//------------------------------// // Frozen by Fear // Story: Wyvern // by PegasusKlondike //------------------------------// There she stood, the corpses of everypony Klondike had known acting as an altar to her great and terrible personage. The beast reared up on her hind legs, roaring her victory over this pitiful creature that lay sniveling on the ground before her. Behind her thousands of black shapes erupted from the ground, millions of her devilish children, hungry for the flesh of the weak. They sprayed their elemental breath, changing the very world to the icy land that spawned them. The beast leveled her head, drawing in the breath to make his body and heart colder than the core of darkness. The eyes, those horrible eyes burned their sickening yellow, malevolence permeating the pegasus with every second she stared at him, preparing her deadly breath. A metallic ringing came from her mouth instead of a deadly blast of frost or a bone shaking roar, and Klondike lashed out...with something. Klondike sat bolt upright in his bed, panting and gasping from the nightmare. He looked over to his clock, he had woken up right on time. Strange, that damn clock should be going crazy right about now. He squinted at the piece of junk, noticing the hands had stopped moving. He poked the clock, and with a crash in fell in two even pieces, split cleanly down the middle. "I'm never buying Mexicolt crap again." he muttered, picking up the pieces to hopefully fix it later. By the calendar he had down in the library, it was a Saturday, a day he normally got off anyways. Quickly he made up his mind about what he was going to do today. Going to the loose floorboard in his bedroom, he pried it up with a little bit of coercion. Reaching his head into the empty space he grabbed his entire life savings in a bulging coinpurse. Setting it on his upstairs desk he began to count his bits, seeing how much he really had. It took about an hour to count it all, and then count it again. "Twelve hundred bits, that should be enough to get me to Equestria if I catch the next ship downriver." he said to himself. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got to Equestria, maybe look up his parents, see if they still cared about their only son. After that, see what he could do about finding a job. But whatever happened, he needed to get away from Windshear. Away from Snowreach if at all possible. He didn't want to be here when ignorance of facts triumphed over logic and reason, but mostly he did not want to end up in some monster's belly. Klondike would never be able to deal with the shame of failing to defend Venerax, but he figured that the further he got from the dragon, the less pain he would feel. Besides, Venerax was at least a hundred feet long, if not more. He could take care of himself, he didn't need some washed up librarian to defend him. Walking down the stairs Klondike utilized his library resources, checking the company logs for the next scheduled ship upstream from Moosehead. What a stroke of luck, one was scheduled to come upriver tomorrow to Windshear, the last stop on its cargo voyage to gather the gold and furs harvested by the Company. Grabbing a set of saddlebags Klondike set about packing up everything he owned, quite the pitiful amount actually. A couple of photos, some clothing, a set of quills and ink and a stack of parchment. "Wow, do I really not have anything?" he said of the half empty saddlebags. He put them aside, today he was a day for himself, and he would spend it so. Walking out the door he saw the normally bustling settlement of Windshear become a ghost town. Klondike walked down the main street, looking for any sign of anypony. Only a few left their homes and other buildings, one eye on the sky as they went about their business. He went to the boarding house where Pine Fresh stayed along with at least a dozen other miners. Knocking on the door he got a few gruff yells to come inside. Pushing open the door he saw a few miners sitting around a table, gambling away the gold nuggets they managed to sneak out of the mine shaft, past the careful eyes of the Company foremen. 'Supplementary, untaxed income', that's what they called it. He noticed they had weapons laid out, some makeshift like their mining picks and others actual swords, spears and crossbows. Klondike stifled a grimace, as if the Sun Eater would come knocking at their door before it froze their souls and tore them apart. "Is Pine Fresh around?" Klondike asked the miners. "Nope, trouble down at the mine. Some of the miners are refusing to work until they get paid and Obsidian is dealt with, Pine Fresh is trying to talk some sense into both parties, miners and foremen." "Thanks." he turned to walk out the door. "Hey kid, you really think this ain't Obsidian?" Klondike turned his head back, "Does a bear shit in the woods?" The blue collar ponies all grumbled their acknowledgement, some pulling their weapons a bit closer. Klondike left the boarding house, determined to say a few things to a few ponies before he ran back to Equestria with his tail between his legs. Walking at a slow pace to the saloon, he took a few breaths to calm himself as he pushed open the door. It was too early for Aurora to be working, but she still lived in the backrooms with the other barmaids. The earth pony barkeeper and owner sat at a table with the barmaids, eating a late breakfast of oatmeal and reading a month old copy of the Equestria Daily. The barkeeper looked up from his paper, the headline blaring incredible news about some creature crashing the Grand Galloping Gala and stealing an Element of Harmony. Probably tabloid journalism. "Klondike m'boy, bit early to be drowning your sorrows isn't it?" "Actually Pinch, I'm here to talk to Aurora." Pinch Penny grinned, "Aurora! You have a handsome gentlecolt caller!" The pegasus laid back his ears and blushed, deepening the red of his already crimson fur. The snow white mare leaned out of the kitchen, her face slightly sooty and wearing an apron. "Who is it?" "That pegasus you always thought was cute." The mare's face turned scarlet, realizing she was a little too dirty to be presentable she ran back into the kitchen to scrub up a bit. The barkeep laughed like a madman, pleased at his ability to embarrass two ponies in the span of a minute. The other barmaids giggled, Pinch's wife Silver giving her husband a punch on the shoulder. Klondike cleared his throat, "It's not like that sir, she's just a friend." "So is my wife, but they say your very special somepony is always your closest friend." Silver Penny smiled, giving her husband an appreciative nuzzle. "Well then, dress me up in my finest, because by that logic I'm betrothed to Venerax." The barmaids nearly collapsed laughing, the proprietor and his wife giggling at the foalish stallion. "Only you could ever say that, Klondike, well played m'boy. What is taking that girl so long?" "Here I am!" She trotted out of the kitchen, without her apron and looking much cleaner. "Good morning Klondike, you wanted to see me?" "Yeah, I just wanted to tell you a few things, then I'll be out of your mane." The barkeep nodded to his employees, standing from the table they left the room, giving the two some privacy. Though out of sight, the pegasus knew they were still listening intently for a juicy morsel of gossip. Klondike sighed, thinking about what needed to be said. "Aurora..." Her eyes grew a little wider, and she took a step closer. "Yes Klondike?" "I'm leaving Windshear tomorrow. For good." "Oh... are you sure that is all you wanted to say?" she said hopefully. "There is one more thing." he took a step closer, looking into her eyes. "Yes?" she said in a voice more mellow than butter, her eyes glittering pools of amethyst. "...I think you should leave too. That creature is far too dangerous for anypony to still be around here. Maybe just flee until the dragon slayers do their job." Aurora's eyes narrowed, her smile turning to a slight frown. "Right then, thank you for the memo. I'll keep that in mind." Turning around she stalked back to the kitchen, muttering something about bone headed stallions. From the other room Klondike heard a shout, followed by a muffled thump. To him, it almost sounded like somepony said 'Oh, come on!' ************************************** "I tells ya Pine, we ain't gonna lift a hoof until those buckheads at HQ pay us!" several miners shouted their agreeance with the accented miner. Several of them blockaded the entrance to the gold mine, preventing any non-union scabs from getting in to work. There was a problem with being unionized in foreign, un-annexed territory; no government to back the unions. "Can we just agree to disagree? The Company has to withhold our pay to cover the expenses of hiring dragon slayers. Without that, we'd all be crispy by the end of the month with Obsidian going on a rampage." the tangerine earth pony reasoned. "Oh, so its all about corporate expenses is it? I recall that our pay dropped and never went back up after the Company hired those mercs to chase out the Diamond Dogs!" Pine conceded to that. Things did seem to go downhill every time Tweed had to fix a problem, but Tweed himself was always somehow innocent and the blame always went to Obsidian's tax. "You know somethin', I think I'm startin to agree with that bookie. Maybe this ain't Obsidian, maybe this is some kind of Company scam for cheap labor!" The ponies with the protester cheered. "Well speak of the devil!" The crimson pegasus dropped down next to his friend, landing with a small cloud of dust rising under his wings. "Pine, do you have a minute?" "Not really Klondike, these union boys aren't listening to the Company boys. It might boil over if I don't talk some sense into everypony." "I'm leaving, Pine." "What? Just stop in for a quick fly by?" "No, I'm leaving Windshear tomorrow with the next ship to Moosehead. And from there, hopefully it's a straight shot home to Equestria." Pine Fresh looked dumbfounded. "You mean, you're turnin' tail on us? You're running away?" Klondike scratched at the dirt with a hoof, "Yeah, I'm getting the hell out of Snowreach. Listen to me Pine, if you had seen that thing, you'd be running too. And I think you should while you still can." "I can't just pack up and leave. I gave up everything I had back in Equestria to come here and dig in the dirt. I hate to say it, but Snowreach has kind of become my home. And I can't leave while North Enterprise keeps mistreating us like this." Klondike shook his head, "I can't force you to do anything, but I beg of you, please just get out of here before it is too late." "No can do pal, say 'hi' to that warm, sunny beach for me. If this is the last time we ever see each other, I'll miss you buddy." The earth pony threw his forelegs around the pegasus, Klondike returned the hug. "You're my best friend Pine, if you ever get out of here, look me up." "Sure thing Klondike, sure thing." the pair held their hug for another few seconds, then they drifted apart. Klondike took a few running steps, leaping into the air with his wings outspread. With all of his goodbyes done, there was only one place left to go. *********************************************** The pegasus landed lightly at the rough cut porch for the North Enterprise offices near the docks. If anything went on a ship southward, Tweed had to clear it first. Klondike raised a hoof and knocked briskly on the door. "Who the buck is it?" shouted Tweed's raspy voice. "Your least favorite bookkeeper, I need to talk with you Mr. Suit." Strange, the curtains were drawn on the offices. But he heard some movement in the office, from more than one set of hooves. The door creaked open, Tweed's mahogany face poking out. "What the buck do you want, chicken wings?" "Sir, I want to leave. After the dragon slayers come and kill Venerax, there won't be any point to me being around. I have enough money to pay for passage south, and it would be in the Company's interest to let me go." The Boss looked on, expecting more. "You still don't think it is Venerax, do you? You want to get out of here before your monster shows up again." "Yes sir Mr. Suit." "Well, I'd be glad to get rid of your sorry ass. But right now you are just too valuable of an employee. Since you started doing records Windshear has been the poster child of bureaucratic efficiency for North Enterprise Co." A mare's voice called from back in the office. "Who is it Tweedy? If it's another one of your friends that is another twenty bits." "Shut up you dried up excuse of a whore!" he shouted back. Tweed apparently had his fun with "Hardware Store", so named because a few bits could get you a good screw. Looking back to Klondike, he rethought his position. "How many bits do you have?" "About twelve hundred Mr. Suit." "Let me wet my beak a little and you can be on that ship tonight." "'Wet your beak' sir?" "It's simple bird brain! You consider your life savings shrunk by, oh let's see, two hundred bits and then you can get out of my sight and out of Windshear by tomorrow morning." Klondike was taken aback. "You want me to bribe you into letting me leave?!" "That's the idea chicken wings. Now pony up those bits or have fun pushing pencils behind that musty old desk until your contract expires in ten years!" The pegasus growled, reaching into a saddlebag he pulled out his coinpurse. Carefully he proffered two hundred bits after a few minutes of counting. Though he barely had enough bits to make the trip before, now he was short a few hundred. He might have to fly his way back to Equestria if he couldn't make it on one thousand bits. The sleaze bag of a unicorn inspected his pile of gold, emblazoned on one side with the cutie mark of Celestia, the other with Luna's cutie mark. "Mhm, consider yourself fired. Luckily for you that ship arrives any hour now with our dragon slayers aboard." Klondike was about to leave, cursing the damnable filth that was Tweed Suit. "Wait, it's a week long boat ride to Moosehead alone. How are the dragon slayers getting here today if you called for them yesterday?" Tweed was on the spot, nervously he tried to close the door. Klondike shoved a hoof in it, throwing his shoulder in it to force his way in. He looked at the town 'lady of the night', "Get out! Tweed and I have to talk." The whore obliged, grabbing her various garments and accessories. Kicking the door closed with a back hoof, Klondike stood with his wings flared, his ears laid back. Had he not been a librarian, he might have looked intimidating. "You've been planning this you bastard! You hired those dragon slayers months ago, the Sun Eater was just a convenient excuse to announce it!" "Still on about your imaginary monster? There is no 'Sun Eater' you foal! Venerax has always been a thorn in our side, and once I get rid of him we go back to peak production and I can get out of this hell hole. Maybe go to Canterlot and settle down, where I never have to hear about somepony's troll problems or why the miners won't dig!" "You're the lowest type of scum, Tweed. And I'll be the first to spit on the pile of shit that will be your grave when that monster comes hunting for you." A bell rang from outside, it's brass announcement telling the whole town that the latest cargo ship had arrived, the ship having docked with the Windshear docks. Tweed grinned at Klondike wickedly. "Speak of the devils, looks like I'll be keeping myself away from a premature grave. Since you are such a 'hospitable' stallion, why don't you go get our guests and show them the way to the saloon? And Klondike, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out." "Buck you and everything you stand for." hissed the pegasus, nearly taking the door of its hinges as he threw it open. ***************************** Two stallions stood at the dock, several heavy trunks behind them. The first, a unicorn, was dressed regally in royal purple and blues, his white head hung as if the very simplicity of Windshear was an affront to his person. The other, a red-brown earth pony, looked like some village might have been missing their fool. A leather cap donned his head, and a worn linen tunic covered his body. The earth pony looked like he might have once had a good smile, but somepony had taken a hammer to his teeth. As a pair they were polar opposites. "Well would ya look at that sire, a right and true local! Hey local, come grab our baggage would ye!" the earth pony spat at Klondike. "Now Patsy, do not use such complex words as 'baggage', you might confuse his elementary mind." Klondike, still fairly pissed from Tweed, addressed the pair. "Are you the dragon slayers?" "Who wants to know?" replied the cockney earth pony. "The pony who is about to leave town because of you two." The regal unicorn tossed his mane, twirling a long mustache with his hoof. "Oh, the shipmaster has decided to stay for the night. I do not hope it has caused you an inconvenience." "If it pleases his 'lordship', it has set me back. The quicker I leave town the better." Klondike replied with acid in his voice. "Why do you not simply fly away on those astoundingly large wings of yours?" "What I'm running from has even bigger wings than I do." He grabbed a trunk and tossed it on his own back, grabbing another in his teeth he began to drag it to the saloon. It took the pegasus three trips to drag all of the heavy luggage to the open boarding room in the saloon where the slayers would stay. Though perfectly capable of getting it themselves, they insisted that they were 'too weary from their long voyage'. By the time the exhausted pegasus had finished placing the last trunk in their room on the upstairs floor of the saloon, the crude and rude earth pony had managed to corral everypony not doing something to the main floor of the saloon. The foul pony gathered their attention, clearing his throat and unfurling a scroll to introduce his regal friend."Presenting his lordship, Knight of the Realm of Equestria, Sir Owayn, dragon slayer!" Several sets of hooves set about stomping and clapping for the dragon slayer. Sir Owayn raised a hoof, silencing the denizens of Windshear. "Indeed, my squire Patsy and I have come to rescue your fair village from the clutches of the dragon Obsidian. I personally answered the call of the North Enterprise Company, volunteering myself and my squire to come and bravely risk our very lives to face off with such a beast!" "Ha! Hahahahaha!" the laughing silenced the knight, all attention turned to the corner, where the town drunk roared in laughter. "You think you can take Venerax? That is the best joke I have heard in years, hahaha! And the perfect punchline will be when the real monster comes to freeze your very bones you foal!" Owayn turned to his assigned escort from the Company, a local tough. "Who is this drunkard? What does he speak of?" "Just the town drunk, he makes up stories to entertain himself and the other drunks. He thinks that there is some kind of monster out there other than the dragon." "And there is!" Old Spin shouted. Taking a glass full of whiskey he threw it on the fire. A blast of flame roared from the hearth, illuminating the ivory scrimshaw work of the Sun Eater. "This beast shows no fear, no mercy and no reason. Calling it a myth is simply making it stronger. It will hunt the forests until they are barren of any living thing, then this creature will come to feed on us!" Two muscular ponies grabbed the ranting pegasus, hauling him out as he shouted his warning. "IT WILL KILL US ALL! IT WILL CONSUME EVERYTHING YOU FOALS!" With the attention completely diverted from him, the knight and his squire left the stage, quietly adjourning to their supplied quarters. ********************************************* The queen screamed in the pains of labor, her cries reaching far across the forest land from her icy cave dwelling. With a push, a leathery egg emerged from her womb, dropping into the bowl of ice in the back of her cave. The queen stopped for breath, them pushed again, screaming in her labor. They came more easily after the first, each egg taking an empty bowl of ice spread out across the cave. Her screams echoed in the chilling depths, this act of painful birth would put her in more desperate need of fresh meat from now on. After an hour, she finished birthing her clutch. Thirteen eggs, all perfectly formed, an excellent clutch for any queen. The leathery shells began to harden, the oozing slime of her afterbirth coating each one protectively. The queen inspected her eggs, sniffing for any flaws put off by the embryos. One in particular gave off a foul odor, prompting the queen to recoil from it in repulsion. Apparently the stress of her fight with the other queen and her flight to this new land had been too much for this little one. Grasping it in her teeth she carried it outside, dropping it far away from the other eggs in the clutch. The rotting odor might attract scavengers, and that was a risk she could not take while hunting for additional food. Going back into her cave, she stopped to gorge on a frozen, dead moose that she had killed a few days ago. Recovering the lost nutrients after giving birth would take days, but now the queen was in her defensive state of mind and was more dangerous than ever. Returning to her nest she sniffed her eggs again, just making sure that no others had been stillborn. Satisfied no others were damaged, she assessed her children's gender by their embryonic pheromones. Three females, nine males. Other queens might get jealous and kill the female offspring, but there was plenty of new territory here for them to take over on their own. Instinct drove her to leave the cave. With no foolish and jealous males to guard against, she was free to hunt. But all the prey around the ice cave had grown wary of her scent and were getting scarce. She would have to range a little farther for food. ******************************************* The lone pegasus pushed open the door to the library, coming in for the final time. Quietly he walked the aisles and stacks, occasionally stopping to straighten a book or brush away a mote of dust. It had been his prison for years, the confinement that had risen around him when his parents had abandoned him here. And like a true prisoner, having been trapped for years, the outside world would frighten him. And Klondike would yearn for these parchment walls, so secure and unchanging. With a heavy heart he grabbed his saddlebag, placing it securely on his back he walked down his stairs. Closing the door to the library he looked back with want, want for some place to truly call home. He sighed, walking slowly in the twilight shadows to the dock houses, hopefully the captain was still on board, and he could get a spot on the cargo ship downriver. Several ponies were working the docks, lifting crates of smelted gold with their muscle or magic. Crates of equipment and other necessities replaced the filled crates of gold bullion in the warehouses. Klondike found a pony that looked like he was in charge around here, a stranger that had an anchor cutie mark. "Sir? Do you know if this ship is taking passengers?" he called to the sailor. "Aye, we can take on a passenger, if that passenger has the bits to accommodate." Klondike reached into his saddlebag, pulling out his purse of bits. "I have money, and I don't have any luggage except what I'm carrying." The shipmaster eyed the bulging bag of coins, slightly less full since Tweed had gotten to them. "Alright then, make yourself at home and don't get in the way." Fluttering over to the ship's deck, he set down his saddlebags and sat next to the rails. Finally, his time here could end, he could be free from the monsters of Snowreach and beyond, free from the tyranny of a corporation without reins. He closed his eyes, breathing deep he took in one of the last breaths of the pure, cold air of Snowreach. "I'm coming home." he whispered to nothing. His eyes snapped open, a fearfully familiar sound tingling in his ears. A roar like the roll of thunder. "No, NO!" he screamed. "Everypony take cover!" The dock workers and sailors looked at him in confusion. Then the roar reached their ears. "Obsidian is attacking!" somepony shouted. Instantly the docks were embroiled by fear and chaos. Ponies dropped whatever they were doing to flee for shelter. Klondike took off from the deck, flying as fast as he could to the center of town, screaming his message. "Run for cover! The monster is attacking!" What ponies that were out at this time of day cried in terror and ran for cover. The roars grew louder, and now he could hear the beats of huge wings. His heart pounding in his chest, he saw his waking nightmare emerge over the mountains, hovering for moment. The beast seemed to inspect the town, considering her options. Luckily most everypony had gotten inside, hiding from her sight. With a short roar she banked on her wings, heading for....the mine. "Pine Fresh..." Klondike whispered, and he poured on every scrap of speed that he could to chase the monster. **************************************** The queen saw the odd structures, and she hovered above to get a good look. But they showed no promise of a meal, and she banked towards a nearby mountain side. Looking down as she hunted, the queen spied an entire herd of ponies, all standing in a neat little row in front of a small cave entrance. More of the structures stood outside of the cave, and upon spying her the ponies fled into the cave and the buildings. Landing hard, she sniffed and inspected one of the buildings. The delightful scents of fear and fresh flesh came from within, and she rammed her horned head into the wall. A little too hard perhaps, it crumbled against her assault, bringing down the entire building. Screams of terror and pain rang out as she dipped her head into the rubble, picking out any ponies that she could find and swallowing them whole. This was just like flushing out lemmings as a hatchling, tear down their nest and gorge yourself. Her whip-crack tail brought down another shed, quickly stinging the pair of ponies that hid inside. She turned her attention to the real goal, the ponies that cowered inside the mine. She sniffed, the air that came out was rank with their smell, and the queen tried to reach her head inside to grab some. Her head only made it a few feet inside, flicking out her serpent tongue she grabbed a pony by the leg, dragging him into her gullet as he kicked and screamed. Backing out of the cave, she reached in with a clawed wing, the greater reach allowing her to go deeper. Grasping about, she felt a slight prick and pain. She withdrew the wing, a pinprick of blood on the tip of her wing. Annoyed, she rammed her head into the mountainside, shaking the mine. Some ponies shouted, one of them tried to run for open ground. Standing over the entrance of the crumbling mine, she stung the fleeing ponies with her venom as they ran out. This was too easy! They stopped coming out for a moment, and a fit of Pavlovian conditioning, she rammed against the mountain to make more delicious morsels come tumbling out. Strange, they didn't come running. She rammed the mountain with her horned head again, but a cloud of dust billowed out from the mine shaft. In her overeager attempts, the queen had collapsed the inside of the mountain! Grumbling in her reptilian fashion, the queen grabbed as many of her victims as she could hold, taking off with her prizes. ******************************************** Klondike arrived moments after the queen's departure, he landed, desperately seeking his friend. "Pine! PINE!" he shouted. Running over to the ruins of the foremen's office, he scrambled through the fallen timbers and broken walls. "Pine!" Only bloodstains and a few dead foremen greeted him. He flew to the mine entrance, overcoming his fear of the mine shaft as he dove inside. Several ponies groaned and cried out in pain. "Pine! Where are you?!" "Klondike..." a voice weakly called out. The pegasus ran to the source of the answer. Pine Fresh lay pinned under a support beam, scarlet blood leaking away from his trapped body. "Don't move, you'll be alright. I just have to get this off of you!" Klondike put a shoulder under the beam, straining he lifted. Pine screamed in pain, but the beam shifted just enough for the pegasus to pull out his friend. He dragged him out of the mine shaft. Other ponies were now coming up from Windshear, holding weapons and prepared to fight that monster. Klondike looked up at them, "The mine shaft collapsed!" All the ponies dropped their weapons and ran for the entrance to dig out their friends. Klondike held his oldest friend close, Pine's breathing was ragged and he spewed blood. "You're going to be alright Pine, you'll pull through this!" Pine Fresh coughed, "You...always were.. a terrible liar." The pegasus' eyes were filled with tears, "Don't say things like that, you're too tough to die here." "Klondike...I'm cold. I want....I want...to go home." "No, don't feel cold. Don't go into the darkness." he choked back his tears. "We're going to get out of here Pine. We're both going to go to that sunny beach. It'll be warm there, with pretty mares to serve you drinks, with no foremen to ride you all day." Pine Fresh managed to smile, "Go back to my place....in my trunk...send the letters there.....to my family." Klondike nodded. "You got it...buddy." Sniffing, he wiped his own eyes with a wingtip. "Klondike...I'm sorry I laughed at you." he rasped. "No, no. Don't feel like that. You were right, I'm not a warrior." Pine Fresh pulled him closer, "No...you're the strongest stallion I've ever known. Goodbye....friend." Pine's hoof fell to the ground, his chest became still and his eyes glazed over. "Goodbye Pine...." he closed the earth pony's eyes. He held on to his friend for a few moments longer, never wanting to let go. A familiar roar brought his eyes up. "You... I'LL KILL YOU!" he screamed at the fleeing monster. Klondike grabbed a spear that a miner had dropped, taking to the air he flew like a bullet towards the creature that had been responsible for so much death. He flew like one possessed, the distance between him and the unsuspecting beast melting away. With rage fueling his course, the pegasus flew above the monster, still unaware of his pursuit. Out of racial instinct he threw the spear from his mouth, aiming it for the beast's back. Though its aim was true, it clattered harmlessly off her hard scales. The beast stopped, whirling around to find the creature that dared attack her in the air. Klondike stared down the monster that flew just yards away from him. Without a plan he had charged up here to fight, and now he had wasted his only weapon. The queen had her claws and tail full of dead and paralyzed pony, normally she would have whipped him with her venom tipped tail and been on her way. But that was not an option. Sucking in her breath she charged up an ice beam. Klondike saw only one way to attack, lowering his head he charged full speed directly at her exposed chest. Ramming the beast, he forced the monster to let out her breath of frost too early. The queen felt his attack, and in her most protected and vulnerable place! Aiming her half charged frost beam she blasted the small creature that had defied her in her own domain. Klondike felt the cold, the bone chilling breath that could only be compared with the arctic blasts on naked skin. He felt heavy, falling from the clouds as the beast roared and resumed her journey. The world became darker, the spinning ground becoming closer with every moment. Spreading his wings he slowed his descent, but too late. He slammed into tree branches, snapping under his weight as he fell to the earth. With a stinging crash that jolted every bone, he landed hard on the ground, the world fading to black.