//------------------------------//
// CH14: Thoughts of danger 
// Story: The journey 
// by Dashed_Brony 
//------------------------------//

	Morning had long since passed, and it was closing to noon. The two had awoken hours ago, and were now finally making their way off the mountain, rather than on it. It had been a long and enduring run, having walked for three days before finally finding an end to it.

No wonder so many seemed to choose it as a camping spot. Of course, only pegasi ever did. Others considered it to be too far from the villlage, even travelers rather taking the long route than walk on a mountain for days.

But it was too beautiful to bypass. It was Laxed who had made the decision, and Toby didn't seem familiar with it at all. With the state of the farm, he wasn't shocked. Who knew how long the colt had been there, and if he had ever left that farm, it being his birth-place, and where he had lived his entire life, save for a few weeks back until present date. It was a farm, and owning one took a lot of work, vacation was a no-can-do.

At least that's what he had heard from Applejack, but she was a work-a-holic, so he had always been a bit skeptic about just those words. But it wasn't untrue that it took quite a bit of work, and that even with a work-a-holic attitude, since it was an all-year type of job, that the colt had never taken a break from the work, until whatever caused the farm to end up in the state it did kicked in.

He was overthinking stuff again. He always did, but never really talked about his thoughts. It was his vault of secrets, and he always got too worked up when he tried, so he never opened his mouth based on his thoughts, only if a conversation came along.

His thoughts had been going back and forth in his head like racing speedcars. There for a second, gone the next.

Toby had rambled, like usual, and hadn't even noticed the pegasi with his head in its own universe.

Hoove after hoove, progression took its course, both of them with their own thing to do, neither paying much attention to the other, or even the path of course they had made.

At the end of the mountain was a dead field. Filled with minor craters and trees long since dead, ashes and a ground so dry that it was just dry dirt all over, save for the small craters that formed black lines in every direction over the field.

This was where they had to pay the most attention, yet it was where they were paying the least attention.

Very few creatures could live in something so dead and deserted over time, but those that did, often laid claim of it as territory, and were very aggresive over it, to ensure they wouldn't lose it, even if those trespassing weren't trying to lay claim of it.

Those few creatures were the Saken, Hyperstrike, Hanavus and Veratus.

'Hyperstrike:

Tiny creatures that looks like a replica of a needle, with eyes and wings. They have no known max speed, but can accelerate to deadly levels in seconds, and due to their shape, strike like blades. While small, they are also extremely easy to catch, but they always move in a pack, and that makes them extremely dangerous, even in a smaller group.

Level, Single: Moderate threat

Level, multiple: Very deadly. Avoid at all cost.'

'Hanavus:

Fuzzballs that have eyes cuter than a kitten. They are small enough to fit in a single hoove, and are extremely adorable, and can be befriended. Makes the perfect guard dog. They often move alone, and equally often move in smaller groups. They have razor sharp teeth hidden along with the mouth, behind a lot of fluff.

Level, single/multiple: Threat'

'Veratus:

Large boars, often as big as houses, with hide thicker than steel, they make the perfect war-tortoises. They attack through taking the shape of balls, and rolls over anything they desire, or find a threat. Their destructive force can completely annihilate towns in a matter of minutes. Very often moves alone, due to their uncontrolable temper, and destructive force of nature. Rarely moves in group of two, and if so, always with their lover.

Level, single/multiple: Very deadly. Avoid at all cost'

Those were all reasons to keep an eye open in areas like these, but they were both too lost in their own things to even notice what dangers they might've been approaching.

*RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE*

The ground was shaking as though an earth quake shook the very ground. If it did so, the already weakened floor below them was more than ready to collapse, and probably would.

Since the ground was both dead and dry, any movement left an equally big dust cloud behind it, and with a minor duststorm in the distance, from where the rumbling originated, something was approaching. And big at that. Not only big either, but fast.

What had been just a dot in their sight, was now a massive wall of whatever it was that approached, had dragged along with it, and it only took a few seconds for it to cut the distance short. The two finally realised that it wasn't going to stop, but intended on ramming right into them.

The pegasus only had one response to it, and it was to grab the green pony that had frozen in fear, and hope he could fly above what was just a few hundred yards away before it rammed into them. By a hair-thin thread, he could. The 'thing' halted, and as the cloak it had formed around itself finally settled, a massive boar-like creature, the Veratus, stood before them.

It was battle-hardened, and had many scars to prove it. There was no way to outfly it. It had already proven its speed was far superiour to theirs. Any distance they could put between it in ten seconds, it would make up for in one.

The skies were safe, for so long as they were above his rea-.

That was a misscalculation. It leapt and started spinning mid-air, right in their direction, and only with much maneuvering, and a breath-taking task, did they get out of the way. Even as they tried flying higher, it only seemed to leap higher, without an end to just how high it could go. Even as they went sky-high, with the clouds, it had begun spinning on the ground and launched itself up in the air like a cannonball, and even as it missed, the afterstrike of the wind mashed at them and threw them straight off course, and he had to end up crash-landing, trying his best to avoid any injuries, but realising there was no option but to, he turned around, holding Toby towards his stomach, crashing into the ground on his back.

His wings ached. His back screamed in pain. His head was pounding. All three had mashed into the ground relentlessly, and sliding over the ground, he scraped up the already wounded parts of his body.

As he finished his pathway across the wasteland, and finally came to a halt, he was once more on all four hooves, trying to act strong. His back was a goner though, and the ability of flight was equally lost. No sooner had he recovered, than had the Veratus approached.

Toby stood there and watched, and so did he.

Was this the end...?

- End - 
(No, this is not a horrid joke. They just both happen to occur at the same time)