time after time. I have lost count of how many times I have told you. What did they put in your head that made you so incredibly stupid?"

The Future Elyria snapped now and her mechanical eye focused on her past friend. "I told you never to call me that. I am not stupid. You are for thinking so." Turbo bared her teeth in rage. "Eagleye told me that you had to have been going insane to ever say such things to me. I believe he's right and that there is nothing left of who you used to be."

"You're right," Turbo snapped, starting to approach the smaller mare. "There is nothing left of Akria in me." The white Unicorns gasped and began to back away as the red eye flamed in the growing darkness, leaving a red trail in the escalating night. "You earned my hate that day in the city, Elyria, and you had better figure a way to get rid of it or I will kill you. My only chance to die is to find a nice quiet place away from the likes of you!"

Neighing in anger, Elyria reared and pawed the air with her forefeet, a challenge that everyone recognized. They looked to Turbo, but she was already running forward! The large battle mare slammed into the smaller cyborg, ramming the metal horn into the shoulder, but it glanced off upon hitting the metal under skin. Rau snorted in surprise and quickly backed away as Razor took to the air. The bystanders of the nearly forgotten past stood rooted in place, completely transfixed by the impossible event that was unraveling right before them.

With a glint of metal, Elyria threw herself back, slamming her hind feet into Turbo's vulnerable belly as she collided heavily with the ground. The larger mare soared over her, but executed a cat like maneuver in midair that landed her neatly on her feet once again. The two mares screamed at one another before charging one another again, but this time both were ready. Elyria reared just as Turbo leapt, colliding chest to chest, biting at the other's neck, eyes glowing like vibrant candles in the darkness, glinting flashes of metal highlighting every movement as they struggled to gain the upper hand, but then...

"Elyria!" Rau shouted, taking an involuntary step forward when the smaller mare tumbled to the ground, blood spilling from a wound on her neck that cut deep into the underlying machinery and sparse muscle. Oil started to seep through the skin around the heavy wound, but Turbo screamed and started to run forward. It was the deathblow. The bystanders were helpless to stop it. The young Elyria hid her white face in Akria's pale coat, crying as she saw her future vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, there was a rush of feathers. Razor screamed as the moonlight glinted off his wing evilly, body angled into a crouch. If Turbo didn't stop, he was going to rip her apart and he waited for her like the angry Gryphon that his reputation claimed him to be. He screamed again as Turbo bellowed in protest but came to a screeching halt.

"You'll never forgive yourself," Razor hissed. "Stop now or I'll tear you in half."

"Foolish bird-"

"Foolish I may be, but weak I am not. Thanks to our fight, I got upgraded. I can take you on now. Go throw yourself in a river and cool down or I'll carry you into the sky and drop you. You don't want to live as a machine, you can live in pieces!" Razor screamed again for effect as Turbo snorted and pawed the ground. She bared her teeth one last time, but the fire still burned brightly in her eye. Noreen gulped.

So much anger, so much hate... how could she have ever possibly been Akria? Noreen thought sadly. Truly, she must be right. There can't be anything left of Akria in that hardened soul. Turbo paced back and forth for a moment as Razor watched her warily. Eventually, she turned her head toward the forest and started walking, but the young Gryphon didn't drop his guard until she had disappeared behind the trees.

"What just happened?" Rau demanded as he walked up beside Razor, glaring at the trees. "Elyria and Turbo used to be friends for crying out loud! When did all this mess happen?"

"Don't lose your temper, too," Razor hissed. "I'm doing good to keep mine in check. I have never seen that blasted mare become so angry so fast at someone she supposedly trusts." They turned away from the forest to face the crowd and managed somehow to keep from hating them. "What are you staring at?"

"We would like to know what happened and who you are," Noreen answered.

"Maybe another time," Rau said sarcastically as he moved over to Elyria's still form. Nosing her, he took a quick survey of how badly she was injured. At Razor's questioning look, "She'll live. She won't be happy when she wakes up, but maybe she'll feel like telling us what happened between them in the city."

"Great," Razor said flatly, rolling his eyes. "Not only are you Unicorns going insane, but you can't even keep from fighting amongst yourselves. How did I get talked into this again?" Rau smiled. "I swear, if you say I volunteered, I'll take your smile off and beat you with it." The metal stallion chuckled as a white stallion stepped forward, curiosity flowing off of him in waves.

"Please," Crane said, "tell us what is going on. We cannot understand why Turbo acts this way when she just got done being so kind and gentle."

"Gentle?" Razor laughed. "Holy blazes! You think that mare is gentle?!"

"She was once," the Future Elyria choked out as she stood up. Her metal under skin was already closing and there were a few whispers as she shook her head carefully. "Apparently, she is becoming that way again."

"Becoming gentle?" Rau blurted. "Elyria, she just tried to kill you! Do you understand me? Kill, as in dead, as in no longer living, six feet under, vulture food, canceled operation, shut down, the end! You telling me she banged your head hard enough to make you forget that minor detail?"

"Rau, shut up," Elyria said, shaking her head a little more. There was an audible snap and she stretched her neck out to reveal that the under skin had completely repaired itself. "She could have killed me easily. You remember those Humans she used to fight. We never found all the pieces and you know it. She let me live and I think that little filly over there has a great deal to do with it." Now all three Futures looked toward Akria curiously. Standing between the white Rau and silent Elyria, Akria stared back at them in fear. Her terrified gaze was mirrored in her two friends and the adults that stood about them. "You explain today. I have a headache."

"Oh, now you get a headache," Rau snapped. "Ugh. You are impossible when you want to be."

"But you love me."

"I'm seriously debating that right now."

"Pardon me," Crane interrupted with a little more force. "We're waiting for that explanation."

"Fine, fine, don't get your tail in a wad," Rau muttered. "Okay, speed lesson so pay attention." A pause. "You want the long version or short version?"

"Give them the long version," Elyria said gently. "I'll offer my part when you get there."

"This ought to be good," Razor said sarcastically, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Right. Let's start from right now as I remember it. Humans are weak and supposedly insignificant right now. Very good and dandy, life's a dream. Then the aerie is attacked and Edge's family is the only surviving group. Boom, Humans become a threat. Anyway, in the time that I remember, no one did anything. The flyers wanted a nice little war that would wipe out all Humans, but by the time that was decided, a few Humans had been befriended and thus the huge shebang was called off. A little time goes by, people hunt magical creatures for horns and powers, so on and so forth, blah blah blah.

"Then came the really thrilling part. Technology hit a huge high point. Everything became computerized, even people. They enhanced themselves to the point that they resembled walking computers more than Humans. With all these high-tech gizmos and gadgets, hunting magical creatures became a dream. Joy. So, what do they do? Do they stop hunting us? No... of course not. There was a grand total of one third of the population left. A severe cut. Dragons and Unicorns were the hardest hit, Gryphons barely getting to safety through flight and good common sense."

"Why, thank you," Razor put in sardonically.

"Welcome. Anyway, the Unicorns finally struck a deal with the Humans to get them to stop killing us. The Humans always wanted our horns, so we offered them up to end the slaughter. Later, when the technology that the Humans had created had poisoned the world, we went to the Kind Humans for help. We were discovered and, without our horns now, we were helpless to defend ourselves. So reliant on the old magic that had defended us in the past, we had no idea how to defend ourselves. We were captured by the Evil ones and taken to facilities where we were experimented on until our bodies were broken beyond repair. Angry that we offered no more sport, we were sent out into the world again.

"Many of us died, but the Kind Humans eventually found us. They have great knowledge, those who sympathize with us, but they couldn't repair us. All the wisdom in the world couldn't make us as we were. They tried bravely. Repairing broken bodies was easy, but spirits were damaged and souls mangled. We weren't the great beasts of so-called 'purity' anymore. Elyria was the only one to retain her white color as far as I know.

"But that white color, the color that had made us so unique, also gave us away in this new world were everything was steel and iron. The last white Unicorn to be captured was Akria. Oh, she fought long and hard, but no one came to her aid. Elyria and myself didn't know she had been captured until it was too late." He shuddered involuntarily and looked at the ground. "Something happened to her, something that didn't happen to us when she was put into the Evil Humans' hands. She went crazy for some reason and has never acted 'right' since. Many say that she was broken, her soul completely ripped open." He paused for a moment. Nuzzling him, Elyria tried to comfort him.

"Sorry," he said to the waiting faces, "some pains never go away." He coughed to clear his throat and push the memories away. "Anyway, when she emerged, her anger was so strong that the others clung to it in desperation. Those were the wars. The old ones, those of us who were alive before the technology came to pass, called it the Dark Times. The Unicorns and the flyers, all that was magical, went against the Humans. It was a war that lasted longer than it ever should have. During this time, Akria dropped her name and picked up Turbo for her speed and the emotional overdrive that seemed to engulf her. At least, we think that's what happened. She never told. After a while, Unicorns drifted apart. The flyers disappeared into uncharted parts of the city where they cannot be found and the Unicorns became random, unsettled specks of flesh and machinery that wandered the streets.

"The Kind Humans, still existing after all this crap, set up little stations for us to go be maintenanced. Nowadays, after the initial 'upgrade', most Unicorns never see Human hands again. It is an arrangement that satisfies us greatly. Skipping forward a few years, Turbo disappeared through the Portal and Eagleye, the only Unicorn who understands Turbo by any stretch of the imagination, recruited her old friends to help him rescue her. We stand here now. I am Rau, this is Elyria, and that groaning pile of feathers is Razor. We were chosen for the speed that allowed us to get past the androids that guarded the Portal. Elyria, your turn."

Before anyone could speak, the mare started, "Razor once fought Turbo and managed to come out alive by taking flight. He ran to a maintenance station after Turbo tore his wing off in a rage and stabbed him through the chest with her horn. I met her several months later at one of the maintenance stations. We became angry and had a run-in much like what you just saw here. I was angry and called her a weakling, but she then proceeded to call me a fool. It was a heated fight that I barely managed to run away from. No one understands her anymore except Eagleye and he is too young to gain Turbo's trust. After a time, the other Unicorns shunned her in both fear and hate. The best I heard it said was, 'Turbo hates the world, but that's alright, it hates her just as much.' You see, she is a poor screwed up mare and I keep muddling it up." Elyria sighed and stared at the ground. "Never did get her anyway..."

"Nice," Razor suddenly interrupted. "Good, good, now we've had our trip down memory lane. Now, give me one reason why we shouldn't go back through the Portal and leave Turbo here. I'm not fighting it out with her again, I happen to like my wings attached, thank you. If she's so ticked off and hanging around here is supposedly 'gentling' her, why not leave her behind?"

"How can you say such a thing?" Noreen asked, moving up beside Crane who stared in dumb shock like the rest of the herd. "You would just prove that she should despise you. Don't you want to try to help her?"

"It isn't possible," Razor answered tartly. "People have been trying to help her for years. I think maybe a dozen of the hundreds who have tried to help her are alive. The only one who knows what to do with her is not here. He isn't going to come either. Eagleye is as much of a recluse as she is. You want to help her, I say go for it."

"There is no reason to stay then," Elyria said drearily. "There is too much pain to put behind us. We might as well leave."

"Dandy," Razor said sarcastically. "Toodaloo! Call us sometime!" The Futures turned away and started to walk toward the Portal, but they stopped and looked back for the two of them were walking alone.

"Rau?" Elyria asked, looking back as a breeze kicked up. The Future stallion was looking at Crane and the others, tears making his eyes wet. "What is it?"

"Sir," Rau said to Akria's father in a soft, low voice, "there was a time when she managed to get past the pain and act like herself. You were there for her. She hasn't come out of her shell since you were killed. Her mother tried to comfort her, but we haven't seen her in months. In our world, that means she is dead." He looked down at the foals that stared at him in trembling fear. "You three have a great few years ahead of you. Don't ever forget them. The memories will fade like dust after a time, but don't let paradise fade. Then there's no hope and you'll end up like us, stuck in a endless loop of pain." He shifted his gaze to Noreen and his heart plummeted. "There's nothing I can say for you, nothing to..." He stopped and looked away. "Just nothing."

"Wait-" Noreen started, but Rau pulled away and galloped off toward the Portal, Razor taking to the air as Elyria followed behind him. Something within Noreen tensed and she looked at the forest line only to see Turbo standing quietly in the shadows, watching like a forgotten sentinel.

"Noreen, I don't understand," Akria said in a shaky voice. "You said you knew the Futures..."

"I can only tell you what Crea, my old friend, told me, little one. She did claim to have seen the one called 'Turbo'. She said that there had never been a Unicorn so tipsy and confused. I think Rau was right, I think they might have torn her soul open."

"My soul?"

"No, her soul. You two are as different as night and day now. Crane what has you so worried?" The stallion turned an unsteady gaze on her as the moon shone on the metal creature at the edge of the forest, eye still flaming like a red candle.

"'There shall come a creature that is both of the old and new ways, a creature whose soul has known all pain and warped by every known evil, and this creature shall be the hero that she had searched for many years ago. Balance will be achieved through Past, Present, and Future only through the pawn of hate and everlasting suffering,'" Crane quoted. "Noreen, I'm afraid for her. Every prophecy I have ever heard has come out with the hero dying. Why did she come here?"

"I went and got her," Noreen answered. "I thought she could help us, but I had never thought about how far she was from us. She is too far gone, too far gone to ever be regained. I should never have gone back to see the Futures after Crea left. The Humans are already building their cities. We will be overrun in this time as well. There is no hope."

Turbo stood on the rise, watching all that happened below her. The heightened hearing that had been given to her picked up every word spoken. She listened to her old friends and understood, even through the anger that held her silent and still. Watching Noreen and her father, something stirred within her that hadn't moved in a long time. Dismissing the feeling as a weakness, she turned her focus to the small foals that were she and her friends a lifetime ago. They stood close, clustered together out of fear. She saw the fear washing over them in yellow waves and it angered her. Young ones should never have to know fear.

The young Elyria and Akria looked toward her as the young Rau followed their gaze after a moment. Turbo's anger faltered. Staring back at her were innocent little creatures that had never known a hard day in their short lives. They were still pure, still what she should have been... Another feeling washed over her, a strange feeling that she couldn't shake as easily as the first though it felt eerily similar. With these strange emotions, an image of Eagleye smiling entered her mind. She could almost see him standing beside her, telling her that the world could be hers, just as he had when they had been kept together in that freezing dungeon when they had been experimented on.

Turbo raised her head and the image of Eagleye vanished along with the unusual emotions. She shrugged it off like morning dew. Turning, she walked into the forest. It was no wonder that no one trusted her or cared to know her. She didn't even know herself, Past or Future.

Chapter 9 - Shadows

The three Futures walked through the trees without a word. By morning, they were back at the Portal. Rau and Razor watched sadly as Elyria pushed her way through without so much as a backward glance. Sighing, Rau looked back one last time before following the gryphon through. When his hooves touched metal on the other side, his mind was made up.

"Elyria, I think we need to-" He stopped. Razor trembled beside him as their eyes looked out over the place where they had struggled so valiantly to reach the Portal. The droid ship was gone and all the wreckage cleared away, but in its place was something far more frightening. Three droid ships and a small Human piloted control vessel hovered a short distance off. Already, the low buzz of charging weapons was filling the air.

"Run!" Elyria screamed, throwing herself towards the city as laser fire broke the silence, crashing all about them. The brilliant lights burnt the ground that rushed past them. Razor, flying through the air, called out in surprise as a lucky shot skimmed under his belly. "Keep your feathers moving!"

"I'm trying, Unicorn!" he retorted. They were almost to the edge of the city, muscles burning with effort and fear. The moment Razor topped a building; he dove behind it in an effort to escape the radar that all Human made ships carried. Rau and Elyria dove behind it as well, grateful that a glance back showed that the ships weren't following.

"Where's Turbo?" asked a voice right behind them, causing all three to jump involuntarily. Archival stood calmly before them, her mane looking raggedy and unkempt as she glanced from face to face. "I thought you were bringing her with you."

"Why are they here?" Razor asked, looking back toward the four ships. "What do they care about a parking lot with a Portal in it?"

Archival ignored his question. "Where's Turbo?"

"Look, she's still on the other side, alright?" Elyria said impatiently. Uneasily, she followed Razor's gaze to the four ships that now hovered over the parking lot like vultures. "What is going on here?"

"The Humans were informed of the Portal by someone," Archival answered with a sigh. "We don't know who. Eagleye thinks that the Humans are going to try to stretch their control through to the other side. In light of that, he wanted to know the moment you were back. I believe he was expecting Turbo to have come back."

"Well, where is he now?" Razor pressed. "Kind of hard to tell him when we're here when he isn't."

"I know," Archival retorted, but her eyes were soft. "He's off trying to find out who told the Humans. I am here in his place. He said something about you waiting here for him." Razor hissed as Rau shook his head disbelievingly. Elyria was still looking back out towards the lot, but her eye was unfocused.

"Eagleye would never ask us to remain so close to Humans," Rau pointed out as Razor stepped forward, hissing. "Knowing the potential danger that their droids carry, he would never ask us to make such a sacrifice. Who are you?"

"Why, I am Archival. Do you not recognize me?" the mare asked, shocked. Elyria turned to Rau and nodded. At that moment, Razor leapt upon the mare, tearing at her with his claws and beak before she had time to react. When he was satisfied, he stepped back to reveal a heaping mass of metal. The intruder's jaw hung limp as the recorder repeated, "Why, I am Archival. Do you not recognize me? Why, I am Archival. Do you-?" Rau kicked with his hooves and the head fell to the ground, silent.

"Yeah, we recognize you," Razor hissed. "It would appear, little Unicorns, that you have a spy deep within your ranks." He nosed the still form and grunted. "Very deep."

"Are you going to give us the speech about how something like this would never happen to flyers?" Elyria asked with amusement in her eye.

"Later," Razor said, shaking out his feathers. "Right now, we need to get out of here. If 'Ms. Archival' wanted us to remain here, then there's an ambush on its way. It would be best to make ourselves scarce." Nodding in agreement, the three dove into the city. "You two know of any safe places?"

"We are Unicorns," Rau said tartly, "we make it our business to keep ourselves safe. I know where a herd is. If we can make it to them by nightfall, we will be concealed from any roaming eyes."

"Concealed?" Razor asked curiously.

"You will see when we get there." Rau smiled as he darted into the city.

"Naturally," Razor shot back sarcastically, following on foot since Humans were so close.

"No," Elyria retorted as she ran after them. "Mechanically."

She leapt easily over a fallen pole as they ran through the crowded alleys. Once or twice, they glanced back with the sudden thought that they might be pursued, but there was nothing but shadow following them. Questions pawed at the edge of their minds, most centering around why a spy would ever be sent among their ranks and who it could be. The Humans had everything so why did they need new information? What interest could that spy have sparked to drag so many Humans to the Portal? Rau cut off the depressing and confusing train of thought as he skidded to a stop. Before them, a large door stood tall, metal hinges rusted with age. Razor sniffed the air tentatively before shaking his head with despair. Elyria tilted her head curiously.

"Unicorns and lots of them," he answered with a look of annoyance. "I'll never find myself in pleasant company again." Elyria glared at him as Rau chuckled. Moving forward, the Unicorn stallion glanced about before tapping three times on the door. After a pause he tapped once more. The door opened a crack.

"Who seeks refuge here?" asked a metallic voice from the other side.

"Three little sparrows that have lost their way," was the vague reply. Razor snorted.

"Are you sure there are three sparrows and no eagles?" asked the hidden voice. A blue eye glinted just beyond the door as a Unicorn looked at Razor dubiously.

"Three sparrows," Rau answered easily. "One is just more birdlike than the others." The answer was a quiet laugh.

"Then enter, little sparrows." With a creak, the door swung open before them. Standing quietly, the stallion before them welcomed them with a smile. As Rau passed, the stranger gently nuzzled his neck.

"Thank you, Corsair," Rau answered, with a returning nuzzle. "Find someone else to watch the door. I need to talk to as many of the elder Unicorns as possible." The stallion grunted an acknowledgement as he grabbed the heavy rope attached to the door with his mouth and proceeded to pull the door shut once more.

"My replacement will be here in a moment... ah, here he is now." Another stallion trotted down the corridor to the small group and cast a curious glance at Corsair. "Watch the door while I take these to the others. Since Rau is already here, remember your duty."

Elyria glanced curiously at Rau as they headed off. "Long story," the stallion said feebly.

"It isn't very boring," Corsair said good-naturedly. "If you hang around until evening, the others might tell it to you." Rau cast the other stallion an angry glare, but he shrugged it off one mottled brown shoulder. His bright brown eyes, though not made of flesh, glistened with a certain warmth that Elyria and Razor had long since learned to associate with Unicorns too young to hate their implants. Corsair was young compared to those he led down the tunnel, probably even half their age. Ahead, the tunnel mouth was a lit door. "Where do you want them to gather?"

"Bring them to the tunnel. I don't think we will be welcome when I share this news." Corsair's brow tightened at the ominous sounding words, but he nodded before scurrying off. Elyria and Razor came up on either side of Rau as they stood in the tunnel, minds spinning. Before them, a large parking lot stretched out, but it was not empty like the one where the Portal stood. Fallen buildings and varying debris were scattered everywhere. Fallen pipes had old blankets thrown over them like curtains, old tires were sitting cockeyed so that they could collect rainwater, and a small number of weeds clung to anything that would hold them. Unicorns walked through the pipes and the newcomers realized that these were their homes, the water and weeds enough to sustain the flesh in-between visits to the little repair depots. Looking up, Razor saw that the small sanctuary was sheltered beneath a giant dome.

"Well concealed," Razor whispered to his companion.

"Better than you might think," Rau answered smugly. "We piled random debris up there so it looks like just another pile of junk. That corridor we went down actually brought us somewhat underground. From the outside, there is nothing spectacular about this place. We are completely hidden."

"We?" Elyria inquired. "Rau, what have you been up to?"

"You know well the dreams that all Unicorns carry for their young, Elyria. Why do you even ask?" Rau retorted with a bright smile.

"You didn't-!"

"Didn't what?" Razor asked, bristling as they left him behind.

"All Unicorns carry the hope that their children will one day grow into creatures that will be chosen as alphas... err, leaders. It would appear that Rau managed to do just that."

"Yes, the Kuaka herd chose me as their new leader because of my age among other things." For a moment, the confident stallion looked completely embarrassed and rather uncomfortable.

"Kuaka? Aren't they a southern herd?"

"Yes, we are," answered Corsair's voice. Turning, Elyria saw that the Kuaka herd was gathered before them. Before she could voice any more suspicions, Corsair addressed Rau. "We are ready, Rau. What has happened to bring you back so early? Normally you are gone for a week at a time." Rau nodded curtly, but the knowledge of where he went was not lost to these strange Unicorns. Many of the younger ones blushed. "I went in search of one of my friends, another of the old ones, but there is a problem, my friends. She had gone through the Portal. When the three of us returned with little success, a droid was waiting for us. This droid was constructed to look like a Unicorn, claimed to know Eagleye, and stated many things that only a Unicorn would know. There is a spy among us reporting back to the Humans." He sighed as many whispers moved through the crowd. "That is not the end of our problems. The Unicorn called 'Turbo', the droid was very interested in her. There is reason to believe that the Humans want to move through the Portal, but whether to obtain her or expand their influence is unknown."

"What is through the Portal?" asked one of the youngest colts before his mother could hush him. "I have never heard of it before."

"The Portal is a window," Elyria said easily. "It takes us into the Past. Through there, the Humans haven't taken over and have barely begun to build their cities. It is a calm world."

"Are trees there?" asked a filly.

"Many trees and meadows as far as you can see," Razor answered as the two youngsters shivered with delight. The filly extended her neck to talk to the colt and Elyria realized then that these two were more than they appeared. Though their coats were varying shades of mottled brown, she had hoped that they were mostly flesh, but their movements betrayed them. They had simply undergone less extensive changes. The realization hit her that they wouldn't receive their full changes until they were fully grown. The filly still had a twist in her neck were fragile neck bones were bent beyond repair. In her mind's eye, Elyria compared the two youngsters before her with the foals she had seen on the other side of the Portal. It was pathetic.

"Now is not the time to talk of trees," Razor said tartly. "What should we do?"

"Rau," Corsair interjected gently, "no one knows the Humans as well as Eagleye or Turbo. We have heard stories of them. If they are indeed real, they would be the only Unicorns to talk to. If Turbo is lost on the other side of the Portal, then shouldn't we speak with Eagleye? No one else would know what to do on such short notice. You could also tell him about your suspicions of the Humans."

"And the herd?"

"We will be fine," answered an older voice from the back of the group. "We haven't gone far in years and we are quite secure here." Razor craned his neck to see it was, but there were too many bodies obscuring the speaker. The voice was vaguely familiar.

"Very well," Rau answered. "Would anyone know where to find Eagleye?" The little group became silent with worry as the herd whispered before them.

"What is this?" Razor inquired in a whisper.

"Eagleye is not exactly social," Elyria answered just as quietly. "He tends to keep to himself and rarely travels the same road in a week. He is actually almost as illusive to us as we are to the Humans." Nodding his understanding, Razor turned his attention to the nervous Corsair. The other stallion was watching his herd leader with a mixture of admiration, nervousness, and trust. Before the Gryphon thought to question him, Rau had turned his attention to the trembling stallion.

"Do you know where to find him?" was the somewhat callous question.

The stallion blinked and looked at the ground. "As you know, Rau, I have not always been a member of this herd. I can take you to him... or at least to his resting place, but it has been a long time and he might have moved after his mother died. I am uncertain." Rau nodded, waiting for him to continue. "He will not look on me favorably. There is history between us." Elyria winced.

"I think I can stand for a little more history today," Rau responded with a smile. Visibly relaxing, Corsair smiled in return. "Come, let's go find him." Without waiting for agreement, Rau turned away from the gathered herd and headed back into the shadowy corridor. Looking over his shoulder, Razor paused. The other Unicorns were whispering among themselves, anger flickering across their eyes along with mistrust and jealousy. What that had to be jealous of, Razor had no idea, but he sensed that this mistrust of Rau was growing into something a little more formidable. After a time, it could become disloyalty and that most often led to traitors. He quickly moved down the corridor, apprehensive foreboding filling his mind.

The sun rose, a lonely thing in the empty blue sky. Akria watched it through the reflection on the lake. She stood just as alone for the other Unicorns, frightened as they were, had all left the sight of the little battlefield where Turbo and Elyria had fought. The white foal looked at the grass where a few bloodstains could still be seen and felt her heart wrench.

"So this is what it comes down to?" she asked the still waters. "In a few years I will be captured and torn apart before nearly destroying my dearest friends. What a life I lead." Turning her gaze up to the blazing sun, she saw the faintest hint of a cloud below it, struggling to dim the sunshine. "That looks like me and Turbo now. There is no way to cover that flaming anger without catching myself on fire." Sighing despairingly, she looked back into the water. Gasping, she saw the Future standing beside her in the water. Turning quickly, she thought to see the mechanized Unicorn beside her, but there was no one. She shuddered for the figure she had seen in the water was unlike any Future she had ever seen. Looking down, the reflection was gone. "Who are you?"

There was no answer and the uncanny silence that followed unnerved her. She looked about, but nothing had changed. There were no hoof prints on the bank, no fleeing shadows, absolutely nothing. It was as if there had never been anyone beside her.

"But if there was no one there, why did I see a reflection of someone I never met?" she asked herself, flicking the still surface with her hoof. Nothing happened. The reflection did not reappear and her uncomfortable thoughts didn't fade away. Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander.

"You really should talk to Turbo, you have a lot in common, you know," said the unmistakable mechanical voice of a Future. Akria's eyes flew open as she twirled about anxiously. There was no one there.

"This is too weird." But something within her made the words ring before her as if she could actually see them. Before her mind could rationalize or puzzle through what was happening, her body started moving of its own accord.

Turning her hooves to the forest, Akria galloped for the low branches. Entering at the point where Turbo's hoof prints where the freshest, she followed them deep into the forest, never once thinking that she might be running into danger since her mind was filled with why she had even left the grassy bank. Unsure of what she was even thinking, the white filly just followed the tracks as unerringly as possible until they disappeared on rocky ground. Slowing to a stop, she looked about. The ground was hard now, tough in places where dirt appeared, and covered in dingy foliage everywhere else. No broken branches could be seen that made the trail obvious where Turbo would have broken through the limbs. There was nothing...

"Turbo?" Akria asked the frigid air that floated on the breeze. "Turbo, where are you?"

No answer.

"Turbo?" she asked again. Something in her suggested that the mare was there, listening and waiting - probably the same something that had driven her here. "I know you're there. I can feel you watching me." Uncertain of what to do next, Akria stepped forward onto the rocky ground, swinging her head about as she looked for any sign of the big mare. "Turbo?"

Just as she was about to step forward again, a shot rang out as a bullet splintered the rock before her feet. Akria froze as another shot rang out, but this one hit right beside her hoof. Without warning, Turbo slammed through the branches, pushing Akria towards the foliage as she neighed in alarm. Another shot rang out. The mare lurched as she ran, nearly crushing the young filly as they dashed into the forest, her white legs pumping with extra effort. Akria looked back once to see Turbo right on her heels, snapping angrily when she began to slow.

Something was wrong...

Turbo's gait was choppy, no longer smooth...

"Get your little white self moving, blast it!" the mare roared when Akria faltered in her step. Turbo's shout struck panic within her, pushing her forward with extra urgency. She nearly flew now, legs extending to more than their actual full length as she hurled herself through the forest, barely even noticing the passing landscape. Terror engulfed her as a sudden light engulfed her, bright after the dimness of the forest. Running on blindly, nothing attracted Akria's attention until a large brown shape loomed up before her. She couldn't stop; there was no way she could stop running in time-!