Lunaria Borealis

by EquestrianKirin

Ch.3: The Hunger Moon

The storm had ceased, and the two had somehow managed to survive their moonless hour in the snowstorm. Vinrod and Seven were grateful to had made it through the snowstorm without any more trouble from those Timberwolves from the moontime earlier, nor had to worry about Seven eating away at Vinrod's emotions. In just 1 month time, the travellers had gone pretty far south. Although still cold, the snow became less thick, and easier to travel through. The trees, turning from pine to regular maple and oak, had become more common as well. It was pretty good news, for Seven especially, since the snow was easier to trek through and easier to shake out of his own hooves. Also, he could even hover around now. Vinrod was just glad he didn't die so far, yet still was grateful to continue off towards Queen Mantis. Besides, he never had seen Appaloosa before, and was a bit eager to get there. However, the fact a Changeling horde was pretty close by there was something worth noting, to say the least.

"Feeling better, Seven?" Vinrod asked.

"Yeah, plenty. Great I can fly again," Seven replied, wings beating at a hummingbird's pace to keep him in the air. Even if he just met Vinrod only a month ago, Seven was slightly beginning to act less dangerous to him. Vinrod helped him recover, agreed to bring him home, and even named him. How could he not try to be more open to Vinrod? As the two continued going through the path south, Vinrod felt his own stomach growl. He had run out of his Bluegrass food for quite a while, and hadn't had much else to eat either...

Then something caught his sense of smell. Vinrod aimed his head upward, and gave a few sniffs, as Seven stopped in confusion.

"What's up?" Seven asked, awaiting for an answer. He saw Vinrod sniff the air, and decided to do the same. However, while the smell to Vinrod was delicious, Seven didn't exactly smell anything good. In fact, to him, it smelt like garbage. Seven covered his snout with his front hooves, trying to block out what smell it was coming from. to the horned sphinx, the smell was pretty good, sweet even. Like fresh flowers or recently made corncakes. The smell, and Vinrod's hunger, made Vinrod decide to start following the smell. Seven saw Vinrod move off away, much to his annoyance, and followed behind.

"Where are you going? Doesn't that smell horrid?" Seven groaned, still holding his nose as he hovered next to him.

"Maybe to a Changeling, but it smells like food to me," Vinrod replied. Of course, Seven had to disagree -with the smell, not his statement-, but since Vinrod was his protection for the moment, he simply followed behind him, the smell more prominent as they continued on through the forest. Seven still didn't understand why Vinrod was enjoying such a rotten smell. Perhaps it was the species barrier, or his hybrid state had effected his nostrils too. Either way, whatever smell it was guided Vinrod to it's direction until eventually they both stopped.

Vinrod and Seven both looked on to a clearing, seeing in the moonlight the shape of a large stone cabin. It looked rather tall, and a good size for a saintiant like Vinrod, or even a large buffalo to fit through the door easily. A picket fence surrounded the home, a tiny bridge going over a river leading to it. Far as they could tell, the scent was coming from the home in question. However, while Vinrod wasn't one for begging for food, the least he could do was try something for what smell it was.

"Seems like it's coming from there," Vinrod stated, taking another wiff.

"No duh, I'm close to passing out over here," replied the grossed-out Changeling. While Seven kept his distance, Vinrod ventured out in the open, looking around the large cabin. As he walked near however, the door leading into the cabin suddenly opened up, making Vinrod stop cold. Seven rushed out and tried to pull him away, but soon they were both caught by the owner of the home. The figure, even in the moonlight, looked yellow in tint, scales running down it's back, and claws on it's feet. It had the head of a pony, though a bit long for one, and about as tall as Vinrod. It had a long tail, ending in a tuft of white hair. Its mane was in drapes, looking like it had the end of a mop on its head rather than actual hair. Soon as it saw them both, it suddenly gave a friendly grin.

"Why hello there, travellers! You lost?" it asked, voice telling them it was a boy. Seven and Vinrod looked to each other before Vinrod answered.

"Uh, we're sorry sir. We -"

"Oh, no trouble at all. I adore guests!" he replied, a bit too happy to see them.

"Eh, right well, we gotta get going, come on Vinrod," Seven said, a bit more aggressive at that last part as Seven tried to get Vinrod moving, but the scaled horse trotted towards them, his claws scraping the ground.

"Oh don't be like that. You two must be starving, travelling around in this weather. Come on in, I was just making dinner," he invited, a clawed foot to the door. Vinrod thought for a minute, but his hunger kinda gave him his answer, as he just nodded to the owner. in glee, the scaled pony ushered them towards the door.

"Do you have any idea how Clichéd this scenario is?" Seven whispered to Vinrod.

"I know I know, we'll just have ourselves a meal and be off on our way. I'll be sure of it," Vinrod whispered back. Still, Seven wasn't all eager to enter this thing's house, but at least Vinrod had a non-clichéd plan that Seven was willing to do...or at least, one he was forced to take.

~~

Inside the cabin, it looked pretty big for seemingly just one owner. While inside the dining room, Vinrod and Seven were gifted with a LOT of delicious delicacies; corncakes, apple fritters, salads, hay sandwiches, and a bunch of other stuff. Vinrod was pleased and took his share of the feast. However, Seven sat next to him with hooves crossed, an annoyed look, and a clothespin snapped over his nose so the smell won't make him faint. Sure, he's no carnivore, but that didn't mean Seven enjoyed herbivorous delicacies either. Kinda like a pony's reaction to a bad-smelling fruit. As Vinrod ate, their host looked on with a grin as he just watched Vinrod.

"Thank you sir," Vinrod said, as he took another bite of his hay sandwich.

"No trouble at all. It's a pleasure to have guests over to our corner of the world," he said with a smile.

"Our corner? You mean there's others here?" Seven asked, his voice sounding kinda funny thanks to the clothespin. The scaled pony nodded as he gave a whistle towards upstairs. Soon, two other figures, looking similar to their caller, came on down. Only main difference between them was the colour of their scales: one was brownish, the other was more golden. The two appeared more pony-like than their caller, having hooves and a more pony like face.

"These are my children, Tal and Haluu," he introduced, as the children nodded in a gentle-like manor. Vinrod nodded too with a smile, but Seven just ignored them, waiting to just go. One of the kids, the golden Haluu, went over to Seven, noticing the clothespin.

"Something wrong, mister? Does it smell bad in here?" He asked, head tilted.

"It's smells like trash in here," Seven bluntly replied. Insulted, Haluu went ahead and yanked off the clothespin from Seven's nose. Almost immediately, the smell of hay and cooked plants bombarded his nose, as he tried to swat it away like an annoying fly.

"ACK! Give me that back," Seven snapped, snatching the clothespin away from Haluu, and snapping it back on his nose. Haluu simply snorted as Tal walked over to Vinrod, her curious to the strange creature.

"What are you?"

"Me? Oh, I'm a hybrid. Ram and Sphinx," Vinrod answered, finishing the hay sandwich. Seven took a glance to Vinrod with an annoyed look.

"Are you satisfied now?" Seven asked.

"Yeah I think I'm good. We'll have to leave, Thank you," Vinrod said, as he and Seven got back up and started heading out. However, the owner of the home got in their way, still a bit happy with his smile.

"Hold on, you two must be tired. Why don't you stay for the moonless hours?" he offered.

"We're not tired at all, scaly. Come on, let's go," Seven said, trying to go again, but he got in their way again, much to the Changelings annoyance. What's this guys problem anyway?

"Now now, surely you two had travelled a long way, and the moonless hours are too dangerous to travel through, with all those nasty dark monsters. I insist."

"True, but I insist you step aside and let us out," Seven retorted, wanting to just go. He knew what this guy's trying to do, and he ain't having any of it. Besides, he couldn't keep the clothespin on forever. Vinrod tried to speak, but Seven put his hoof over his mouth, keeping him quiet. He wanted out, and he didn't care who said what. Vinrod felt a bit uncomfortable with the situation at hand, and also didn't want to stick around either...Then Vinrod got an idea.

"Alright, we'll stay around for the moonless hours," Vinrod concluded, catching the angered Changeling by surprise, and the scaled horse with glee.

"Wonderful! I'll show you to your room," he said, as he started heading on upstairs. Vinrod and Seven followed him towards their room. The room itself looked pretty old, yet nice. the pony closed the door, leaving Vinrod and Seven in the moonlit room. Course, Seven wasn't too thrilled about staying for the moonless hours in this freak's place.

"What the heck, Vinrod?! What happened to just leaving?!" Seven snapped, getting all in Vinrod's face.

"Seven, please. I only said that so to not upset, we'll leave later on while they're asleep, okay?" Vinrod explained, resting on the bed. It was a bit late, and the moon was starting to settle down on the horizon. Seven just groaned, and landed next to him on the bed. He knew how much of a Cliché everything was; a freaky pony just invites them inside, and feeds them food, and offers them a bed. Anyone with a mind would know what'll happen next if they stay any longer, and Seven knew it, as he closed his eyes.

~~

Sometime later, as the moon disappeared, both Vinrod and Seven both were getting a bit restless, only acting like they're asleep for a good few hours. At one point, Vinrod's grey eye opened up to check their place. Coast's clear by the looks of it. So, Vinrod nudged Seven awake, trying to keep quiet in case they were awake. Without the moon, the house looked deeply black, and hard to see as Vinrod and Seven tried to sneak out. Each step they took was a risk on their part of being caught. Seven had it easy, able to just hover quietly to avoid knocking anything over, but Vinrod had the trouble of trying to keep his 3 toed feet from making too much noise on the floor. It felt like forever, but, the two did slowly get downstairs without making too much noise. As they did, Seven suddenly smelt something from the kitchen, only it didn't make him feel like passing out that time...

"Seven?" Vinrod asked quietly. Seven looked around, following his nose until he managed to identify the scent. Then the two suddenly heard voices from the kitchen, hearing some conversation going. The two could just peek inside the kitchen without being seen by, as it turned out, the scaled ponies. They could make out a sort of pot and fire made.

"Dad, do we have to this time?" one of the kids asked, thought they could see who it was.

"Dunno what you're issue is, Tal, you've had meat before."

"I know I did. I'm fine with a rabbit, or bird, but eating our guests?" Tal asked sadly. Vinrod and Seven got a bit spooked, but Seven kinda expected it from all the Cliche stuff already. They saw Haluu walk over to his sister.

"Come on, sis, it'll be quick. Besides, I never had Changeling meat before, nor Sphinx meat," Haluu said, licking his muzzle at the thought of it. Course, Vinrod and Seven glanced at each other.

"Carnivorous ponies?" Vinrod stated silently. Seven had his hoof to his forehead in complete annoyance.

"I knew it, they want to eat us."

"You knew?"

"Dude, a freak invites us in his house, gives us a ton of food, and makes us stay the night, of course they want to eat us!" Seven snapped quietly.

"...Touché. Let's go before they realize anything," Vinrod stated, as they both started to head for the door again. As they went, Vinrod just caught something from the dad.

"Now, Tal, can you go get our guests? Think the water's ready," he stated.

Obvious reaction: the two started to hightail it quietly off, as they heard the brown scaled carnivore step out of the kitchen, ready to go get the guests to do the deed, as much as she didn't want to. Tal looked around a bit down the hall, and then suddenly saw the tip of Vinrod's tail in her sight. Vinrod and Seven took the sudden rush to simply hide off the corner so Tal could head upstairs, but Vinrod's tail had kinda made that plan a flop. Tal started to walk towards their direction, eyeing the tail as Vinrod realized his mistake, and yanked the tail away. However, Tal had already seen it, and the sudden movement made her move to a trot. Vinrod and Seven both weren't in the mood to become dinner, and quickly scurried off as fast as they could, but Tal had already caught them.

"Is something wrong?" Tal asked, acting curious to their reactions. Instead of answering her right away, Seven and Vinrod took off. It didn't take too long before they were out the door, and out into the dark. Tal got outside, but as soon as she did, Vinrod and Seven were nowhere to be seen. The noise had gotten Haluu and their dad outside, lantern with them so they could see. Where Vinrod and Seven decided to hide was under the bridge, Vinrod in the water while Seven quietly hovering above the small stream. They both could hear the scrapping claws and hooves of the carnivore equines on the bridge, looking around trying to find them. Although dim, they could see the dim light of the orange flame above them, flickering off the water. Haluu looked over the bridge, trying to find a clue, but no dice. However, the dad then got a rather clever idea.

"Haluu, can you hold the lantern for a sec?" He asked.

"Oh sure, dad," Haluu replied, taking the lantern from him, and going back to look. As Haluu tried to see with the lantern light, the dad moved over to the otherside of the bridge, and had a look. The light of the lantern went through the bridge...

And so did the shadows...

The father nudged Haluu, and worded out "under the bridge", as to not startle Vinrod and Seven underneath the bridge. Nodding to his dad, Haluu set the lantern down by Tal, before both carnivores stood by each side of the bridge, at the middle. As soon as Vinrod and Seven considered to just bolt for it, both carnivores suddenly jumped down, teeth snarling at them in hunger. Seven and Vinrod both gasped upon sight of them both, finding them trapped under the bridge. Desperate, Vinrod aimed down, and charged forward at Haluu with his horns, knocking the scaled pony out of the way as they rushed for it. The father was already galloping though, and leaped up at Seven, grabbing his back hoof! The strain of the weight caused the hoof to detach, the pony tumbling in the dirt.

"Oh for buck's sake!" Seven screamed, seeing his back right hoof missing. Haluu got up and rushed at them in the dark, Vinrod and Seven bolting for it. Meanwhile, Tal was sitting alone in the moonless hours, only having her lantern to see. She could hear all the struggles going on out there in the woods, and didn't want to end up alone in this kind of place. So, Tal took the lantern and began following the sound to look for them.

Meanwhile, Vinrod and Seven were practically trying all they could to avoid becoming their next meal. While a bit ahead of them, the carnivorous ponies were keeping good pace in the dark. The occasional kick and buck was all the fighting that was going on, all considered. The duo kept rushing through the forest, until Vinrod suddenly tumbled over a exposed tree root, soon surrounded by the creatures. Vinrod managed to get up, but had nowhere to run. Seven stayed far away from the fight, not wanting his own life at more risk than it already had. Vinrod lowered his head, and scraped the ground with his 3-toed foot, signalling a potential charge, as the two carnivores snarled and bared their teeth. Seven remained away from them, watching everything occur. As he was though, his Changeling ears suddenly heard something nearby. Like a low, almost ghostly howl, that sent shivers down his spine. Since Seven was flying though, it was more curiosity than fear that got to him first. Down below, Vinrod was back to the tree, as the others remained firm and ready to attack him. As the clawed horse took a step forward, suddenly they all heard something move around among the brush nearby...

The group heard a sinister growl coming from just a few feet away. Haluu, ignoring Vinrod for a second, turned and growled towards the sound. Vinrod however took a step back, away from the growling, as Haluu charged forward. Horrid mistake. No sooner as Haluu got about a foot away, a gigantic shape leaped out, a huge paw slamming Haluu's head into the cold ground. The impact was so strong, it killed him almost immediately! The blood seeped out from Haluu's crushed head, painting the snow a darker colour, as the figure looked to the others. The giant beast towered over them, eyes glowing a deep white compared to its black fur. The beast lifted up Haluu's lifeless body, and flung it out of sight, as it rushed for the father. Vinrod bolted aside, as the scaled pony took the hit. He tried to fight, but the beast quickly snapped his neck, twisting his head a full 180, as the body fell to the ground. Vinrod stood in utter shock as the beast demolished the carnivorous ponies in just under 20 seconds, leaving him alone as the animal turned to him, the growls emitting from its snout. Vinrod didn't know what to do, as the beast slowly moved over to him, snarling at him. As it walked closer, suddenly Vinrod saw a light coming from the forest, moving at a fast pace right towards them. A quick rush through the forest, and it revealed to be Tal and her lantern. The light revealed the creature before Vinrod, and also showed more of the devastation to both Tal and Vinrod. Tal was struck the hardest with the sight of her family dead around her, as the lantern fell out of her mouth, eyes clouding up in tears. The light revealed the monstrous culprit as a giant dog, an irish wolfhound in appearance. However, the eyes still emitted the white hue, and the fur colour was a deep rustic brown. The sheer size of the dog made Tal so small in comparison, as she backed away slowly. The shadow of the beast covered her, the saliva and fresh blood dripping on the ground in front of the lantern. Vinrod, blinded, rushed over and pulled Tal out of the way just before she was crushed by the dog, both running.

"Come on, move, move, move," Vinrod said, getting Tal to pick up the pace. Tal, although freaked out and broken, ran alongside Vinrod as they heard the monster charge at them. From the sky, Seven started to follow them, trying to keep up and find out where to go to avoid this thing. Vinrod ran as fast as he could, Tal close behind, as the beast moved closer with each stride it made. Seven flew closer to Vinrod and Tal, trying to avoid getting caught himself by the giant canine. Losing his hoof was bad enough, he didn't want any other part lost. While running, Vinrod looked ahead and tried to avoid getting tripped again. However, he also noticed something else; they're heading right to a cliff! Vinrod and Tal skidded to a halt right at the cliff face, the beast not bothering to slow down, as a howl echoed through its muzzle. Seven quickly bolted for it, but made a sudden U-turn, and rammed Vinrod and Tal out of the way, as the dog rushed off the cliff. One final echoing howl, and the dog was gone in the dark abyss. Vinrod, Seven and Tal looked over the cliff, unable to see hide nor hair of the monster...

"What in the stars was that?!" Seven gasped.

"Don't know, and I don't want to," Vinrod replied, catching his breath for a minute. As Seven and Vinrod tried to calm down, Tal just laid by the cliff quietly, looking down it to where the others saw the beast fall. Tears were still on the girl's face, still in shock about losing her family so quickly.

"Hey kid, you ok?" Seven asked, landing near Tal. The scaled pony turned to Seven, seeing his leg missing from what her family had done. Tal cringed on site of it.

"W-what about you? Your - your leg..."

"Don't worry bout it, It'll grow back in due time."

"Are you hurt?" Vinrod asked, walking over to the creature. Tal looked herself over before slowly getting up.

"That thing...It killed my family..." Tal whimpered, tears going down her face.

"Well they weren't the nicest family -" Seven was stopped when Vinrod whacked him on the back of the head, keeping him quiet. Even if they tried to eat them, they still were her family, and it still hurt her deeply upon losing them to that beast. Vinrod stood next to her, as Tal stayed quiet. She looked up to Vinrod, and pushed herself against him, Vinrod trying to comfort her. Seven just sighed, looking down the cliff.

"Ok. Come on, Vinrod," Seven said, Vinrod unsure if they should go yet. However, he walked over to Seven anyway, only to have Tal suddenly grip his back leg.

"D-don't leave me alone!...Please..."

"Look kid, we have places to get -"

"Please! I know my family tried to kill you but I have nowhere to go! They were all I had left!"

"What about your mom? You had a dad and a brother, bout her?"

Tal remained silent...

"...OOOHHHH. Uh, can you excuse us?" Vinrod asked. Tal just nodded quietly as Vinrod and Seven moved away a little bit.

"Vinrod, I don't think we should bring her!" Seven states quietly.

"What? Why not, she needs somewhere to go."

"Her family tried to eat us remember?"

"But she didn't want to eat us. Besides, maybe we can find somewhere for her to live on the way, K?"

"...Ok fine. But if she rips off any of me, she's on her own."

Vinrod understood, and went back to Tal, Seven looking over his missing back hoof while Tal looked to him.

"You can come with us. Just promise you won't try anything tricky."

Vinrod's answer came from a hug given to him by Tal herself. Tal looked up towards Vinrod's grey eyes, with tears of joy. Vinrod let her hug for a while before he, Seven, and now Tal, started off again into the night.