The Frozen and the Eagle

Chapters

Prolouge
Chapter One: The Find
Chapter Two: Comburet

Prolouge

Part I

Prologue

2078 A.D., America, Year 14 of the Cold Wars

The ground was white and hard leaving the landscape an unbroken sheet of nothingness on most days, however on this particular day it was broken by three colorful forms. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy huddled together against the biting cold. They didn’t understand how they got here, only that a large dark shape came upon them while they were speaking with Princess Luna and their three other friends.

“I’m going to fly up and see if I can find something,” said the rainbow mare and she did just that, launching herself up into the air and flying high above her two friends. The freezing air cut into the blue Pegasus as she flew up. It truly was a strange day in the province of Arboribus, first three foreign creatures show up and at the same time a convoy was traveling three miles to the South of the three mares. Rainbow Dash saw this and quickly ducked back down to the ground to speak with her friends. “There’s something strange moving that way,” she points toward the vehicles, “about three miles. I’m going to see if I can get them to help us.”

“Is that a good idea, Dash?” asked Applejack.

“If I don’t we’re going to freeze to death!” Rainbow exclaimed and this only caused the yellow Pegasus to cringe at her friend’s raised voice. Before either one of the earth loving ponies could do anything Dash was off, flying with incredible speed to the vehicles and in no time reached them. Now it was just getting them to stop. She lowered her altitude so that the lead vehicle’s window was even with her. The vehicles behind had slowed at the sight thus avoiding a wreck when the lead driver slammed on the brakes. The snowcat’s treads dug into the ice and snow mixture and the Pegasus was suddenly several feet in front of the caravan. She turned around and moved toward the lead snowcat again only for about thirty men and twenty-six women to exit from the vehicles. It was quite the bizarre sight for humans yet they kept their weapons lowered not wanting to risk getting into a fight with such a strange, albeit colorful, creature. Rainbow Dash gave them all a worried look when one of the humans walked forward. He was of average height, weight, mid-thirties and had an average facial structure. Nothing about this man stood out as he slowly made his way over to the pony.

“Hey there,” the average man started and he instantly saw that the mare understood what he said. Dash let out a pent up breath and smiled

“Do you know where I can find shelter for me and my friends,” she asked and while just about all of the humans let out a gasp or a similar form of surprise the average man simply smiled, his teeth straight and white, and nodded his head.

“Yeah. You and your friends can stay with us,” he looked around and noted that her friends were not to be seen. “Where are your friends exactly?”

“That way,” Rainbow said and points to the North. The average man nods and then addresses his people.

“Let’s get back in the snowcats and pick up her friends alright,” every single person did just that. It was within half a minute that all of the vehicles were filled and then the man turned back to the Pegasus. “Now how about you hop into this one with me and you can warm up yeah?” The Pegasus stares at him for a few close to a minute before deciding, she nods and they both enter the snowcat then they head North to pick up Dash's friends. While they were moving she gave the rifles and few pistols a worried glance. "They are only for our protection against the dangers that come out of the cold,” his voice was smooth, soft like velvet, and put the Pegasus at ease.

“I know a Stallion that has one of those,” she points to one of the pistols that hang from the back of the seat in front of her. “Do you have soldiers here?”

“Well we really have no need for those anymore. We’re all survivors now, out in the cold world. No there is one man, that is the male version of us humans,” he gives a small smile however it wasn’t belittling, it was warm and had humor behind it. “His name is Eric, if I remember correctly. Is he the man you mean?” The average man was quite confused now, not that he showed it, because he was under the impression that his little caravan were the first humans that this wonderful creature had seen.

“No, it was a different stallion,” she responds. The average man simply nods.

“So where are you from exactly, can’t say that I’ve seen you around,” asked the man after a few minutes of silence.

“I’m from Equestria. It’s a lot warmer there,” the Pegasus instantly went quite realizing that information probably shouldn’t be shared with the man. The man turned toward her and gave a reassuring smile while his brain turned over that name. Equestria was not a province, state, or town. ‘Oh yes we’re are going to have very interesting conversations about this Equestria,’ thought the average man.

“Tell me about this Equestria,” he said.

~~~~~~

“They took our food, or land and left us to die out here in the belt. They sit in their home under the surface, not having to worry about the cold, the wolves, the Frozen,” the last word was nearly a whisper from the woman yet every one of the survivors, friends… family heard her. “We will get our retribution, we will take back what belongs to us, and we will cleanse this world of the traitors.

~~~~~~

1259 A.B.W., Amazara, 1259 years after peace treaty

The sun rose lazily over the Eastern Attawatch mountains bathing the Attawatch valley in a comfortable light though this did nothing to ease the panic that was steadily rising in the three mares inside one of the many caves dotting the mountain. There were actually four, however the pink one didn’t seem bothered at all by the fairly strange turn of events. The four mares had been talking with their three friends in the center of Ponyville when it was suddenly gone and a violent case of vertigo had hit them. When they finally started feeling better they noticed that they were in a cave on the face of a beautiful mountain range that reached high into the air as if trying to reach the heavens. They marveled at the massive forest that slowly petered out into a plain. Princess Luna could make out what appeared to be a great city far into the distance. They marveled at the beauty of the landscape but their amazement quickly turned to dread, except for the pink one, at the predicament they were in.

The two alicorns were worried about how they arrived, where they were, how to get back home, food and water, and lastly whether or not the cave they were in was safe. Rarity shared the same worries yet at the same time she was also worried about the dirt getting in her hair and fur. Pinkie Pie didn’t really care about these matter and took the turn of events in stride. If she did have a fear it would be about not having cupcakes or other sweets around though this was covered, well for now that is.

The sun climbed higher and higher when the larger princess decided that she would fly up and see what else there might be in this strange land. While she was gone Twilight Sparkle was making a mental checklist of things that they would need right now and tried to conjure up some of the necessities only for her magic to fail. She was perplexed at first but it soon turned to dismay as she realized that there was nothing for her to grab with her magic. After all you can’t create something from nothing. Twilight focused on the forest but then decided that it would be better to get closer to the ground a few hundred feet below. She spread her wings and leapt, gliding down to the forest floor.

At this point Rarity was curled up in a ball from the stress of the predicament, the cave, and that none of her fashion supplies were her to keep her company. Pinkie was simply setting up a return party for Princess Luna and now Twilight. Somethings are better left alone and taken as is and this was one of them. It was some time before Twilight came back up to the cave only she had numerous ripe berries floating near her head in purple magic. She also had a large ball of water next to her in a similar state and now it was just waiting for Luna to return.

Time wore on as it usually does and by the time the sun was falling behind the crest of the Western Attawatch the three ponies were becoming worried for their Princess. The night came like a thief and had taken the valley as its own and it was only then that the Princess came back, and with a smile upon her face at that. Luna’s appearance snapped Rarity out of her trance.

“Come my ponies, we must go down to the forest floor,” the other ponies gave her an unsure look but started moving to the exit all the same. It was then that Luna took Rarity in her magic and placed Rarity upon her back. Twilight did the same with Pinkie Pie and they took to the sky and flew down to a road that had gone unnoticed due to the heavy tree coverage. It was here that the four ponies were met with ten humans. All were lavishly dressed and one, the tallest male, had robes of striking blue. A color so deep yet light it was native only to this land. He smiled when he saw the four and bowed deeply along with his fellows. Luna smiled back and dipped her head slightly only to straighten a second later and help Rarity down atop the Princess. Twilight followed suit.

“Luna I’m glad that you have accepted my offer,” said the tall man after standing tall again.

“I do not see any reason why I can’t trust tho- you,” said the Princess of the night. She was trying to start talking with less archaic words, after all it would make talking with everyone- everpony in her case- easier.

“You remember what I need of you, yes,” asked the man.

“Yes, I do Arwick. I trust you well enough,” the Princess responded. The man nodded and then motioned for the other male humans to walk toward the front of the camp. He then turned toward one of the girls next to him. The girl was strikingly beautiful with large blue eyes and long brown hair.

“Make sure that they don’t peek Sasha,” the man gave her a small smile and the girl returned it. Then the man turned back toward the four ponies, three of whom were very confused. The five other humans, women, which were present brought forth elegant robes that even made Rarity breathless at their exquisite color. Her attention was instantly brought back to the tall man when his hands started to glow with an unearthly green glow. It was as if his hands were on fire, the emerald glow flickering around his fingers and palms. He closed his eyes out of respect and then he performed a bit of magic that caught the four ponies square in their chests. When he felt that it was complete he turned around and walked over to the guards.

The women rushed forward and began throwing the robes over the heads of the very dazed girls. When Twilight’s head finally stopped spinning she reached out to pick herself off the ground only to stop and stare in shock at her hoof. The only problem was that it wasn’t a hoof anymore. It was a lightly olive tinged hand. She curled and flexed the fingers, straightened them, even bent one back a bit with her other hand. A smile crept across her face only for it to disappear when Rarity screamed when she noticed her changed state. She stopped soon enough but not before every man had ran back to see what the problem was. Twilight ignored them and looked at Princess Luna who only shook her head and gave a look that said later.

~~~~~~

The black mass moved over the treetops without a sound, the moonlight making its form glisten. Soon though the trees ended and instead of the lush forest, green valleys, and pleasant villages there was just dead ground with twisted and blackened trees. The mass flew low to the ground and traveled miles upon miles never slowing its pace till just before the ledge of the Forgotten Gorge. It landed then kneeled and stayed in that position for quite some time till at last a scraping sound was heard. The sound grew and grew till it became almost unbearable on the ear drums of normal men yet the dark mass gave no indication of having discomfort.

The scraping ceased suddenly only to be replaced by a creaking sound, like that of old joints. It continued for close to half a minute before a shape emerged from Forgotten Gorge. It spanned well over a hundred feet, the skin was a deathly gray parlor with light black veins going this way and that. It stopped moving when a large orb was level with the top of the gorge. It was thirty meters in diameter, light red speckled with gold and silver. There was no pupil to the eye, just the iris that showed nothing. Yet it was now that the black mass reacted. It shook in fear at finally, after months of being away, being in front of its master. No word was spoken but they weren’t needed. The black creatures mere presence was enough to tell the Old God that it was time, time to take back the world and make it his… hers. The old ones had no gender. Just power.

Chapter One: The Find

The small blood drops shone bright against the white snow and the odd tracks led to a greater curiosity about what was bleeding. Eric stood up and looked into the distance at the decrepit home that the tracks were heading for. He had been following the small blood drops and unidentifiable tracks ever since he had come across them near the border of Arboribus and Duma. The blood then had been dry but now the blood was quite a bit fresher. He shifted his backpack and then the rope around his waist. He looked back at the sleigh to make sure everything was still strapped down and was happy to note that it was then started marching forward once more.

The sun was still in the eastern part of the sky, having risen only two hours prior. The tall man trudged forward till he was within about thirty feet of the gaping doorway of the house. His actions were quick and steady as he untied the rope, and let the back-pack slide off only to be swung forward infront of him. He quickly pulled out a four-inch cleaning knife, a bottle of water, and a couple of tightly knitted bags. He set his pack down on the sled, grabbed the shotgun laying along the side of the railing, and grabbed a flashlight. After tying the flashlight to the stock of the shotgun he moved toward the doorway. He flipped the flashlight on and let the light illuminate the inside before stepping in himself.

The crumbling home was a mess of broken furniture, snow, structural damage, and the smell of moldy wood. Eric crept forward, keeping his footfalls soft, though this only slightly helped in keeping the floorboards quiet. He went through the destroyed living room and into the kitchen all the while following the blood and scuff marks of some creature. He couldn’t quite tell what the animal was, only that it didn’t have paws, claws, digits, or that it had shoes on. It was in the kitchen that Eric found a trapdoor leading to the cellar. He shined the light into the hole and saw stairs with more of the scuff marks them.

Eric slowly descended down the stairs which creaked and moaned in protest. The rasp of his boot against the stairs oddly loud. He could practically taste the musty dampness of the cellar but all the same he wanted whatever animal had been hurt. After-all, you can’t just let perfectly good fur and meat go to waste. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he had to dip his head a bit to keep from hitting it on the ceiling. He looked to his right and saw an open area that was devoid of anything while on his left was a wall that extended a few feet past the stairs with a doorway leading to a separate room. Taking small steps Eric turned around the corner, and immediately took a bucket to the face. Thinking that he was under attack, he opened fire. The shot was wild and didn’t hit anything other than wall and ceiling but it was enough for the creature to think twice before chucking a piece of pipe at the heavily breathing human.

“Uh, hello,” Eric’s voice was generally quiet, so it didn’t help that the blast from the shotgun had deafened the rooms occupants. It wasn’t really the silence that bothered the man, as it was the ringing in the ears. For the few minutes that Eric had been standing there he had gone over the room with the flashlight but it hadn’t revealed anything of importance, well almost anything. Small drops of blood led to a large dresser that had been tipped over on its side. It suddenly hit Eric that this creature probably should have passed out or even have died from the blood loss by now. The man pushed the thought away, then sat down against the wall and waited for his hearing to return before speaking up again. “Hello,” his voice was raised from the first time, only he was still greeted with silence. This silence stretched for several minutes which lead to Eric opening the bottle of water and taking a healthy swig from it. The creature on the other side of the dresser saw this through one of the cracks in the wood and let out a heavy sigh. It had gone for hours without water and it was closing in on day three of no food. All in all, it really wanted water and something warm to eat.

Eric suddenly stood which startled the thirsty creature, and she became even more concerned when the very large man started to slowly move forward with his shotgun. He edged around the dresser and stopped when he saw what was back there. Really it was nothing extreme, just a bloody, beaten looking creature with cyan fur, rainbow mane and tail. Eric really only noticed the latter of the characteristics and, subconsciously, moved the barrel of the shotgun so that it pointed a bit more toward the creature than it had been. This combined with the fact that the mare was scared was not a good combination. Before Eric could react the strange animal, in his eyes, turned around and then launched its back hooves at him. They connected with his stomach and with a heavy grunt he fell backwards and into the wall. The wall was heavily corroded and it caved under his sudden weight allowing him to fall through. It only took him a second to see that he had landed underneath the stairs.

The mare took her chance and started to run for the doorway to get up the stairs. She couldn’t manage a decent speed because the kick had agitated an old injury. The run was much more of a limp which gave Eric a chance to get up, get to her, and wrap his arms around her waist before she had gone more than four or five steps up. There was a brief struggle that quickly ended with the Pegasus winded and hanging limp in the large man’s arms. The whole time he was doing his best to calm down the frantic mare with shushing sounds and quiet, calming, murmurs.

“Alright, see I’m not going to hurt you,” Eric’s voice was quiet, deep, and comforting yet this did nothing to alleviate the fear in the mare. He set her down, then quickly took the flashlight off the shotgun and shined it over her. His feelings of excitement died and was replaced with pity and sadness. He saw that this was a horse of some kind, oddly colored, had wings, but mostly he noticed that it had been beaten and abused. There were numerous lacerations on her body, most of them had bandages though these were dirty and bloody. One of her wings was obviously broken with many of its feathers torn out and the skin underneath was a mottled color of bruising. He reached out and gently petted her back only for her to spin and try to sink her teeth into his hand. He yanked it back and stared at her knowing that some human must have done this. It was common knowledge that survivors, and sometimes even whole tribes, had religions that involved the abuse of animals. Eric didn’t know what it was supposed to do and he never bothered to figure it out. The thought process behind it was that it brings favor on you from the Gods or God. There were even a few that thought it might relieve the cold. This was a fools thinking but humans have a nasty habit of reaching for things when they get desperate.

“Don’t touch me,” the mare snarled at Eric which caused him to lurch back into the wall across from the stairs. His mouth was agape, his eyes bulged, the skin paled a bit in shock and fear, yet the Pegasus didn’t see any of this. She had closed her eyes and flinched back expecting a heavy hit to slam into her head. They stayed in that position for close to a minute before the cogs and gears in the man’s head started to spin again only in overdrive while the mare opened her eyes and looked at where the man had fallen back too.

“You can talk,” Eric spluttered out. The pity and sadness turned to anger as he realized that she was in fact, not just another exotic animal. He stood up and moved forward again until he was in touching distance and moved his hand to her again. This time she didn’t try anything figuring that it would be pointless and on top of that she felt like she might pass out any minute. “I’m going to help you.” Eric quickly wraps his arms around the Pegasus and only for her to tense up and let out an annoyed and pained grunt. This only spurs him to move up the stairs faster so that he could set her down. Eric quickly did that but made sure that he found a relatively clear spot on the ground to set her. He descended into the cellar to grab the shotgun. With it in hand he rushed back up and gives the sulking mare a quick glance before leaving the broken house and walking up to the sled.

Leaving the shotgun at the sleigh Eric takes a tarp, a can of peaches, and a bottle of water. He lays the tarp down and lets the mare stumble on to it. She thought it useless to try and do anything other than comply. Sleep deprivation was catching up to her, leaving her barely conscious when the man presented a bottle of water. She eagerly took it from his hands and started to chug it down leaving Eric to wonder how she could possibly hold it in her hooves. Next he presented the can of peaches and much like the bottle she devoured them quickly. Unfortunately this brought on a wave of guilt at the fact that her two friends were alone, and in the same boat when it came to the lack of water or food. She stopped eating and set the can down with the last two or three slices in the bottom.

“You done,” Eric asks and received a small nod. “I’m going to wrap you up now. You’ll stay warm.” The last part was to try and ease the wild and frightened look she got in her large magenta eyes at being told that she was going to be wrapped up. Nonetheless Eric proceeded and soon enough she was wrapped up ready to be moved. He gently lifted the bundle and carried her to the sleigh and just as gently set her down. With this done he tied the rope at the end of the sleigh to his waist and started following his tracks back.

The minutes slip by when Eric stopped, realizing that he was being an idiot. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a compass that was inlaid with silver, bronze, and zaffre haloate. Zaffre haloate is an extremely strong and hard element that had a dark blue color that sparkled under the sun or a full moon. He stared at the compass for a few seconds marveling at it and wondering how he could have been so lucky to find it. Pushing the memories away he pushed one of the four buttons on the side and the compass went from pointing north to an Easterly direction. He turned and started walking to his destination with a smile under the white mask that covered his whole face.

Eric’s attire consisted of heavy duty white pants, shirt, coat, and boots along with a light blue back-pack. Eric spent the walk home thinking of what he might tell his fellow tribesmen or whether or not to even mention the fact until later, giving himself more time to think. He could do it too. Just walk in and bring the sleigh to his room, take the tarp in with the Pegasus and drop her off on the bed, then take the sleigh and everything else back except for half of the food.

Food management was a relatively easy thing at home. Anything you found out in the cold you kept half, while the other half was donated to the tribe. Being able to keep five cans from a run would keep you feed for a week, maybe more if you rationed it right. Only now that wasn’t really a concern, since the tribe had managed to get one of the older machines, a G.E.C.K., to work allowing the growth of food to be done underground. Along with the domestication of the cows, goats, and pigs, going out on runs was becoming less and less important. However the rations would be strict so that if you wanted something more to eat you would need to go and get it. In this case Eric would be able to feed the mare without raising concerns and he would be able to eat well too.

All the while Eric was in thought the mare was having a pitiful sleep causing the tarp to turn this way and that way. After some time of this Eric stopped and went to the Pegasus and started to unfold the tarp to reveal the bruised and battered body underneath. She was breathing heavily and her face was contorted in an expression of pain mixed with fear. Pity flooded the man, yet he didn’t know what he could do to help other than to get her to his home, wash the injuries and bind them. He gently petted one of the few unbruised areas on the body and it seemed to help a little bit, the turning stopped but her face was still a mask of pain and fear. Eric folded the tarp over her again and started the seemingly endless marching again. It would take another hour to reach the underground village but then another half hour, at least, before being able to do anything for the wounded creature.

It was twenty minutes after he had paused for those few moments that he heard the noise of multiple boots striking the snow behind him. It sounded like two, maybe three. He stopped and turned to see two men of what might be average build. It’s sometimes hard to determine the physique of someone under the mounds of clothing one wears in the cold. The two men kept moving forward until they were within just a couple feet of the sleigh. The bigger of the two watched Eric while the other one looked at the tarp.

“Need help?” Eric asked.

“Yeah, I reckon you can. What you got under that tarp,” the smaller of the two pronounced tarp without the ‘r’ in it. The question caused Eric to become more than a little bit nervous. His skin paled a bit and a small bit of sweat popped out onto his brow.

“Wolf meat. Got it in the house that way,” Eric points back in the direction that he came from. The bigger of the two stepped out from the back of the sleigh and slowly made his way over to Eric with his hand out-stretched. Eric took it, albeit with trepidation.

“Name’s Jeremy,” the big man’s voice was deep yet comforting. “Listen we’ve been looking for a… special pet for our boss. She ran off and we found some blood and it led to that house. Now it wasn’t a wolf or anythin’ but did you happen to see… something exotic?”

“No, there were some feathers. Wolf got it probably,” Eric said feeling only slightly better.

“Were they blue by chance,” Jeremy asked and got a nod in return. Jeremy then turned to his companion and was met with a shrug. Then the shorter man moved forward and drew a pistol, pointing the gun at Eric’s chest, he grabbed the edge of the tarp.

“Na hold on a sec, you said you got a wolf under here. There weren’t no wolf paw prints over dere, so tell me a story I might just believe. Otherwise imma shoot you,” the smaller man had a toothy smile under the cloth covering his face.

Eric suddenly found his mouth to be quite dry. He looked back and forth between the two men for what felt like an eternity.

“Dune, enough you’re gonna give the man a heart attack. It’s probably one of those skichra wolves under there,” Jeremy said with his hand raised in a calming gesture.

“Skicha,” Eric said, correcting the man. Dune then started laughing and holstered the pistol. He walked a few feet away, looking over the expanse of the white land.

“Dune is crazy, but he gets the job done,” Jeremy said quietly. “Take care now and don’t let that meat spoil.” He turned and started to walk away but then stopped. He turned back to Eric then asked, “Hey do you know where the main tribe in this province is?”

“I live there.”

“Good,” Jeremy’s face lights up in joy, “cause the only thing my tribe has to hunt are predators and me and Dune noticed that you have quite a few of the ice cows. It amazes me how they can survive but I guess we all adapt huh. Anyway can you ask your head tribe people if we can come and take one or two them every now and again? We could really use some easy hunting. Oh and our tribes met about three weeks ago, when we made our base in Arboribus.”

“I’ll ask,” Eric said. Jeremy looked at his companion that was bout forty feet away by now before turning back to Eric.

“If you find a… creature… just don’t bring it back to our province. Alright,” there was a pleading note in Jeremy’s voice.

“Yeah,” Eric nodded his head and then watched as the big man jogged over to his companion. Eric watched the two men walked away for a few moments before walking home himself. His nerves were still frayed from the incident though, he tried to take deep breaths in hopes of becoming calm. Only the breathing was not helping so he stopped to sit down on the sleigh next to the tarp. Only now it moving as the mare tried to escape it. After a minute or two she finally spoke up.

“Hey, human a little help here,” the voice sounded fairly impatient. Eric quickly uncovered the Pegasus only for her to close her eyes and let out a small ah. “Are you okay?” Her voice was cold and when she opened her eyes they were colder. Really, she just wanted to be somewhere warm and preferably not in the company of humans, but unfortunately the last bit wasn’t an option. For her question all she got was a nod. “Okay… then can we please continue, it is really cold.” With those last few words she ducked back underneath the tarp. Eric didn’t move right away but instead stayed there for a moment looking at the tarp wondering if it was good or bad luck to find such a unique creature. He stood and started moving forward again. The thoughts of what had transpired not more than fifteen minutes ago started to run through his mind along with why would they abuse such a beautiful creature. Honestly, nothing had such vibrant colors and once she was washed up they would be even more so.

It was some time before Eric got over the ridge that led to a small indentation in the hill. The hill itself was not very large but it was perfectly round, a very strange formation indeed. At the top of it the ground sloped down, creating a bowl with three trees in the middle. Together they created a triangle and within this triangle there was a sturdy cinderblock square. The back of this square sloped down to meet the ground. The square had just the first set of doors to get into the tribes underground home, there were another three that had to be passed before the guard barracks were even reached.

Eric quickly jogged down the hill with the sleigh following him, almost nipping his heels a couple of times. After he reached the double doors he let out a sigh of relief. Now the only thing to do was get in, get the wounded Pegasus to his room, all without any of the other guards noticing. It wouldn’t be hard considering that Eric got away with just about anything that wasn’t a major offence. Then again he never did anything that would ever draw attention. He never did things that broke the rules or laws in place, well except for today that is. Any living thing that enters the underground home that was new had to be inspected and then given proper shots as to prevent the risk of sickness. Luckily for Eric, he never had to do the checks and such, he was well known and the guards let him come and go as he pleased. It didn’t hurt that he also slept in the guards barracks.

Eric pounded on the light blue doors and they were pulled open by two guards. Both of them gave Eric a small smile and a nod before closing the first pair of doors behind the sleigh. The three men traveled down the sloped hallway for ten meters before coming to the second set. The two guards banged on the door twice to which a single bang answered back. The first two guards banged twice more and the second set opened. The process was repeated until Eric was finally in the barracks itself. He quickly made his way over to his room pulling aside a heavy cloth curtain before entering. He made sure the sleigh was in all the way before closing the curtain and even then he took the tarp with the mare inside to the bathroom.

“Stay here till I get back,” Eric whispered to the mare as he set her down. After leaving the bathroom he quickly stripped out of the heavy coat and pants along with taking the mask off. He grabbed an old pair of Levies out of his dresser and then left his room. The Pegasus waited for a few seconds after hearing his footsteps fade before fighting her way out of the tarp and then inspected the bathroom. It was fairly large with a good sized tub and shower mix. The shower head was one of those that came off the wall. The tiles were made from the zaffre haloate which gave the floor and walls a pleasant look to them. The sink and toilet were a simple white and there was nothing notable about them. While the mare was taking in the bathroom Eric was doing the customary steps of coming back in from outside.

First thing Eric did was take the sleigh and the few goods he found before coming across the trail of blood to a prep center. The prep center took the sleigh and kept a hold of them along with any weapon that was checked out such as the shotgun that Eric had with him. The center took the scavenging objects to stow them in their proper spaces. Next they sorted out the food. The most needed kind was kept while the other half was returned to the finder. After that it was time to fill out a report. This was the part Eric enjoyed the most. Many of the scavengers hated it, yet Eric found it to be relaxing in the simplicity of the chore.

Once that was all done Eric went to find Edward. Edward was a young boy who played messenger. It was a useful job and he was generally compensated well for his efforts. The compensation normally consisted of food or clothing.

“Hey bud, I need you to deliver a message for me,” Eric said. The kid nodded and grabbed a notepad and a pen then stared at Eric expectantly. “The tribe that we met with three weeks ago wants permission to hunt on our land every now and again.” The boy gave a quick nod and then ran off to deliver the message. With that taken care of Eric quickly made his way back to his room in the guard’s barracks. Eric wasn’t one of them but nonetheless he was given one of the rooms because he went out so much.

Within a couple of minutes he was back in his room with the curtain drawn and the lights on low. He entered the bathroom to see that the Pegasus was out of the tarp and on her hind legs so she could look into the mirror. Despite being a Pegasus Eric could see the shock in her eyes. He assumed that she hadn’t seen what she looked like for quite some time. He grimaced as he saw her wing but then broke the silence.

“I can fix up some of those,” Eric offered and the Pegasus dropped to the ground and gave him a suspicious look but then looked at her own body and came to a decision.

“Okay, but only if you tell me exactly what you’re doing and only if I allow it,” she stated with some bite in her words. Eric nodded his head and then motioned for her to step into the bathtub. She did but only grudgingly. Eric grabbed a small tab on the bottom of the mirror above the sink and pulled revealing a cabinet with numerous medical supplies. He grabbed a couple of tubes of medicine, bandages, and a small square electronic with an electric eye on one side of it. Eric set them all down on the floor by the tub. He reached over and started to run warm water through the tap.

“Need to clean them out first,” Eric explained. After letting the water run for a minute Eric grabbed a pouf off the faucet and got it wet. He started to clean out the wounds only for her to immediately move from him. He looked at her face with a question in his.

“I can clean myself,” was her only response as she took the pouf out of his hand. It took her a moment for her to notice the shocked expression on his face. “What?”

“You can hold it,” Eric said, his voice sounding slightly dazed. The Pegasus gave him a look that said that he was an idiot.

“Yeah, big deal,” she said.

“How do you do that,” Eric’s eyes had a glint of curiosity normally found in children. The Pegasus ignored his question and shoots one back at him.

“You’re not going to kick me, hit me, or swear at me, let me starve and whatnot?” The spark of curiosity died and was replaced with sadness.

“No. Let me fix some of these wounds.” The guarded and suspicious look the mare had in her eyes since meeting him finally dropped away.

“It’s a small form of magic. Telekinesis, it allows us to hold onto objects as long as they aren’t too big or heavy. Obviously we don’t have fingers like your kind,” there was the sound of distaste in words.

“Magic? You can do magic. That’s awesome,” the smile on Eric’s face was large and a happy glint was in his eyes. It was contagious and the mare started to feel a bit better because of it. Of course the warm water helped quite a bit too. “So, what is your… name,” Eric’s voice turned a bit more serious.

“Rainbow Dash,” she said after staring at Eric for a moment, contemplating whether or not to tell it. He gives her his big smile again and then turned the water off so that he could begin to fix up the wounds. He looked over her body once more finding all of the injuries and noticed that she was favoring one of her back hooves. The biggest cut was a deep one on her back leg, the one that had caused the blood trail and it looked relatively new compared to some of the others. The march she had undergone hadn’t help any. Probably had kept the wound open. This was the first thing he tended to.

“This is will make the wounds heal faster,” Eric explained while unscrewing the small cap on one of the tubes. He squeezes a small amount of the greyish substance onto his finger tip and gently spreads it over the cut. After it was smeared on, he pinched the wound closed and counted slowly to twenty. He released his pinch then leaned in a bit closer to make sure that the skin was holding. It was in the middle but the ends were still open, albeit much closer together than they had been before.

“Why couldn’t I feel that,” Rainbow Dash asked with suspicion in her eyes.

“The ointment numbs the area. Had to pinch it close”

“Pretty cool stuff… I guess,” the mare responds to which Eric gives a nod.

“Doesn’t work well with burns though,” and with that remark they fall into silence. Eric continues with closing the small open wounds and then moved onto the older, closed ones. The ointment would increase the speed of healing for the older wounds and minimize scaring. After that was done Eric picked up the small electronic and turned it on allowing the screen to turn a light blue. The blue was replaced with white and the device let out a soft ding signifying that it was ready. “This’ll take an x-ray. An x-ray is-”

“I know what an x-ray is,” Rainbow cuts in. Eric gives another nod and starts scanning her body. It took a total of five minutes and what it showed made him cringe inwardly. Five of her ribs had been broken but now were mostly done healing along with a small crack in her back leg bone, the one she was favoring, but it was her wing that was in the need of the most help.

“I need to set your wing.”

“No.” The flat refusal shocked Eric a bit.

“If it isn’t set it won’t heal right. You might not be able to fly,” his eyes were pleading. Eric genuinely didn’t want the Pegasus to go through any more pain. “Put some of the ointment on your tongue. It’ll numb any pain.” The seconds turned into minutes and Eric thought he was going to need to try again.

“Fine,” was her terse response. Before he could move she snatched up one of the tubes and put a small dab on her tongue that was then smeared. Her lips and cheeks contorted into a small pucker. “You could have told me it was sour.” It was oddly cute and Eric smiled inwardly

“Sorry,” he said before carefully taking the broken wing and start to fix it. Luckily for him the wing would not need any kind of surgery and that bandaging it would suffice. He stood and took a bottle of pills out of the cabinet and took one of them out letting the light settle on the yellow oval.

“This’ll get the bone to heal faster.”

“You got medicine for everything don’t you,” the response was sarcastic. Eric gives her a closed smile before he starts cleaning up the mess. He exits the room after making sure that Rainbow Dash could get out of the bathtub on her own. Opening up a few of the cupboards in his small living space he decided that noodles would suffice. Five minutes later and he had two bowls of hot noodles to be eaten and he hoped that she would like them.

Considering that she downed the bowl and asked for seconds was a good indication to Eric that Rainbow Dash liked them. A lot. Once the two were done eating Eric cleaned up the bowls and then proceeded to dry the bathtub. The tub was actually quite large, one of the bigger ones in the barracks. Eric decided that this was where the Pegasus was to sleep so as to avoid anyone from seeing her if they came into his room. Rainbow Dash wasn’t exactly pleased with accommodations but it was twenty times better than where she had been sleeping for the last three and a half weeks.

Eric grabbed an extra pillow and three blankets. The first two he lined the bathtub with while the third would be used to keep Rainbow Dash warm. The underground village never got too cold but there is just something comforting about having a blanket in the night while sleeping.

“Goodnight,” Eric said quietly.

“Night,” the Pegasus answered back. Eric left the bathroom closing the door behind him and then fell onto his bed, he never noticed the pained look that would flash across her face when she watched him set everything up. He let the events of the day wash over him all the while a small smile was plastered on his face. He couldn’t believe that he had found such a creature, one that could talk no less, and it that he was now taking care of it. It wasn’t until the question of what now that his smile slipped. How was he going to explain this to the committee, in a way that would allow the Pegasus to stay in the village no less? He obviously couldn’t have let it stay out in the cold, then on top of that there had been those men that were looking for the injured mare. It still angered Eric to know that someone would hurt such a beautiful creature. These were the thoughts running through his head as sleep over took him and he fell into that dark bliss.

Eric woke with his arm being shaken. When he looked over he saw Edward there with a piece of paper in his hand. Eric gave the mute boy a smile before taking the page from his grasp.

Dear Eric Holder,

Eric, the committee would like your presence in the council room as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

The Committee

“Thank you Edward,” Eric said giving the boy another smile before getting out of bed to grab a couple cans of food. “Make sure your sister gets an extra helping alright.” The boy nodded his head vigorously before leaving. 'Alright I should see how Rainbow Dash is doing'. Eric opened his bathroom door and was greeted with snoring. He couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as he looked over into the bathtub. The Pegasus was on her back with the blanket just below where he assumed the belly button would be. The urge to scratch her stomach like he would a dog was strong, but the knowledge that she might bite one of his fingers off kept him from doing so. However the injures that had the ointment on them were coming along very nicely. In fact some of the scrapes were unnoticeable unless you were actually looking for them and the cuts that hadn’t been bandaged were nothing more than light lines.

He left the bathroom and started heading down the various halls passing the prep center, the cafeteria, past the guard training center, and checkpoints along the way. The underground village had started out as a rich man’s pet project, a bunker of sorts, he believed heavily in an apocalypse happening. It did happen and he died within the first month of starting. His son took over building as quickly as he could until the cold came and then he ushered in as many people possible to save them from the cold. That was fourteen years ago. The renovating and building had never stopped. Of course it had slowed considerably, but never stopped.

In the very center of the underground strong hold was the Council. Possibly the most well defended and biggest room in the entire place. The size could hold more than five hundred people and had the greatest food storage. It was really a sight to behold. The Council held the committee. The committee were the rule makers and the guys and lady in charge. Four men and one women to be in charge of two thousand people. It was quite the feat for having a rudimentary democracy between the five. It wasn’t perfect but so far it had worked. It was in front of these five that Eric found himself at the end of the journey from his room.

“Eric good to see you my boy,” called a man in his mid-forties.

“Sir, Jarvis,” Eric said with a bow then he bowed to each of the other committee members before standing at ease.

“The reason we called you was to request that you go to the tribe in the Arboribus to take this contract concerning hunting on our lands. We decided that since you have already met them that it would only be appropriate that you would go,” Jarvis said. The leaders never beat around the bush and were always direct when it came to something. Eric was a bit stunned at this. They had diplomats for these kinds of jobs, not some guy who goes out and scavenges fourteen year old cans of food.

“Why me? I’m no diplomat," Eric said.

“Take it as you will but we want you to do it,” Lories, the only woman on the committee, answered Eric. “Go, get ready to leave.” Eric nodded gave the man at the end of the line of committee members a quick glance, then took his leave. He hurried back to the prep center to grab a sleigh and some supplies. Once everything was signed out and done with he went back to his room. This would be the tricky part considering that the mare would most likely want him to stay. Eric opened the bathroom door to see that Rainbow Dash was awake and looking quite bored.

“I’m going to be gone for a day or two. Don’t go out.” He was about to exit when the Pegasus stopped him.

“Are you going to that other tribe,” she asked him. Eric turned and nodded but was startled to see hate burning in her eyes. He took a couple of hasty steps back. Her features softened a little bit seeing that she had scared him. 'Maybe he isn't like the rest of them,' she thought. “I have two friends there, you have to get them out.” Her request left no rebuttal.

“I’ll try-,” Eric started but was then cut off by Rainbow Dash. She had risen to her hooves and had just about knocked him over when she jumped on him.

“Don’t try, do. Don’t let them hurt us anymore.” Eric lost himself for a couple of seconds in her large magenta eyes filled with so many emotions. Hate, fear, sadness… pain.

“Ok, ok I’ll get them. I’ll get them.”

Chapter Two: Comburet

''Tell them that you're twenty percent cooler than Roderik.'' That’s what Rainbow Dash had told Eric to tell her friends when he got to the other tribes' home. The journey wasn’t arduous, but it was a long one; already past nightfall, Eric was just now within a mile of the tribe’s home. It was near the outskirts of a once grand city that was now just a decaying shell. It was dangerous being so close to cities like these ones. Eric was currently sitting on the sleigh with a rifle pressed against his shoulder and pointed at the factory. The scope on it was one of the better ones and it had served Eric well when he went out hunting. Then again, most of what he hunted could be walked up to and shot point blank, but he liked having distance.

Eric could make out at least ten guards just on the side of the factory which he could see in the distance. They seemed to mostly have melee weapons such as axes, pickaxes, a couple had batons, and one had what looked like a sword. After the cold set in, the military had confiscated a lot of the weapons to manage the population with less problems, but many had kept a hold of theirs.

Deciding that he should get done with the job at hand, he slung the rifle over his shoulder and started heading toward the building. Because of Eric’s white attire, he managed to get within thirty yards of the men patrolling before any of them noticed and called for him to halt. Three of the men walked forward, spreading out so that Eric would have to turn his head slightly to keep one of the men on the edges in sight.

“Who are ya, and what do ya want?” asked the man in the middle.

“Eric. Here for the hunting agreement,” Eric said. The man gave him a look before it faltered and turned into a smile.

“Name's George, follow me,” said the middle man. Eric did just that, only to be stopped at the main doors George motioned for him to leave the sled and rifle. Eric took the mask from his face and threw it on there too.

“Do you want me to leave the pistol?” Eric asked.

“What kind is it?” Eric shook the man’s hand when it was extended to him.

“Forty-five.” George looked at his companions with a look of what-do-you-think. They shrugged and George shrugged back, then waved for Eric to follow him in. Eric breathed a small sigh of relief that went undetected by the men around him. They walked through a few rooms before getting to what might have been an office section of the factory. There were tables lined up, most of which were buried under pounds of strange devices, some looking suspiciously like C-4. “What is all of this?”

“Bombs, man, bombs. We got a bomb savant,” George said, “and, well, really I don’t know why the boss wants it all. Hell, maybe it’s for when we get… nevermind. What I do know is that I wish bomby wouldn’t smoke cigs around the damn things. Ya know, I haven’t had a cig for seven years, yet this uppity bitch somehow always has one between his lips,” George shakes his head in disgust before moving past the room to the factory floor.

The ceiling stretched high above them while the floor was empty of any past machinery. The building had been gutted a few years before the cold came, now it had fifty men and women in it surrounding a stage. Because of Eric’s height, he could see what was happening on it and felt sickness grab his gut. There was a man standing there with two of the creatures similar to Rainbow Dash. One was orange with a blonde mane and she (Eric assumed the two were female) was standing tall even though a man was screaming obscenities into her face, yet it was the second mare that really caught his attention. The poor thing was cowering in fear and looked to be in worse shape than the orange one.

The man stopped after a minute and then motioned for a couple of men to come forward. They grabbed the two and hauled them off somewhere. The dark haired man walked past his people and then right past Eric who caught a whiff of sweat and some kind of cologne. Eric turned to follow the man only to be stopped by the three guys who had been escorting him.

“Let the boss man cool off first,” said George, and then in a much quieter voice, “he is a bit crazy, might just rip ya head off if you start talkin’ to him right now.” Eric nodded. He was lead to a small room that had a couple of couches and chairs. There was a bottle of whiskey on the table and he felt an urge to pick it up. He pushed the urge down and was suddenly very interested in the paintings that had been saved from various museums. Most showed what the earth looked like in the summer, when it had been warm. He let some of his memories surface before shoving those down too. They were painful to remember, yet they also filled him with hope that one day, the world would go back to how it had been. Hope was a large driving force behind the large twenty-eight year old. Hope and faith that not all people were bad and worth the benefit of the doubt.

“Hello there, Eric,” said a voice coming from the doorway. It caught Eric off guard and he hurried to his feet to stand facing the boss. “Well, I didn’t mean to startle you none, though I guess loud noises wouldn’t be the best around you. I must say it is an honor to meet a war hero such as yourself.” He is laying it on a bit thick. He must really want to avoid dealing with wolves and everything else out there.

“I am no war hero,” Eric’s gut twisted itself into a ball of unease and other feelings whenever someone mentioned the battle that he had so valiantly taken part in. Eric looked over the man he had come to see and saw absolutely nothing remarkable about him. He was about as average as you could get.

“Ah, that is surprising. I am used to my men boasting about their exploits. You don’t, I like that,” the average man tilted his head to the side just a bit, the look of curiosity not in any way hidden. “Anyway, you are here for the hunting agreement, yes? Well, I will be more than happy to give what needs to be given. As long as it's within reason of course.”

Eric pulled out an envelope and handed it to the average man. “What should I call you?”

“Boss will do. Follow me.” Boss left the room with Eric closely following and soon they came to what must have been the barracks of the place. Cots lined the room from end to end with about a foot in-between each. Eric figured that he was going to be offered one of the cots and he would gladly accept. He was tired after walking for so long. Boss took him past these and into a separate room that had four full beds, but they didn’t stop until they came to a small hallway with four doors. “My boys and girls have been working hard to renovate this place. Each of these lead to a private room and since none are being occupied you can choose the one you want to sleep in. First, though, we should look over this contract, yes?”

Eric nodded. Boss continued forward until they walked into what appeared to be an office of some kind. There was a big oak desk in the middle, with nice comfy-looking chairs on either side of it. Eric took one after Boss motioned to it, then the man himself sat down on the other side. Eric watched the man read the contract and took notice to all facial expressions and body movements and was pleased to see that there was nothing there that would indicate displeasure.

“I don’t see anything worth objecting over, I can agree to these terms,” Boss gave Eric a smile which was returned. Then the smile slipped from Boss’ face. “You saw those creatures on the stage, didn’t you? We picked up those two shortly before we got here. Something you should know about me; a lot of my decisions are arbitrary. Taking them in, for instance. One of them mentioned that they weren’t from here, that’s kind of obvious; I mean, no mutation turns an animal into a colorful pony, let alone giving it the ability to speak. Well, I tried to reason with ‘em, about taking my people to where they were from. It’s warm there, one of ‘em let that slip, but they wouldn’t say anything more. On another arbitrary decision I had them tortured for the information, but I got nothing from that. After a week of having them here, I let the cultists have ‘em. I’m telling you this because I feel like you should know, so that you may judge whether or not you want to deal with my family, with me.”

“I am not judging you. We all want to be warm again.” The fact that Boss had so openly told Eric what he had done was surprising. Eric didn’t let it show, but a simmering anger was in his stomach making him feel anxious.

“Now... there had been three, but one of them escaped. Two of my boys told me they met you. They said that you saw the remains of one of the creatures?”

“Yeah… uh, there were some feathers and blood.” Boss nodded his head and then shook it.

“It’s a shame, really, but I guess they were telling the truth. According to them, they don’t know how they got here.” Boss' eyes morphed emotions, there was a deep set anger, and what was akin to hatred in his eyes. “That rainbow dyke almost killed one of my men while escaping. Fucking cunt. I’ll have to kill them. I can’t keep giving them food and water but at the same time I can’t just release them. Both fates are cruel, but at the same time it is a blessing. Well, actually, a few of the men want blood for Zachariah and I think I might give it to them. It’ll piss off the crazies, but oh well.” He glanced up at Eric as if asking for his opinion on the weather.

“I could take them.” Eric received a blank look for a couple of seconds before an appraising look came upon Boss’ face.

“You going to keep them as pets?”

“No, meat and their fur. Our butcher is… depraved.” Eric felt slightly sick at telling the man this, as it was not entirely a lie. Of course the butcher had been banished when the council had found out what he had been doing to the animals.

“Alright, I guess that could work. Yeah I like that idea. I like you, Eric. Now let’s get some shut-eye and then tomorrow night we can send you on your way.” Eric was smiling only for it to fade.

“Why tomorrow night?”

“Lately we’ve been having problems with the city and it happens in the day time, snow demons are being pretty active. It’s been a real pain in the arse,” Boss stops and flashes a toothy smile, “but that's what we get for moving next to a city.” Snow demons? Aren't those an omen, signifying something worse to come? Why can't I remember what it was? Eric nodded his head and then left the office. He gave the four doors a quick look then entered the one closest to him. He had barely fallen onto the bed when sleep overtook him.

Boss, on the other hand, wasn’t done yet. He quickly left the building and went straight for the sleigh that Eric had brought with him. Boss went through all of the materials and then went through them again. This didn’t go unnoticed by his men and George walked over. Please don't go nuts on me.

“Hey Boss, ya lookin for something?” George asked and Boss snapped his head up and quickly walked up to the guard.

“You take anything from the sleigh? You protecting that man, huh?” The accusation came out of left field and it took a second before George got his voice back.

“Nah, I mean no sir, I haven’t touched it. Have any of ya touched the sleigh?” the last part was directed toward the other guards. They all shook their heads no and the average-looking man nodded his head, suddenly calm.

“Ok, you’re doing a fine job, George. If you will, though, post a guard on Eric’s door. He is staying in one of the new rooms.”

“Sure thing, Boss, but why? Ya don’t think he’ll do something now, do ya?”

“He wants the ponies. He says that they’ll die when he gets back home but… I don’t know. Just make sure he doesn’t leave the room, okay.”

“Alright, Boss,” Boss left and it was quiet for a few minutes before one of George's guards spoke.

“Average man is off his rocker tonight,” this elicited a few snickers from the men gathered.

“Yeah, he is, and that’s why ya doin' guard duty; get in there,” George said and the man’s face broke into a small smile because now he was out of the cold.

Eric’s eyes opened slowly, not really wanting to see the dark ceiling above him. I'm getting so tired of all this. Just want to stay in and sleep. Yet that night he would start going home with Rainbow Dash’s friends so it wasn’t all bad. He hauled himself into a sitting position then rubbed the back of his neck and yawned. He still felt tired despite it being morning, and having a full nights sleep. He moved off the bed and to the door only to stop when it was thrown open by one of Boss’ men.

“Hiya, wasn’t expecting ya to be awake. Sorry about the door, it a, it got stuck,” the man facing Eric was about eight inches shorter, therefore putting him a little under six feet.

“Yeah,” was the only thing Eric said before moving past the man, clearly not liking the look of him. “Where’s the dining hall?”

“That way, mister giant,” Eric kept his face expressionless while moving in the direction that the man had pointed. I guess some people never grow up. I hope I gave Rainbow Dash enough food. Soon enough he came to a group of people where he asked the same question and was received with a lot less ridicule. It was shortly after this that he found what he was looking for. Grabbing a bowl, he went over to the cook and was given a rather good sized helping of oatmeal and a roll.

“Thanks,” Eric said before moving over to a table. He silently ate for a minute before looking up and noticing that the thirty or so people in the dining hall were in three separate groups. There was at least a table, if not two, in between each group. Eric looked back at his bowl only to snap back up as the table was slightly jostled. It took a couple of seconds, but Eric recognized the man sitting across from him. "Hey Jeremy."

"Eric, I didn't even realize that was you," he smiled.

"Yeah, it took me a couple of seconds to recognize you," Eric said. They sat there for a few seconds in awkward silence, neither one moving. "Why is everyone separated in here?" Jeremy gave him a blank look before it turned serious.

"We got a cult living with us, they don't like anyone that isn't with them. In turn, no one likes them. Boss gave them the creatures in hopes of making peace. It worked for a few days, then someone got beaten nearly to death when they suggested letting the creatures go. We never found out who did it. The creatures and how Boss has been handling that has created friction. You got people sidin' with Boss and then you got people that don't agree with it," Jeremy looks over at the three groups of people before speaking again, "So you got the cultist over there," Jeremy points over at a table that was the farthest away from the doors, "You got the people supportin' Boss and the ones that don't." He pointed at the two other groups in the dining hall. There was a moment of silence. "A few people are talking about leavin' and going to Duma, that just pisses Boss off. Honestly though, he has made some questionable calls lately. I'm afraid there will be violence soon. Just waitin' for something to set it all off." Eric didn't say anything for a minute.

"Why did you sit next to me? Why tell me all this?"

"I'm one of the few that wants to get out of here. I don't hold with what Boss is doin', and I don't want to see you getting hurt. You seem like a good guy, which this place lacks in." Eric stared at the man for a few seconds before turning back to his food, Jeremy did likewise.

Eric was half way done with his meal by the time Boss and a couple of men with rifles walked over. Jeremy saw them, gave Eric a quick glance, then stood and took his empty bowl to the kitchen. Boss watched Jeremy the entire time. He faced Eric and gave him an award-winning smile.

“You sleep well?” asked Boss before sitting down himself, leaving the two men standing.

“Yeah, comfy bed, real nice,” Eric said before turning back to his meal.

“So I was thinking that once you get done with your breakfast that we go and pay the ponies a visit real quick. Also I think it would only be appropriate to let everyone give them a final send off tonight, so were going to have them up on the stage for a little bit,” How is that appropriate? There is something really wrong with you.

“Sounds good.” Eric picked up his eating pace. Once he was done, one of the men holding a rifle picked it up and took it to the kitchen. He returned quickly and they started off for a part of the factory that had some distance from everything else. It was dark and had gone under some heavy renovation to make it jail worthy. They soon stopped in front of a cell holding the two ponies. It was here that Eric noticed that the orange one didn’t have any wings. At first the thought that the men here had cut them off gripped his heart in a vice, only to be soothed by the knowledge that that kind of trauma would have left scars which would have be much bigger than what she had.

“I’ll let you three make introductions,” Boss said to Eric before turning to the ponies, “say hello to your new keeper.” Before the two ponies could say anything, he walked off. Eric watched Boss as he walked down the hall, He said something to one of the guards, but by that time Eric was already facing toward the ponies again. He crouched down so that he was closer to them and then just stared. Unconsciously his hand made its way to his face, covering his mouth. His eyes became a little wet at seeing the condition they were in. I thought Rainbow Dash was bad. Both of them were covered in bruises and cuts. The orange one looked at him definitely while the yellow one hid behind her mane.

“We got nothing ta say to ya,” Eric was taken aback by the fact that the orange one had a southern accent.

“I'm so sorry that this happened. You're going to be okay once I get you out of here. I was told to tell you-”

"Time's up, come on." yelled one of the guards. Eric glanced over to see that the guy was making his way over. Eric stood and walked out with the two guards behind him. Once they were out of the jail, the door was locked and Eric was told that he could do as he pleased until seven. He wandered around the factory for an hour before he went back to his room. It was early afternoon, but Eric was tired and he would need the rest to make the march back home. It took some time, but he finally fell asleep on the soft bed only to slip into a nightmare.

A loud banging echoed throughout the bedroom, causing Eric to jerk awake. He quickly got up and rubbed his eyes. He quickly gathered his belongings before going to the door and was met with three guards. A small ball of dread grew in his stomach and he eyed the rifles that the men were holding. One of them motioned with the barrel of his rifle and Eric moved forward down the hall and figured that they were going to the large room with the stage in it. He was right in his assumption as he found the large room packed with people, more than there were last night.

“Ah, there is our Duma friend,” Boss called from the stage. Eric looked up at him and saw the two ponies, only there was something seriously wrong with the yellow one. She was laying on the ground with a small puddle of blood around her muzzle and one of her wings, the left one, was twisted, broken, and laying limp. The orange pony was standing over her protectively though she wouldn’t be able to do anything if Boss or anyone else wanted to harm the yellow mare. Eric swiftly made his way toward them, the crowd parting for him, until he was next to the stage only for one of the guards on it to motion for him to come up.

Eric went up the three steps on the left side and now he really was towering over everyone else in the room. He moved forward until he was within about arms-length of Boss and about five feet of the injured pony. Eric kept his face void of emotion so as to not show his disgust about Boss’ actions. It would not do well to anger him; after all, he was just a guest in what could easily become a hostile place.

“Ah, yeah, they tried to escape so I felt that they needed to be punished. I’m sorry if the fresh injuries will somehow tamper with the taste of the meat or quality of the fur,” Boss said while a small smile spread across his face. The orange pony let out a small neigh after hearing what Boss had said. The look she gave Eric could kill, yet he took it knowing that, to a degree, he was to blame; he shouldn’t have talked to them. The guards probably told Boss. The orange one opened her mouth as if to say something but Eric gave her a small, almost imperceptible shake of his head. She saw it and closed her mouth while looking down at the mare between her legs with a look of worry plastered on her face.

Eric had promised Rainbow Dash that he would get her friends but now, in his eyes, the yellow one looked like she was at death’s door. He could practically feel the chance of redemption slipping from his grasp.

“Well I hope your stay has- Jacob, what are you doing?” Eric turned so that his left side now faced a man holding a gas can. Jacob stopped when he got next to Eric which worried him and it showed too.

“I thought you said we were going to burn ‘em?” Jacob said and the deadpan look along with the straight answer was enough to make Eric worried for the ponies, but more importantly for himself.

“Eric, I have no idea what he is talking about,” Eric turned his head to face Boss only to have a sucker punch catch him in the jaw. Eric stumbled a step back and the factory floor immediately went quiet.

“What the fuck, Boss, do you want Duma to come down on us?” yelled a man in the crowd. The tension, which had been building over the past few weeks, finally snapped like an over-stressed rubber band. The man that had spoken suddenly slumped as a nearby cultist struck him over the head with a small copper pipe, lining up a second blow before he himself was hit. The room dissolved into a mosh pit of two sides fighting; the cultists and the people who wanted the ponies to burn faced those who wanted a chance to get rid of the madman that had been leading them, a chance to separate from the cultists, a chance to redeem themselves for not standing up to stop the abuse.

Eric wasn’t a martial artist, he'd never had formal training in fighting but he was a brawler and had the strength of a bear. His right fist was wild but it caught Boss in the jaw and sent him flying off the back of the stage; however, Jacob was still there and he poured some fuel onto Eric, before frantically going through his pockets, searching for matches with the intent of lighting him on fire. The gasoline splashed Eric’s left arm, side, and back which only caused Eric to fully go after his attacker. He let a vicious backhand fly, knocking the gas can out of Jacob’s hands and into the withering crowd. The backhand was followed up with a heavy punch to Jacob’s side, knocking the air from his lungs. With Jacob breathing heavily, Eric grabbed the man and threw him off the stage.

The sound of gunfire suddenly filled the air; bodies jerked and blood flew, painting the floor and the people a ghastly red. Return fire started and the madness of the fighting really turned into slaughter and panic. It was a horrible sight, one that Eric would not forget for a long while, but right now it churned his stomach and made him avert his eyes. His eyes fell upon the ponies that he had promised to save. Moving forward swiftly and with purpose he was by their side within a second. He crouched and looked the orange mare in the eyes.

“I can get you to Rainbow Dash,” Eric said.

"Why would ah trust ya?" she snapped back. Eric's eyes flittered around for a second before they focused back onto the orange pony.

"I'm twenty percent cooler than Roderik," the words had the impact that he wanted and while the mare still had a distrustful, suspicious, and angry look with a twinge of hate in her eyes she nodded her head. Unbeknownst to Eric, but Boss’ most faithful followers were fighting their way onto the stage to attack him. It was then that a shattering boom sounded causing all the fighting to cease. Eric looked behind him and saw that the far wall leading into the rest of the factory now had cracks with smoke billowing out of them. “Get down!” Then, it was as if the gates to some forsaken place opened wide. Fire lashed out through the wall, through the doors consuming greedily, taking the clothing, skin, muscle, and then bone for itself. Eric turned and gathered the two ponies in his arms, shielding them from the inferno. The only protection Eric had was his clothing and the men some feet back on the stage as breakers. The fire tore through the men and then covered Eric, yet just as fast and violent as it had come it was gone, leaving charred remains of those closest to the wall, burning bodies a bit farther on, and the screaming of the injured who had been even father away.

For a split second Eric thought that he had escaped from harm but that would soon be replaced as he felt the heat on his back and left arm. Flames had licked him and they liked the way he tasted, so they bit hard and without mercy. Eric quickly rolled off the two creatures to stand and start to tear in earnest at his clothing like a wild animal would at a trap. The fire had now chewed through his clothing and had a taste of his skin and, as if with a new vigor, it bit harder. Eric let out a yell and the yelling continued to get louder until it was a scream of pain, his fingers tugging at his clothing but they clung to him as if wanting him to burn. It was only seconds since the clothing caught but his skin was turning red and started to blister. The pain was increasing as was his frantic screaming and scrabbling at the clothing he wore.

Then the coat tore, coming off Eric in one large burning piece. Yet the small amount of elation was cut short when the burning didn’t stop; in fact, it was worse than before. The sleeve of the shirt he wore under the coat was awash in flames and it was melting and burning the fabric into his skin, blisters formed and then erupted only for the spots to start blackening all the while he tore at his shoulder ripping the cloth. It came away with much more ease than the coat did, but so did charred skin, leaving weeping wounds in its wake. The large man fell to his knees shaking and letting out a pained cry as he saw the ruined flesh of his arm. From the fingertips to the shoulder it had varying degrees of damage.

The thudding of feet caught his attention just in time as an ax from one of the survivors came at him, and Eric in his daze followed his base instinct: he raised his arm to try and deflect the blow. Maybe it was a blessing or maybe it was more of a curse, but he had raised his left arm, the burned arm. The ax blade was dull but came down like a hammer, cutting through his skin, smashing through the ulna in his forearm and knocking painfully into his radius, but the bone didn't break. Eric let out another bloodcurdling scream which rose in pitch as the ax was ripped from his arm. The large man fell back and only just managing to raise his shoulder and arm again so that the ax did not strike his head or neck, however this only allowed the weapon to land on his bicep, further injuring the arm. The blade bit deep into the arm and knocked into Eric’s bone.

Maybe it was instinct, an animalistic urge to live, but Eric let out a couple of hard kicks at his attacker which caused him to fall. The attacker fell onto Eric but he also dropped the ax which landed out of reach on the burned stage. The man, now weaponless, grabbed Eric around the throat and started to squeeze hard. In this position, Eric could see the man strangling him and saw a somewhat familiar face that was hidden by severe burns. At this point he was too weak to properly do much of anything to save himself; or so he thought till his hand fell to his side, hitting the grip of the .45 in the hip holster. With a sudden spurt of energy, Eric drew the weapon and fired all eight rounds into the man on top of him.

The attacker jerked and coughed up blood which splattered Eric in the face and then he slumped forward, letting dead weight fall onto him. He froze with the pistol still raised, his hand shaking wildly while he gasped for air. It was only when the orange pony came and knocked the dead man off, that Eric came back to himself and started moving. It was slow and quite painful, but he managed to get to his knees. He looked down at the pony and saw that she had the yellow Pegasus draped over her back but he also saw that she was giving him a somewhat frightful look.

“I-I had to, I had to,” with those words Eric got to his feet and stumbled over to the stairs only to trip and fall down them. He landed on his right side, but it didn’t stop a piercing yell to come out and accompany the other screams of agony filling the air. Eric slowly got back to his feet, though he was visibly swaying and sweat drenched his body, his face pale. Blood leaked from the mangled arm, yet he still moved forward and out of the factory floor only to find that the room leading out was destroyed and debris blocked the exit. Eric turned only he did so too fast, causing him to feel lightheaded, and fell against the wall eliciting a sharp hiss as his back pressed against it. Waiting a second before moving again, he finally gave the factory floor a good look and instantly lost the contents of his stomach. The smell, the sounds, the sights all hit with the force of a truck, causing him to nearly black out.

It was only the thought of getting the two ponies, one of which was looking at him expectantly, to safety that kept him from slipping into the void of unconsciousness. Eric looked around the room trying to find an exit when he realized that the windows were low enough to reach and that a fair few had their glass blown away. He walked over to the nearest window and knocked most of the shards out, then gingerly got to his knees.

“Come on,” he motioned for the orange pony to move forward and she did so, if somewhat reluctantly. Eric made used his good hand as a step which the pony used. It was awkward for them both, the mare’s warm coat brushing against Eric’s face as she used his uninjured shoulder as leverage to get out, all the while balancing the pegasus on her back. Once she was through and out into the cold, Eric followed, though at a much slower pace.

The air was freezing, but the flames that were consuming the building gave light and battled the cold. With the pony in tow, Eric made his way for the sleigh that was still by the door. He moved forward with every intent of getting the ponies under the tarp and to start pulling it home; however, that wasn’t how it was going to go down. No, fate wasn’t done being cruel, not yet.

“Halt, ya piece of shit,” yelled a voice behind the three. Eric did stop and turned to see six men, four of whom had assault rifles while the other two had a melee weapon of some sort, covered in blood and they all had some form of a burn or scorch mark marring them. Eric raised his right arm up a bit in a placating gesture only for the men to raise their rifles. Eric wished he hadn’t agreed to get Rainbow Dash’s friends, but it was too late and he wasn’t going to cry over dying but he also wasn’t going to watch the guns go off and tear into him and the ponies. He let his eyes close only for them to snap open again when a sudden roar and an explosion of snow erupted underneath the six men.

What Eric saw made his eyes bulge, his blood to run cold, and made him wish that the four men had squeezed their triggers. Eric remembered what snow demons meant. They meant Frozen. Standing in the center of the group was one of the monsters. It was one of the many ancient creatures that had awoken fourteen years previously and had caused the cold to descend. It was humanoid in shape except its arms were much too long, reaching its knees, the skin was a mottled grey, blue, and purple. The Frozen was thin, extremely so, with no eyes, ears or nose but it did have a mouth; such a terrible mouth. The orifice was in the center of the head and was large enough to fit a full grown man’s head inside. There were no teeth, but the kind of bite that it delivered was much worse than anything that teeth could ever do. Its very presence caused the fires to freeze, the wind that was blowing to die with a groan, and the temperature dropped as if the air itself perished.

“Run,” and then the human and two ponies ran to his sleigh, adrenaline kicking them into a high gear. While they ran, the Frozen stayed standing, not even looking back at the fleeing creatures. No, its attention was on the six men it had knocked over. The man on its right, one of the two with a melee weapon, stood up and swung at the tall figure which was a mistake. The man should have ran and let the beast kill his fellows. The Frozen’s arm shot out, hitting the man in the throat. The throat immediately crumpled and blood flew from the man’s mouth. He crumpled to the snow.

Another man let loose a few rounds, punching holes into the monster. Unfortunately for him, the rounds had no noticeable effect on the it, it didn't even bleed. It was with an almost lethargic action the Frozen raised its arms and spread them. From them, a sickly black sludge started to come out of its skin, only instead of falling to the snow it rose up much like smoke would. Then the remaining five men were enveloped by the sludgy smoke which caused them to cough and gag, leaving the only opening the beast needed. It moved forward, grabbed one man, and snapped his neck with nothing more than a squeeze, then ripped another man’s head off only to use the head as a club, shattering a fourth man’s lower jaw, then skull. All the while the fifth man was blind due to the tears streaming down his face and deaf because his coughing and gagging. The Frozen grabbed the man by the head, its long fingers encircling it, and started to squeeze. it applied pressure slowly, then suddenly and violently put pounds upon pounds on the poor man's head and it imploded in a shower of blood and brain. It turned and started to take large, almost loping, steps in the direction of the ponies and human.