"Awaken Little-wings."
The rumbling sound of Venerax's voice pulled Klondike out of a horrible dream. Again it was a dream of their foe the wyvern queen, but this time she struck his heart instead of his body. Attacking the one pony he cared for the most since he had lost Pine Fresh.
Klondike rolled off of his bedroll, stretching out his muscles. Over in their corner, Owayn and Patsy strapped on their armor and tacked on their weapons. Glancing over at Spin, the old pegasus still wore his cloak. But he kneeled, hooves wrapped around the haft of his ax, eyes closed and mouth silently moving.
Klondike did not bother him, instead placing on the harness that held his sword. Cinching it snugly, he noticed Venerax staring out the cave entrance. Walking over to the great dragon, he sat next to his great claw.
"Cloudy, with the scent of rain on the wind. A day she will use to hunt. A wonderful day to die. We fight her today Klondike, we take the fight to that monster from hell."
"None of us are going to die here Venerax, you have my word on it old friend."
The dragon glanced at Klondike out of the corner of his eye. "A noble thought, but a foolish one."
Spin rose from his kneeling position, taking position with Klondike. "We need to draw her out of that cave so some of us can go in there and destroy those eggs."
"That is my purpose in this whole charade, I am the bait old one."The pair of dragon slayers joined the rest of the hodge podge party.
"Well aren't we a sight? Two upper crust dragon slayers, a drunken trapper, a bookkeeper with a wing problem and a disgraced dragon."
"Do not test my patience. Either you are with us and willing to kill this thing, or I incinerate you here and now."
"Then lets get it over with." said Patsy.
Venerax nodded, "Maybe the squire should be the one in charge instead of the peacock."
Owayn scowled, "When this is over, worm, you and I will finish our little disagreement on the field of honor."
The dragon bared his teeth in a reptilian grin. "Until then, little knight." With his claws Venerax grabbed Spin and the dragon slayers, stepping out of his cave to spread his wings and fly. Following close behind, Klondike's wings beat a dozen times for each one of Venerax's.
Landing somewhere in the wilderness, Venerax dropped off the ponies and started to tear down trees, throwing them into a large pile. After he cleared out a large enough space for him to maneuver, and indeed enough space to land a fleet of airships, he settled down to plan with his fellows. Spin took the forefront.
"Alright, we're gonna hit this thing hard, and we're gonna hit it fast. Venerax, you're the only one who can take her in melee combat, so you're here."
Venerax nodded his head, cracking the knuckles in his claws.
"Owayn and Patsy, even though Venerax can hold her for a few minutes, it's up to you two to get in there and help put her down."
Owayn drew his mace, and Patsy pulled back the string on his crossbow. "Indubitably Old Spin."
"Kid, you're with me. We're going to the heart of Tartarus, the nest. If at any time the wyvern queen catches wind of what we're up to, our sorry asses are in the deepest trouble in the world."
Klondike placed a hoof on Spin's cloaked shoulder, "To hell and back, master."
Spin smiled, a small tear in the corner of his eye, "Just like Fireflash." Snapping back to the issue at hoof, "Right, now how are we going to lure her out of the cave?"
"With me of course." Venerax reached to his thigh, scraping off a single scale. Dropping it in front of the pegasi, they covered their noses when the foul stench of concentrated dragon pheromone wafted to their noses. "Wave that scent into the cave, if she is home, she'll charge out like a minotaur at a red cape."
Klondike grabbed the scale with a hoof, holding it far from his face. "And then what? We wave the scent in, she charges out and then we have a pissed off wyvern trying to kill us!"
"I lure her here."
"How? What could lure her so far from her cave?"
"Fire, Little-wings. Wyverns hate FIRE!" Venerax craned his neck over to the giant pile of uprooted trees, sucking in a whirlwind of breath he released a pillar of his hellish flame, creating a beacon of fire that could be seen miles away.
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Spin and Klondike ran through hill and dale, crossing the paths of both pony and animal in their single goal of reaching the wyvern's cave to set off their trap. The plan was simple; lure out the queen, have her catch sight of Venerax's burnt offering, then run in and destroy the eggs while she was away. Once that part of the plan was over, Klondike would fly back as quick as possible to assist with the queen if necessary.
The trees opened up to the gravelly shore of the glacial lake, and the going became a bit easier for the pair of pegasi. Out in the farthest reaches of the lake, icebergs crashed and fell from the glacier that spawned them.
"There's the cave!" Spin shouted. A part of the glacier rested on the shore of the lake, and on that part lay a cavernous crevasse of ice. Slowing to a canter, the pair of pegasi prepared themselves mentally for such a task.
"Klondike, never before in all my life have I faced such a foe. If we survive this, ponies will remember our names for generations to come. And if I die here, know that you have been one of the most boneheaded, defiant, head in the clouds, self doubting ponies I have ever taken under my wing. But you were one of the best apprentices I have ever had, and it was a pleasure fighting beside you." Spin snapped a wing out from under his cloak, giving Klondike the salute of Cloudsdale.
Klondike snapped out a wing and saluted back. "Everything we've lost, everything we've striven for, it all comes down to this. Thank you master, for making me into the weapon we need to accomplish this."
Klondike reached under his cloak, grabbing the pungent dragon scale. Tip-toeing his way to the front of the cave, he placed it down and began to flap his wings into the cave. Just enough wing power to get the scent moving into the icy cavern.
Falling back to a hidden alcove on one side of the cave, all they could do was wait.
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The queen rested, after days of hunting for her chicks, she had sequestered away enough meat to last them a week. Raising her head up from the pile of icy gore where she lay, she sniffed her eggs. All well, all healthy.
Leaning her head closer to one, she listened for the telltale signs of readiness. Giving a short and gruff whistle, she listened for any responses. From inside the leathery shells came a chirp in response. The queen trilled her pleasure, the eggs were about ready to hatch. And in this land of plenty she wouldn't have to sacrifice any of her newborn chicks to the elements in order to let the others survive.
Life was good for her. Laying down her great horned head back on her personal pile of food, she closed her eyes to rest. Breathing in to sigh, her nostrils caught a strange scent. Quick as lightning she was on her feet and wings, sniffing the air, scanning back and forth to pick up more of that hated scent.
Flame Breather
Instinctive anger boiled in her mind, rearing back on her hind legs she pummeled her chest with her wings, roaring out the challenge to the trespasser in her realm. Disregarding the safety of her eggs she charged out the front, looking for the source of the scent. Exiting the cave, she spied a small black scale laying on the ground, stomping it provided her tiny mind with a sense of satisfaction. Lifting her head, a pillar of flickering orange and red caught her eye.
Screaming her rage, the queen flapped her huge wings to enact her self appointed duty as Snowreach's firefighting force.
******************************************************
Venerax snorted a plume of smoke. He heard that devil's cry from afar. Looking to the sky, he called on the spirits of his ancestors, the power of his brethren and his friends.
"Vren'kasha, I have never prayed to you before, for I am not a dragon of those thoughts. But may dragonkind remember this day, the day when the weak stood against the invincible. When creatures of humble origins gathered together for a single cause of fighting such blind hatred. In your benevolence wise Vren'kasha, grant me one thing. Grant me revenge against the wyverns. For Cirzoke and Az, Volcar and Valcor, for all the souls of dragons sent to their graves by such mindless beasts. And if you do not listen, then to Hell with you!"
The winged shape of the queen rose above the trees, still some miles away. Venerax stood on his hind legs, spreading his wings wide to show his defiance of dragonkind's most deadly enemy. Drawing in his breath, he roared more powerfully than he had ever known he could, rage fueling this duel between super predators. The queen sighted her enemy, giving her own higher pitched roar.
"Come and face me you great she-devil!" Venerax bellowed across the forests. "Knight, are you ready?" Venerax growled. "Knight?" He looked around, expecting Sir Owayn and his squire to just be too afraid to speak. No, they had long gone, a spherical displacement of dirt showing where Owayn had teleported the pair away.
"COWARDS!" he roared. Sending his attention back to the quickly approaching queen, he sucked in a vortex of air for a burst of fire. Holding it in, he waited.
The queen trilled as she landed in Venerax's clearing, hitting the ground running. Much quicker than Venerax expected, the wyvern rammed him in the stomach with her horned head, shoving him to the side.
Swallowing his intended blast of fire, the queen brushed past him as if he were no more threat than a mouse, running on her powerful back legs towards the gigantic bonfire. Her eyes transfixed completely on the flame, she opened her mouth and sprayed ice all over the blaze.
Venerax growled, pumping his powerful wings as he shook off the wyvern's complete ignorance of him, so consumed by hatred of fire as she was. Flying up a hundred feet, he aimed his back claws straight at her back and folded his wings in.
Plummeting like a meteor, he smashed into the queen's back, driving her to the ground. Grabbing the queen around her wing joints, the dragon bit down on her neck, sinking his stone crunching teeth deep into her hide.
Twisting and screaming in his teeth, the queen's tail lashed around wildly whipping the dragon on his wings but not stinging.
Venerax wrenched his jaws free, spewing a pillar of his hellfires straight onto the queen's head. Snaking her head out of the way, the queen twisted under his claws, sinking her own fangs into his neck. Planting her claws into the dragon's stomach, she launched him across the clearing. Regaining her footing, the queen hissed and circled the obvious threat.
Venerax wiped the blood from his mouth, spitting out a gobbet of wyvern flesh. Standing up on his hind legs, he cracked the joints in his neck, "Is that the best you can do?" Though only three quarters his size, the queen's claws had ripped into his belly, leaving bleeding gashes.
The queen recoiled and hissed, bunching up her leg muscles. Venerax roared, and both dragon and wyvern launched themselves off the ground, crashing into a flurry of claws, teeth and wings. The entwined duelists fell to the ground, both rolling to gain the advantage over the other.
Both dragon and wyvern rolled precariously close to the slope of a hill, falling down the edge. Venerax lost his grip on the queen, bouncing off every tree and boulder in Snowreach as he fell down the steep incline, the queen tumbling right behind him. Venerax cried out in pain as a boulder caught his wing, shredding the delicate membrane and snapping the bones.
The avalanche of dragon landed in a stream, rolling on his back in the frigid waters. Venerax tried to rise, but his wing was too injured to help him move. A foot slammed him on the chest, the yellow eyes of the queen staring him down, mouth dripping with bloody saliva. Her tail whipped over her shoulder, taking aim between the dragon's eyes.
Lightning quick the venomous tail flew for his face, and only pure instinct saved Venerax. Snaking his head out of the way, he grabbed her tail as it slammed into the streambed. Holding the writhing tail in a single claw, Venerax struggled to keep it away. The queen puffed up her chest, readying her second attack. The dragon clamped his other claw around her mouth.
With fury in her eyes, the queen pushed all of her strength into her tail, inching the weapon in the dragon's claw closer to his face. Grating his teeth, Venerax let the queen's stinger fall into a log, trapping the deadly venom stinger in splinters. With his free claw he raked the wyvern's neck, curling his claws into a fist he punched the queen with enough force to kill anything less than a dragon killing monster. Flipping her off of his chest, he slammed his feet down on her. The wyvern's clawed wings pummeled and scratched the dragon's chest.
Though taking the most horrendous beating of his life, Venerax had her right where he wanted her; tail trapped, mouth clamped shut and neck open. "See you in Hell you bitch!" Charging up a fire blast, he clawed at her breastbone, tearing through scales to expose her anti-venom gland.
The queen felt his heat, and adrenaline fueled fury pumped through her veins. Lifting her entombed tail, she slammed the dragon on the back of the head with the log. Shattering it on his thick skull, the dragon clutched the back of his bleeding head. Bashing him with a wing the queen freed herself from underneath the dragon. Falling back, the queen lowered her head and rammed the still swooning dragon.
Falling under the ferocity of the queen's sudden attack, Venerax landed again in the streambed. The queen flapped her huge wings, hovering above him as she charged an ice beam. Spraying it around the dragon, she froze the river around Venerax.
Venerax struggled to get out of his icy tomb, but he was held solid. With only his face and part of his chest above the ice, he could do nothing to fight back. Landing over him, the queen stalked up to his face, hissing at the dragon face sticking out above the ice.
Must not give up, must not fail my friends!
The ice cracked and strained under his mighty force, but the queen would not allow such defiance. Placing a clawed foot on his chest, she sank her claws into his scales. Venerax screamed in pain, blood gushing from the claw wounds. Slithering to his exposed face, the queen hovered near, trilling at the encapsulated dragon. Her serpentine tongue flicked out from her teeth, licking a stream of blood from his cheek as if saying, I want to taste your fear.
Venerax winced at her repugnant touch, letting her get closer. Filling his lungs with air, he blasted the queen's head with fire. Screaming, she clawed at her flaming head, beating her wings to try and put out the flame. Dipping her head into an unfrozen section of river, the wyvern's head emerged hissing and steaming. In rage she stalked to his head, her whiplash tail stopping by Venerax's head. It traced along his scales, searching for a weak point.
The dragon struggled, still defiant to his end. "One day, a creature like me will kill you. And on that day, I hope that creature sees fit to exterminate your entire race!" Venerax shouted from his tomb.
The queen hissed, plunging her spearheaded tail through his lower jaw and out through the top of his skull. The dragon's eyes glazed over, and all attempts to fight or struggle ceased. Twisting her tail free, the queen stood on the corpse of her foe, beating her chest and roaring to the world that a new Lord of Snowreach had arisen.
*******************************************
Minutes earlier, Spin and Klondike witnessed the queen leaving her den in a fury.
"Now's our chance kid! Get in there and destroy anything that you can't identify." The bellowing roar of Venerax confirmed their chance at destroying the eggs.
Klondike unsheathed his sword and spread his wings. Spin grabbed his ax, ready to eviscerate some embryos in the name of Windshear. "We go in together Klondike, no mistakes, destroy every single egg."
Klondike grinned. "Yes sir Spin."
A pulse of magic ruffled the feathers of both pegasi. Suddenly Klondike and Spin's limbs were forced out in the air, both of them being levitated off the ground. Sir Owayn trotted up, his horn glowing with his magic.
"You know, I don't think such valuable assets should be destroyed so eagerly, don't you agree Patsy?"
Patsy aimed his poisoned crossbow at Spin, "Right as always, boss."
Spin struggled against his telekinetic bonds, "What in Tartarus do you two think you are doing!? They have to be destroyed!"
Owayn chuckled, "On the contrary, such magnificent creatures should be preserved. Preferably in some mage's workshop in Canterlot or in the alchemy markets with their weight in gold lining my pockets."
Klondike struggled against his bonds, "Why? She'll come back, and she'll kill us all!"
A magic bolt punched the pegasus in the stomach, blowing the wind from his lungs. "Quiet foal. Venerax and the wyvern will take care of each other. And as for why, gold is a beautiful thing foalish idiot of a backwoods nopony! Far more beautiful than your pretty little marefriend back in that podunk town of yours. In fact, with all the gold we'll be making off of this job, I might hire her to lick my boots every night!"
"There won't be any gold you idiot! The wyvern destroyed the mine!"
Owayn scoffed, "As if that wretched gold mine could even compare to the rewards we will be getting! First there is the bounty on Venerax. Then there is the possible bounty on the wyvern. And once the dragon is dead, Patsy and I have first go at plundering that damn dragon's hoard! After that, we sell your little baby monsters in Canterlot for more gold than the Princess could bathe herself in. And to top it all off, Patsy and I regain our status in the Order after we haul this criminal back on his knees!"
Patsy ripped the cloak from Spin's back, exposing the wings tucked underneath. Owayn forced them out with a halo of his blue magic. "Thought you could just run away? Live out the rest of your pitiful life as some sham of a backcountry bumpkin? Oh no, you'll be coming home with us, back to the flock and to the executioner's block! Your little game is up 'Spin', you always had a flair for drama, and now you lose another squire in shame."
Owayn's aura left Klondike, falling to the dirt he swirled back to his hooves, wings razor sharp.
"Ah ah ah, don't be so hasty, Razorwing." The knight's sword levitated to rest against Spin's chest. "One false move and your precious master will be getting more than his fair dose of iron. Now, you are going to go into that cave and get us an egg. Make it quick!"
Spin shook his head, sword blade to his throat, "Don't do it kid. I'm not worth risking the safety of everypony you know!"
Klondike hesitated, then his wings softened and laid down at his side. Owayn grinned, "Good boy, now fetch us a healthy one on the double!"
Klondike picked up his sword, shoving it back in its sheathe. "I'm sorry master." Taking a few steps into the maw of the ice cave, he looked back at the knight holding his only friend prisoner. "Owayn, buck you and everything you stand for."
He turned back to the cave, entering the shadows.
**************************************************
The foul stench of wyvern pheromones coupled with death drowned his senses. The floor was sticky under his hooves, he knew what it was and he didn't want to look down to see it. Though his breath left puffs of frost in the air, large swarms of flies buzzed around, enjoying the free meal the queen left them.
Klondike swallowed hard, sword leading the way as he slowly walked through the dark. Every little drip of water or tiny sound that made its way through the buzzing raised his hackles in fright.
Without warning the icy floor gave way underneath him. Klondike fell down an incline, bouncing off of soft, squishy things as he fell. Landing at the bottom, he opened his eyes to see the horrible stare of a grizzly bear looking at him. Scrambling backwards, his heart calmed when he noticed the bear was not moving. Looking around, he saw dozens, if not hundreds of dead or paralyzed creatures making a gory landscape of fresh meat for the queen.
And standing behind them, as if the unnatural hunger of the wyvern queen was a sacrifice to their idolatry, stood the eggs. Twelve eggs, all as tall as he was and several times thicker.
Drawing his sword, he approached one carefully. Tripping over something, he fell flat on his face in a pile of fur and blood. He struggled to get up, but the golden hair had something in it that kept his attention. A familiar smell, roses...like the soap that the mares used back in Windshear. Lifting his head, he looked at the corpse of his most beloved Aurora, still and pale, her beautiful coat covered in the blood of unknown creatures.
"Aurora, no...." he threw down the sword, heaving off the corpses of other creatures that had joined her as an offering to the princes and princesses of ice. Cradling her cold head in his hooves, he choked back the tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Aurora. I never meant for you to be hurt, I was supposed to die out here, not you." Hugging her still form to his chest, he held his head close to hers. "I'm so sorry that I never told you.....I love you Aurora. More than the stars in the sky, more than a stallion should be able to love a mare."
He held the mare tight, never wanting to let go, never able to forgive himself for being such an idiot around her while they had time together. And now that they could never share another moment....
His ears pricked up, a faint thump calling him to reality. Placing his ear against her chest, he listened. "Please, please, please just let it be true." He listened for several seconds, not hearing anything. Just as he began to give up hope, another thump.
"You're alive, but barely. How? How do I help you?" Klondike combed through his mind, trying to think of something he had read in a book or something he had overheard, anything that might help. "Think Klondike, think! Somepony said something, somewhere!"
Wracking his mind in desperate frustration, he remembered Venerax and his stories.
I was stung by wyverns out in the tundra when I was young, but I survived after tearing out one of their throats in combat and consuming it, purely by accident I discovered the way to overcome them.
"Anti-venom....but only wyverns have the gland! Where am I going to find a wyv-" His mind suddenly felt like it was kicking him in the rump. Glancing back at the eggs, they suddenly seemed to take on a heavenly glow from his point of view. For good measure he smacked a hoof against his own face. "Stupid, I have a dozen wyverns!"
Klondike dashed to the nearest egg, backing his hooves to it. Rearing forward, he invented a new sport/hobby, egg bucking. He expected the egg to be solid as bedrock, but it was soft like leather and gave way readily under his attack. His hind legs were showered with a torrent of amniotic fluids. Klondike jumped out of the way, pulling out his sword and looking inside the egg. A curled form of a wyvern sat still inside, the shadows covering the slippery creature.
Slowly reaching inside, he poked it with the blade. The infant's head snapped up, and it wailed. Clambering out of its cramped prison, the wyvern landed on the gory ground, struggling to stand after its interrupted nap. Gritting his teeth, Klondike jumped in and cut off its head with a downward slice. The corpse continued to struggle for a few moments, then stopped fighting.
Flipping the red and yellow creature onto its back, he hardened a single wing and began to cut above the breastbone. A spray of blood spat in his face and Klondike grimaced. Stabbing again he continued to cut, looking for anything that might be a gland. Tossing aside strips of flesh and organs, he continued to dig when he came upon a small yellowish thing that continued to pump after the wyvern's death. Grabbing it in his teeth he ripped it out, hoping it was the right thing. A bitter yellow liquid dripped from the gland, fouling his mouth with the sickly yellow gore.
Wrenching open Aurora's mouth, he squeezed the gland, dripping as much of that bitter yellow liquid down her throat as he could. Spitting out the gland, he cradled Aurora's head to his chest, silently begging something greater than himself for this to work. "Please....please come back to me. I'll say it every day, whether you actually love me or not. Just please wake up." he whispered.
He waited, inside he begged to trade, to give this wonderful mare a chance at life instead of himself. Eventually he gave up, "I was wrong again, I'm sorry." He delicately placed his lips against hers, giving a final goodbye. Breaking apart, he closed his eyes, damning the queen, damning Owayn.
The mare in his arms sputtered and coughed, her breathing regular and normal. "Klondike....." she coughed.
"You're alive!" he shouted, grabbing her around the neck and squeezing tight.
She clutched her head with her hooves, "Not so rough....where am I?"
"It'll be alright, I'm going to get you out of here. We're in the monster's nest."
Aurora scrambled to her hooves, screaming in memory of those dreaded yellow eyes. Klondike grabbed her, trying to comfort her. "It's okay, it's okay. She's gone, but we have to get out of here."
Looking in his eyes, she nodded, gasping for breath. Her legs were still sore and stiff from not moving, so leaning on Klondike the pair trudged towards the entrance.
Klondike stopped, his ears perked. Something behind them was moving. "Aurora, stay here." He walked back to the eggs, listening intently. It sounded as if something was sloshing around inside one of the eggs. The egg nearest him began to shake, and the leathery skin bulged outwards. An infant wyvern ripped its way out, wailing as its head emerged. The other ten eggs began to shake, their wyvern occupants crying for freedom. Spilling out of their shells, the chicks chirped and wailed, tearing into the nearest pile of flesh.
Several of the infants approached on their wing joints, fumbling around and sniffing the corpses of their mother's offering.
"Klondike, lets get out of here!" Aurora hissed behind him. She yelped as a wyvern chick nipped at her from behind. Huddling next to the pegasus, she shivered as the wyverns around the pair tore into the corpses of dead animals.
"Don't make a noise, don't move at all, it might provoke them." Klondike whispered as a wyvern chick stood within touching distance, tearing into the belly of a deer.
Aurora squeaked, and the chick stopped gorging itself. Craning its head to inspect the ponies, its cold breath mussed the ponies manes as it sniffed. Opening its mouth, it wailed at the ponies, calling the attention of its brothers and sisters. All the wyvern chicks stalked closer, eager to hunt live prey for the first time.
"RUN!" Klondike yelled. Bolting for the entrance, he barely dodged a set of clacking teeth as it tried to eviscerate him. Coming to the incline, three of the chicks blocked the way, sniffing and wailing at the ponies.
Klondike spread his wings, hardening and sharpening in an instant. "Get behind me Aurora!"'
"Screw that!" Aurora's horn became enveloped with magic, focusing her fury on an icy stalactite, she tore it from the ceiling, crushing one of the chicks. "I'm borrowing this!" she said, pulling Klondike's sword from its sheathe. Holding it out front with her magic, she impaled a chick as it tried to lunge for her.
Klondike snapped out of his amazement, slicing through the remaining chick with his razored wings. Aurora wasn't finished however, and she started charging back into the breach to sate her unnatural thirst for wyvern blood. Klondike grabbed her around the shoulders, pulling her back to the cave entrance as she fired bolts of magic back at the chicks.
"We need to leave Aurora!"
"NOT UNTIL I KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE MOTHERBUCKERS, NOW LET GO OF ME YOU MULE!" she screamed and twisted in his hooves, the wyvern chicks squawking in fear of the enraged unicorn. Finally just throwing her on his back he bolted out of the ice cave.
To his surprise the dragon slayers had gone, and Spin lay unconscious on the ground. "Spin!" Klondike rushed to his master's side, helping the groaning pegasus to a sitting position.
Spin choked, "He failed, Venerax is dead. Those damn dragon slayers heard his death cry and fled. We failed kid."
Klondike was lost for words, "No, no we haven't lost yet. We can still pull through, we can still beat this thing."
Spin shook his head, "You saved the girl, are the infants dead?"
"No, Aurora killed four of them and I killed two. There are still six."
Spin managed a small smile, "Maybe I trained the wrong one." All three ponies' ears perked at the sound of distant roaring, too high pitched to be Venerax. "Get out of here kid. I'll finish the rest of the chicks and hold her attention here as long as possible."
Klondike helped him to his hooves, then snapped his wings to hardness, "I won't leave you!"
"Get out of here, that's an order! Now take the girl and fly, fly far away!"
Aurora placed a hoof on Klondike's shoulder, "We have to leave, she'll kill us if she finds us here."
Klondike threw his hooves around Spin, "I'll never forget you Spin."
Spin returned the hug, "Its been one hell of a ride kid."
The pegasi broke apart, Klondike grabbed Aurora in his hooves, taking off with his heavy burden. Spin yelled to his apprentice. "Klondike! Tell the world that today, Sir Greyback earned his wings again." The old stallion spread his wings, the feathers scraping apart with a metallic schink.
Klondike saluted with an open hoof. "Yes, my lord." he said, banking on his wings to take Aurora to Windshear.
***************************************************
Coming back to her nest, the queen fell to the dirt, the many wounds dealt by the dragon weakening her to the extremes. Crawling back into her cave, she smelled the subtle smell of infant wyvern. Whistling for her hatchlings, she listened. Trudging down to the egg site, she took in the sight of her hatched eggs.......with her chicks laying dead on the floor. Reaching down with her muzzle, she nudged the still corpse of a female chick. Trilling at her young, she tried to make them stand up, to stop playing this game.
Arcing her head back, the queen wailed at the death of her entire clutch. Looking at her brood, the queen spied a gray pony gasping for breath, dying from the many stings of her children. Around him lay six of her brood, all dead by cuts. And on the gray pony, their blood.
Roaring at the pony, the queen lifted a foot and crushed him underneath, grinding him into the ice and stone. In complete fury she stormed out of the cave, looking every direction for something to kill. Rearing on her hind legs she roared in pure hatred of the creatures that dared to touch her children and leave.