Guitar Strings and Dragon Wings

Chapter 29

"ROOH!"

The wolf-beast let out a low throaty grumble as he approached the summit.

The effort of climbing to such a high peak was taking its toll on his body. He lurched upwards with every claw he dug into the packed ice. It felt like to him like the air was getting colder, as his lungs filled with progressively icier air. It had been long since that he cleared the cloud layer, now the large plumes of moisture would collide with the mountain and surge over him every now and then.

The sun had risen considerably compared to when he had started the climb. It was now directly overhead, attempting to impede the beast's progress. Nevertheless he persevered and continued to climb.

The last few drops of blood that clang to the sides of his mouth had almost completely dissolved away now. But that did not matter. He knew the dragon that took Fluttershy was definitely here. He could smell that stench for miles.

The beast dug his claws into one last boulder and using one arm vaulted himself up and over it, landing on his wobbly toes. He stood tall and took in a large breath of the icy wind at the peak. The air currents were much stronger at the apex of the mountain, due to the colliding fronts from the north and south sides.

Clumsily the beast fell to one knee, finding it hard to stay awake. The adrenaline that had been flowing within him throughout the night had begun to filter out of his system.

Even his dense layers of golden fur were not enough to keep him from the feeling the effects of the weather. The high altitude made the air incredibly thin, causing him to hyperventilate to compensate. His black wolf-like nose dripped with condensation that had collected from his hot fuming breath.

Though, after all his hardship the previous night, he had been rewarded. For now, the tall icy cave in which the dragons dwelt stood exposed before him.

He crouched low and crept forward slowly. Snow was beginning to compact in his fur. He knew he would have to get out of this terrible climate as soon as possible. With time running out for him and Fluttershy his patience wore thin after a while and he began to run for the entrance. The driving wind threatened to knock him down but he continued to surge forward.

Some snow that had been kicked up by the wind impacted into the right side of his face. With a quick swipe of his massive clawed hand the caked-in snow fell free.

He came upon the icy cave's entrance and hesitated before slowly entering. He crouched again, because there was no sense in standing up. The only concern he now had was to stay hidden and go on the hunt.

The ceiling of the cave dripped periodically as certain patches of ice began to melt. For some unknown reason there was a source of heat coming from deep within the cavern.

The beast caught the scent of something else, something he recognized from the night before.

The smell of flowers… it hung heavy in his nostrils. It penetrated his senses and lured him away from his former target. It would have to wait.

The tunnel forked into two separate directions, each taking a dark path further into the mountain. The werewolf found himself torn between chasing after his target and saving Fluttershy, but deep down he knew which one was more important.

Not needing much time to think, he let his nose follow the scent of flowers down the right pathway. There was something odd about the smell now, like Fluttershy herself was in a different state than the night before. The werewolf knew this scent… as fear.

He began to bound down the icy pathway, his clawed toes cracking the sheets of ice beneath him. Before when he was filled with bloodlust he had not cared as much about finding her, but now that he was so close, she was all he could think of.

He turned another corner quickly, quite sure he was heading in the right direction.

What he hadn't yet noticed was how much noise he was making. Every frantic step he took echoed deep into the icy cave, but he continued to run. His chest began to cramp and he slowed down his pace considerably. He was so close.

He could smell her as if she were right next to him.

He leaned his right arm against a giant boulder protruding from an icy wall, taking a moment to catch his breath. That's when the trail went cold, it just simply stopped.

He began to panic and started wandering around the area, inhaling deeply through his nostrils, desperately trying to pick up the lost scent.

However, every faint whiff always brought him back to the boulder.

Then it struck him.

The boulder was hiding something, no… it was hiding someone.

The stone was only a few feet taller than he was, but it was wide and probably weighed several tons. It was no matter, as he wasn't about to let a simple rock put a halt to all the progress he's made.

He growled in anger at the massive stone as he wrapped his furry arms around it. He closed his eyes tightly, knowing that moving this stone would require every last ounce of strength he had.

He gave one tight pull, heaving as hard as he could, but the boulder would not budge.

"RAH!" the beast growled.

His razor sharp claws pierced the rock's surface, digging in for one final assault. His biceps seized and his toes gripped the icy floor as he tugged and thrashed about. He took in another large breath and held within his chest firmly.

Bit by bit the stone started to grind against the ice.

The muscles in his arms seemed to be screaming at him in pain, but he forged on. With each violent surge the boulder would move another inch. However that was the only encouragement he needed, for he could see he was making progress. As the removal of the stone exposed an icy room, his nose flooded with her scent.

He growled in pain as he wiggled the boulder just a few more difficult times. The opening would not have to be wide, only large enough to where he could squeeze his frame through.

After another agonizing minute of prying and thrashing he released his death-grip on the stone, looking upon the fruits of his labor. He at last had success, a small crack in which he could funnel his entire body into the icy room.

Knowing his body was about to give out on him, he carefully stuck his neck through the crack, followed by his torso. Next he allowed one leg to step through, with his other bringing up the rear.

Then he finally laid eyes upon her, the yellow pony. He didn't remember her exactly, but she was definitely familiar within his fragile mind.

He stood tall when he saw her, exposing the entire length of his golden body.

The whole time she had been aware that something was moving the rock that sealed her inside, though admittedly she had been expecting someone quite different.

When she saw him her body immediately froze in horror. Her eyes widened and she began to breathe rapidly, culminating in full-blown hyper-ventilation

"W-w-what are you?! Huff*huff*…Please don't hurt me!" the little pony pleaded.

The beast lumbered forward slowly across her frozen prison. He showed no expression in his eyes, which only seemed to frighten her more.

His claws left long scrapes along the floor as he dragged his toes behind him.

"P-p-please don't come any closer!" she cried.

The beast seemed to obey her command, as he stopped moving toward her once he reached the center of the room.

He just stood there, staring blankly into the open space of the icy wall.

At that exact moment is when he felt it.

All the effort of the previous night, running through miles of forest, climbing up thousands of feet through ice and snow, lifting a stone that weighed several tons just to reach her; all at once it hit him like a freight train.

With no more strength for his body to give, he fell to his knees heavily and abruptly.

His lungs struggled to take in more of the cold air, but they received little of anything.

His eyes lazily rolled back in his head as his upper body began to fall forward.

Fluttershy watched in shock as the werewolf's chest and head collided with the floor violently.

THUM-THUMP!

The beast let out several long gurgling and grumbling sounds as his body finally allowed him to take in oxygen. His breathing was terribly labored. He tried to say something but no words came out.

Fluttershy was not as frightened with the beast looking so… incapacitated. His head had impacted just a few feet from her, and she was still a little jostled from his sudden advances. Nevertheless, she opened up to the new creature.

"Um… are you okay?" she whispered softly.

Never before had she seen such a beautiful yet terrifying creature. His golden fur was something completely unheard of in any animal or known monster. His wolf-like face, snarling teeth, pointed nose and ears, long furry tail; they all belied something.

They covered up something that she wanted to see, his eyes.

Blindly, he reached a clawed arm out to her in a friendly manner. He had an exceedingly hard time opening his eyelids but recognized her silhouette against the lighted background.

"mmm…mmmmm…" the beast began to whimper to her.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

Only guessing what he could possibly want, she reached out her hoof and placed it in his open hand.

"Hahhh…" he let out an approving yet weak pant.

His eyelids began to open slowly, something she had been eagerly anticipating. Utilizing the rest of his energy he pried them open, letting his view of her face gradually come into focus.

Fluttershy gasped at what she saw.

"I—I recognize those eyes…" She had gazed so deeply into them, just the night before.

The werewolf's deep, vivid, blue sapphires entranced her, as her eyes had done the same for him.

"P-p—Patrick?" she stammered.

The werewolf's cheeks perked up, showing off a dagger-filled smile. His tail, which he had not given much attention to before, began to wag limply at the sound of his name.

"Hmmmmm…" he grumbled in satisfaction.

"It is you! Oh my gosh!" she yelled.

Fluttershy gripped his clawed hand tightly, but the heavy chains kept her from getting any closer.

The beast repositioned his arm and his talons gripped the icy floor, as he began to pull himself toward her. Dragging along his body was proving extremely arduous, but it was worth it when he finally reached his goal. He was now within full reach of her.

Exhaustedly, he flipped himself over onto his back and stared at the stalactite rittled ceiling. He closed his eyes and felt his mind start to slip out of consciousness.

Fluttershy was overcome with emotion as she buried her face into his furry abdomen.

It was only a few hours ago that she had been told he was killed by a dragon, and now here he was, still fighting for her until the bitter end. She wrapped her hooves around his deep chest as far as they'd go.

"Did you go all night, without stopping?" she asked through teary eyes.

The werewolf gave a silent nod.

"I…I thought I lost you… and I thought that no one… was ever going to find me." She whispered.

The werewolf struggled to lift his head and somehow he was able to look down upon her. Their competing blue eyes met one more time, before he ran out of strength and felt his skull hit the icy floor again.

"Just… don't move Patrick. You've done enough for today." She pleaded.

The beast only responded with more faint breathing, which relaxed the longer he laid still. His lungs rose and fell like huge ocean waves.

He reluctantly agreed with her request, but he felt something was wrong. As long as they were in dragon's territory they would not be safe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fluttershy had fallen asleep with her head resting on Packie. Several hours had gone by and the two of them remained undisturbed, lost in slumber. While she merely enjoyed his presence, he on the other hand had no choice but to rest. His muscles ached and his heart felt unbearably heavy due to his intense stress.

But lying here with her seemed to be helping, at least until something else entered the chamber.

Crack!

A massive weight fell onto Patrick's neck, pinning his head down. In a great panic he began to thrash, throwing his talons about in a great frenzy. None of his furious swipes connected with anything.

His fit of rage woke up Fluttershy with a jolt as she tried to break free of her daze.

"RRROOOOHHH!" Patrick roared in agony.

Fluttershy cringed when she saw the mammoth dragon before her, and was even more terrified to see it pinning down Packie's neck with its thick clawed hand.

The saffron-purple colored dragon clenched its grip even tighter, causing Packie to choke.

"Well, what do we have here? A wolf monster of some kind?" he grumbled.

The dragon placed his heavy leg over the wolf's sternum causing him to wince in pain.

"Get off of him!" Fluttershy screamed.

Blood, the king's third-in-command officer, now had the golden werewolf right where he wanted him. The dragon leaned all his weight down upon him, nearly crushing his ribcage. Packie couldn't breathe at all with his trachea being cut off and the immense force pushing down on him. He tried to swallow some air, any at all, but with all his airways blocked his struggle proved fruitless.

"Just make this easier on yourself beast, and die!" the dragon yelled.

"No, Patrick!" Fluttershy reached out for him desperately, but the collar around her neck was choking her back. She felt so helpless watching one of her closest friends being crushed to death. Tears began to flow down her face as she screamed. "Please don't kill him!

The werewolf had both clawed hands tightly gripped around the dragon's arm. He dug his claws into its violet scales, ripping out chunks of flesh and soaking its arm in blood. Angrily in retaliation the dragon took his free hand and swiped at Packie's face. His talons connected and removed three clean streaks of fur and underlying skin on his left cheek.

Packie began to give up, as his body had not yet fully recovered and now he couldn't even take in a fresh breath of air. His vision began to blacken as the dragon placed its other hand around his neck. It was only matter of time now until the towering reptile would claim him as its victim.

"STOP!" screamed Fluttershy. Her face was nearly unrecognizable under her ocean of tears. "Stop it! He's just a human! He never meant to hurt anyone!"

The dragon waited for the werewolf to nearly blackout, when he stopped. He glared at Fluttershy with intrigue in his eye.

"Did you say… human?" he asked.

"Yes! Now please just don't kill him… please." She pleaded.

The violet beast released his grip, letting Packie fall unconscious on the icy floor. The dragon stood tall, inspecting the damage from their scuffle. His long scaly arm was missing a clean chunk about a foot in diameter. To him, the pain equated to roughly that of a paper-cut. He was far used to such agony.

"You're in luck pony. I've been looking for a human test subject for centuries. Hehehe…" He eerily chuckled at the sight of the unconscious werewolf.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What? The human is alive!?" yelled Fletch.

"Indeed. It seems that your story was more fantasy than you'd like us to believe." said Blood.

The smaller white dragon crouched close to their personal fire at the heart of the mountain. He grabbed his head irritation. "GRR! How was I supposed to know he could survive that fall?" he asked.

"It's simple, you couldn't have. But he is much more resilient than I would have expected." The taller dragon paced around, thinking of his next move. The fire at the center of the dwelling made his violet scales glisten and his yellow piercing eyes darted around the room.

"So where do you have him now?"

"A chamber, deep in the mountain, far away from his little pony friend. I have him bound to the wall, just like the other prisoner."

"And what are you going to do with him?" Fletch watched the lumbering purple dragon stop at his remark.

"It's quite simple really… the pony queen made him a shape-shifter using forbidden magic, among their kind no less. If I do the same, then I can make him one of us…"

"Why would you make him a dragon?!" Fletch roared.

"Hahahahahahahaha." Blood chuckled deeply in amusement. "You must be too young to remember that prophecy. But, this is the break our king has been looking for. The ponies are as good as dead."

The white dragon scratched under his chin with one sharp claw. "And what prophecy would that be?"

"Well…almost fifteen hundred years ago, during the golden age of our race, there lived the most powerful dragon that ever existed. It was said that his fire could decimate mountains, boil the seas, and lay waste to cities…"

"And what became of him?" the white dragon inquired.

"The ponies used their combined magical power to vanquish him. Thousands upon thousands of unicorns had to work together to quell his flame, and then when it had seemed the bleakest for them, they somehow triumphed."

"Get to your point, Blood. What does this have to with the human?" he barked.

"HAHAHA! Don't you see?! The human is cursed!" Fletch seemed unsatisfied with that answer.

"The ancient dragon's spirit is out there somewhere, and the human is cursed to assume the form of any beast that infests his mind. All I have to do is conjure the ancient dragon, and curse the human myself."

"You wish to implant the ancient one's mind within his own?"

The violet dragon grinned widely, bearing every razor blade for a tooth. "Yes, just like the prophecy stated would happen."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Packie tried to open his eyes, but the unbearable bright light would take some getting used to. He was being held by a tight collar around his neck linked to the wall behind him, forcing him to stand weakly. He tried moving his muscular arms but they remained tightly chained together behind his back by two linked and heavy iron bracelets on his wrists. His legs were free to move, but there was no point with his neck bound to the wall. He wasn't going anywhere.

Vaguely he remembered passing out in his struggle with the violet dragon. Packie looked around through squinted eyes. He could've sworn this was the same room he found Fluttershy in, but the smell of flowers was not nearly as strong now. She was in another chamber, somewhere else within the mountain and it deeply depressed him. The chains that bound him were far too thick for him to break, even with his enhanced strength. They were more than likely enchanted by the dragons to be more resilient.

He struggled frantically to break his bonds but they remained firm. Defeated, he began to slouch. Any hope he had of saving Fluttershy was quickly diminishing.

Suddenly he heard a sound coming from down within the cave, approaching his chamber. It was the sound of heavy footsteps. He wondered how he could not have heard that before when he was with Fluttershy.

There was a massive stone slab lying against the opening to his chamber, just as the other room had. He knew that if he somehow broke free of his bonds, he might be able to remove at least that obstacle.

The slab began to churn against the icy surface beneath it, making an awful grinding noise. With a few heaves from the familiar violet dragon the stone was displaced enough for the dreadful beast to enter.

He calmly lumbered over to Packie, but the werewolf didn't respond to his presence.

"A quiet one are we? No matter. I'll have you singing like a bird in just a few moments." The beast delightedly grinned in anticipation.

The werewolf snarled at him. "GRAH!" He temporarily fought against the chains but lost his will to fight soon afterward.

"There's no point in resisting human. I'm about to give you new life." The dragon raised a claw and began to reach for Packie's chest.

"RAHH!" he roared in retaliation. He continued to struggle as he felt the dragon's cold talons press against his abdomen.

The beast began slowly chanting in their draconic language.

"O'la-tothen. Rashend-hi. Incent'-thi'ay…"

Packie felt this terrible pain wrack his stomach, like a sword just pierced his hide. He began to feel his strength fade away and his muscles shrink considerably.

"Batot-han… fin' hua…"

A lump formed in Packie's throat, just like the night before when he first changed. The lump moved up his neck and into his cheeks. His muzzle began to shrink, layers of golden fur began to fall off in tattered clumps, and his ears gradually became more rounded.

The lump of pain began to move back down his neck and into his spine, causing him to shriek in agony as he felt his frame start to compress.

"AHHHHH!" his screams began to sound less animalistic.

The dragon kept chanting and pushing his claw harder into his chest, despite Packie's terrible pleas to stop. Blood looked down upon the claw marks on his face, the one's he had left, and remembered that the human was not worthy of mercy.

The surge of change continued down through his back and into his hips and legs. His tail was being recoiled back into his body, his calves and thighs began to lose muscle mass, and his bones cracked loudly as they reformed into a more compact size.

Clumps of beautiful golden fur kept falling onto the icy floor, exposing his comparatively weak skin.

The dragon clenched his wide hand around Packie's neck, holding him up with little effort. His body had decreased so much in size that he no longer posed any threat to the violet beast. With a quick slash of his claws, Packie was freed from the wall.

The dragon released his grip on his neck and let the naked human fall the short distance to the floor.

Exhausted and relieved of the rest of his strength, Packie collapsed to his knees with his hands still tightly bound behind his back. His body was completely drenched in sweat and he had to focus every bit of effort into taking his next breath. The sudden decrease in his lung capacity was making his chest seize up excruciatingly.

The icy air began to penetrate his skin and he began to curl up in a ball on the floor. Streams of sweat ran down off the side of his forehead and onto the freezing surface beneath him. He shook uncontrollably as some of the sweat on his body began to freeze and harden.

"Oth-hoom!" the dragon bellowed above him.

All at once Packie could feel the terrible pain begin to slowly subside in his head. He opened his eyes timidly as the light in the chamber did not seem nearly as bright as it was just a few minutes ago. His blond hair concealed his gaze as the soaked follicles fell down over his line of sight. Bit by bit the overwhelming pain in his chest sunk away into nothingness.

He gasped loudly, feeling life return to him. "Huff*… cough*… gahh, what the hell…?" He whispered shrilly.

"Hahaha." The dragon chuckled at the weakling balled up before him. "Welcome back to the realm of the living, human."

"Grr… what did you do to me?!" Packie yelled.

He got one arm underneath himself and struggled to push up his body from the packed ice.

"You should be thanking me human. I saved you from your own self. You were terribly cursed, or did you know that already?"

Packie up-righted himself and held all of his weight on his right leg and arm. "That's bullshit!" he retorted.

"Is it?" The dragon waited for a response, towering over the miniscule naked boy. "Very well human, answer me this. If you were not cursed, then how was I able to change your form with a counter-curse?"

"It was no curse. The princess did this to me herself." He replied dismissively.

"On the contrary human, the queen placed a hex on you."

"I don't even know what that is!" Packie narrowed his blue eyes at the beast aggressively.

"It means that the queen had run out of power and called on forbidden magic to give you your new strength."

"How did you know it was a hex?" Packie asked full of suspicion.

"I admit, you almost caught me off guard with that one human. But it was your friend, the yellow pony. She knew it was truly you under that mask of fur, and let me know accordingly. Once I saw the queen had changed you into that 'thing', I knew then and there you were under the influence of a hex. She had doomed you to a cursed existence."

"But… why?" Packie drooped his head, taking in more freezing air into his lungs.

"I told you already, it was because her magic reserves were running low. Ponies can only handle so much magic at one time."

The human looked up at the dragon fiercely. "So what, are you going to kill me now?"

"Hahaha…" the dragon laughed briefly, "…no, I have bigger plans for you human. The queen's hex still remains in your body, but I layered my own hex into you, temporarily suppressing it."

"B-but why? Why didn't you just kill me?" Packie asked.

"Because human, a dragon's hex is much worse than a pony's. While the queen's gave you the shape-shifting ability, mine will forcibly implant the spirit any beast I desire into your body. Your mind will be completely taken over, and your thoughts will belong to us, assuming you survive the transformation." The dragon cracked a devilish grin.

"What the FUCK did you to me?!" he yelled.

"It's quite simple human. My draconic hex combined with the queen's will turn you into a dragon like us. But this time… you shall serve only my king and no other."

Packie spit on the dragon's massive foot. "Fuck you." He bluntly stated.

"Have it your way, human."

The colossal dragon brought down a heavy open palm which collided with Packie's face.

SMACK!

His limp body was thrown across the chamber and his back impacted against the icy wall, leaving a sizeable dent. The incredibly dense strike knocked him out cold almost instantly as he fell back down to floor. His head hit the icy surface with a sickening thud and he lie there completely still.

The dragon snorted at him, sincerely hoping that it didn't have to come to that.

"Stupid human. He has no idea of the immense power that now dwells within him."