Author's Note

This chapter includes self harm and graphic violence.

Голодный

Hungry.

The Bat was hungry.

It has its single clawed fingers outstretched, its lips peeled back in a snarl, showing off its fangs, spittle flying out. Its one good eye narrowed in on Silver, its arms outstretched to snag the poor man, drool dripping flying out of its jaws. Silver felt a lightning bolt of fear fly through his system, and although it felt like time had slowed for him, the bat was incredibly fast, and was already upon them. His brain registered the sound of gun fire, it appeared someone had turned their gun on the beast and fired at it, blood spilling out slowly as they fired at the beast, no doubt hitting the beasts belly as bullets flew out the other end.

This was it. Silver was going to die.

He knew it, he could feel it in his belly. The creature was far too fast, he far too slow, his gun not even ready to fire as he was in the middle of raising it. Despite the absolute fear he felt, he saw no lives flashing before his eyes. Nothing of his parents, his ex wife, his child, Spike, Mayor Mare, or anyone. In fact, all he could make out was the horrifying details of the Bats mouth as it drew closer.

Welp...fuck.

However, Silver did not die, as one expected with a several hundred pound bat flying towards him. What did happen was something Silver still struggles to explain to this day, as he was saved by such an unexpected source.

In a blur of fur and claws, the bat was suddenly swiped out of the sky and into the snow, screeching in pain as several long claw marks started to bleed from it. However, despite the bone shattering hit that definitely broke quite a few ribs, the Bat stood back up on all four and screeched angrily at the attacker. Silver turned to see his savior, only to back up with Bright Flare, fear gripping his heart, aiming towards the beast.

This new combatant was a bear, only it was the biggest bear he had ever seen. Its body was rippling with muscles, fur all over except on its back, where the blades and arrows of past meals littered its hide. Its fact had long claw marks on it, and its claws were far longer than normal. The bear stood up on its hind legs, easily standing at twelve feet tall, roaring as it flexed its claws. Silver himself noticed something strange with its paws, though had no time to look closer at it. Silver looked over to see the trio running off into a building, the Bear giving a roar as it smashed its claws into the Bat again.

"Tower is repaired, bossman!" Flare said, before the sound of roars echoed out, making her look over. "What do we do now?"

"I say we fuck off and let these things handle it. We follow that trio and hope to Celestia that they don't do something stupid to the others."

Silver and Bright Flare started walking, only to almost immediately be crushed by the Bear, it falling on its back as the Bat clawed at its face. It roared angrily as it batted away the Bat, rolling over and snarling, drool dripping from its bottom lip as it walked after it, the Bat screeching as it stood back up. Silver grasped Bright Flare and started running, the Bear snarling in anger as it clawed towards the Bat, barely missing as it skittered backwards, screeching and howling at the scarred brute. It took off into the air, Silver smashing through the door with his shoulder, Bright Flare following close behind, getting ready to close the door, though was suddenly pulled back by Silver, who dragged her away at just the right time.

The door smashed inwards, the Bats screeching as the Bears paw was on it, a moment away from crushing Bright Flare. Bright Flare gave a startled gasp, the animals clawing at each other, the bat stabbing its massive claw into the Bears cheek, making it roar in pain and pull back, Silver smashing through a glass door, pulling Flare along, just missing the Bear dragging the Bat back out.

Silver and Bright Flare rounded the corner, only to see Meteor and Steel with their weapons trained on Pretty Penny. Why they were aiming at the woman wasn't answered until she tugged Wave back, her knife pressing against his throat. "Get the fuck away from me!"

"Put the weapon down!" Steel yelled, adjusting his stance a bit.

"HEY!" Silver barked out, the house shaking from the battle outside, pictures falling off the wall, catching everyones attention.

"I don't know if you know if you guys have noticed, but there is two big fuck off animals out there fighting!" Bright Flare aimed around, the sound of a screech piercing through the wall. "So, let's drop this bullshit!"

"She's right." Silver spoke, raising a hand up. "Just drop the boy and we can get out of this, alive, and start threatening each other then."

"No dice, you silver haired fuck." Pretty Penny hissed out, Crystal and Copper backing away from her a bit. "You stay there and the boy doesn't get hurt!"

Wave growled a bit, glaring at the wall, "Why does everyone call me a boy?"

"Shut up, boy." Steel joked, though the house shook again, the man looking around, "But, the boss is right, we should be focusing on the big monsters out there."

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do." Pretty Penny glared at them, her knife pressing against Waves neck, making his hands raise up a bit, "You take a step, I slit his throat. I'll back up and let this kid go once we're outside."

"Uh, Pretty."

"What?!"

"This wasn't the plan." Crystal said, before pointing at the window. "We can just go and leave these guys, they clearly don't want to hurt us."

"Now hold on a minute, they know about the dragon!" Copper said, before pointing at them, "They can track us back."

"Dragon?" Wave asked, though he was jostled a bit when Pretty hissed at him.

"I told you to shut up, boy." She looked back at Copper, "You're sure?"

"Spike." Silvers eyes hardened, before his hand glowed a silver aura, "His name...is Spike."

"Oh fuck..." Crystal said, before she turned to Copper and said, "We should...go now."

"Seconded."

"Both of you shut the fuck up." Pretty snapped at them, the house shaking again as she stared at them. "Yeah, Spike. What, you his dad or something? He a half breed? Saw a big lizard and decide regular girls weren't good enough?"

"Something like that..."

"Pretty, I really would not fuck with the guy claiming to be a Canterlot Guard."

"Sir?" Steel glanced at the two inching towards the door, his weapon still trained on Pretty Penny. "What do we do?"

Silver just stared at the trio. Well, his gaze hardened when it landed on Pretty Penny, making her stare back at him, the only sound was the breathing through filters, Meteor adjust a bit. He was about to open his mouth to shout an order, though it seemed the universe had other plans.

The wall exploded, the Bat giving a screech as it was sent out the other wall. The action had nearly crushed Penny and Wave, Penny letting go of the younger man. He scrambled away, grasping his shotgun and giving it a pump, seeing the shell still in there, before aiming out at where the wall used to be, the face of the Bear poking through, glaring at the Bat. The Bat itself was in awful shape, long claw marks across its chest, blood spilling out of its mouth and nose, with heavy bruising across its belly, chest, and one of its shoulders.

The Bear gave a short roar, walking towards the Bat...only to have a crossbow bolt imbed itself into the Bears arm, making it peel its lips back in an aggressive snarl, shooting its head towards the aggressor; Copper, who was busy trying to push another bolt into his weapon. Crystal and Pretty Penny gave a startled sound as the Bear ignored the others and smashed another wall with its arm, slowly walking on all fours towards them. Crystal took initiative, throwing a bright spell into the Bears face, making it roar as it was blinded, taking a few steps back.

Crystal grabbed Copper, running out of the wall, Penny closely following behind, the Bear shaking its head as its ears flicked to and fro. It roared in anger as its vision returned, smashing back through the wall and chasing after the trio, huffing loudly, blood dripping from its body. Silver watched the beast leave, giving a grunt as he charged his magic in his hand, running after it.

"Where is he going?!" Wave asked in a panic, making the others follow Silver. The Bat gave a hiss as it stood up, then started to weakly wobble its way out of the wall it was planted into. It watched the group, then hissed as it looked at its wounds, then looking at the group again.

It could go hungry for a few days. No prey was worth this much trouble.

"Silver!" Meteor yelled after Silver, who kept running, the magic in his hand glowing brighter and brighter, ignoring the clicking coming from his gauntlet. He watched the Bear chase after the trio, before throwing his hand out, a fireball exploding outwards. Ot smashed into the Bears paw, making it look back and roar, but not slow down, continuing on towards the trio. They were closer, easier prey.

Silver watched as the Teio entered the house, the Bear seconds behind, smashing into it, Silver bringing his Sweeper up and firing into the beasts back. Its fur and skin was far too thick, the bullets landed but did nothing to slow the beast down, bullets digging themselves into its skin just seemed to make it angrier.

It finally smashed into the building, and Silver stopped in his tracks, hearing yelling echo out. He sighed loudly, seeing the Bear slam its claws into Copper, the man screaming in agony, firing another crossbow bolt into the bears shoulder, making it roar in his face. The Bear pulled its claws out of his belly, then slashed across his stomach, spilling his intestines on the ground, bisecting the poor man and sending his upper half into the wall. It gave a huff, before screaming caught his attention, the Bear turning and giving a low bark as his eyes settled on Pretty Penny.

"FUCK YOU, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" She screamed at the Bear, firing a full magazine into the Bears side. The Bear smashed its paw into the woman, making her smash into some furniture, coughing loudly as she lost her breath. The Bear lifted onto its hind paws, snorting loudly as it peered down at her, the woman coughing up blood as she tried standing up. "S-suck my fucking di -"

The Bear brought its paws down, smashing her into the floor of the house, blood and a limb exploding outwards, painting the walls and Crystal Clear in blood. She didn't react when seeing the Bear turn to her, she sighed, before saying, "I always knew I'd die like this...though, the Bear is new." She adjusted the rifle, pushing the barrel against her chin, before pulling the trigger, painting the wall behind her in her own gray matter, ending her own life there. The Bear walked over, brushing its claws against the womans corpse, lowering down and grabbing it in his jaws. The Bear shook, before walking through the ruined walls, taking the corpse of Crystal as food, blood dripping from the wounds on its body.

Silver dropped to his knees, giving a loud yell of anger, "CELESTIA DAMN IT!" Steel was the first to run past Silver, before suddenly taking a step back, giving a grunt as he resisted the urge to vomit at the sight. Meteor walked over to Silver, seeing Steel shake his head. She sighed and looked at Silver, peering up to see the Bear wandering off with his kill, ignoring the group.

Wave ran up, resting his hands on his knees and leaning over as he tried to catch his breath, "Why...why were we...oh Luna, my chest...why were we chasing the Bear?"

"We weren't. Silver was trying to stop it from tearing apart the only lead we had to Spike." Steel said, before giving a grunt as he walked back over to Silver, kneeling down next to him. "Well, we know Spike is alive."

"And that he's captured." Bright Flare added, making Silver grunt, standing back up, sighing a bit as he saw the blood splattered on the walls. "Which is not good."

"Why would they have Spike captured?" Wave asked, having finally caught his breath, "And why do we have to do so much running?"

Silver sat there in silence, not registering any words, before he felt Meteors hand on his shoulder, making him look up at her. "Sir...we need to find cover and check our supplies, then head to the settlement. If they have Spike, we can free him."

Silver nodded and stood up, before checking his counter, hearing it scream at him in irs clicking voice as he stepped closer to the house, before backing away, giving a loud grumble as he started to make his way back up the hill. He was getting too old for this shit.

"Let's go to the next settlement. Hopefully it's just a misunderstanding we can clear up."

Spike stared at the boats in front of him. Boats. Boats. underground. Not only that, but in a river. Spikes eyes narrowed as he looked down the tunnel, sniffing the air a bit, before looking over to see a waterfall in the distance. He looked back to see Sand panting loudly as she heaved herself up the stairs. She stopped on the final step, panting loudly as she looked around, her eyes scanning the area around them, before Spike tapped her shoulder with something. She looked over to see his canteen, Spike giving a soft, warm smile, one which made Sands heart flutter, before she took it and gulped down until she was satisfied.

"Thanks." She breathlessly stated, making Spike shrug a bit, taking the canteen out of her hand.

"No biggie."

In truth, in this frozen area they called home, such a thing meant much more nowadays. Starvation would be common place, were it not for magic, and clean water was rare, worth more than the largest, shiniest gems you could fit onto a ring nowadays. What Spike had done made Sand think about him a bit, perhaps changing her view on the young man.

"So, why are we taking the river?"

"Well, unless you want to backtrack down the stairs -"

"Please, no more stairs."

"- and into a tunnel about an hours walk back there, I suggest we take the boats. I can row while you keep watch with your new rifle. This should run parallel to the settlement, so we can get off downstream and hoof it to the next settlement."

"Why do you get to row?"

"Sand." Spike began, before looking back at her, quirking an eyebrow, asking, "Do you want to hold the gun, or row the boat?"

"Maybe it's better if you have the gun, I suck at aiming." Sand admitted, before Spine gave a soft smile towards her. "I mean, sure, the rifle is slower firing and better at aiming, and I haven't rowed a boat since I was a little girl, so I am probably awful at both options, but -" Spike cut her off by placing a hand on her shoulder, giving her a soft, warm smile, before speaking a single sentence which cut her excuse in half.

"I have faith in you."

Sand stood there in stunned silence, seeing Spike climb into the boat. He set his bag in the boat, adjusting his weapons as he slid them into place. However, he kept his snapper at the ready, just in case. Don't misunderstand Spike, he absolutely believed in Sand, but she was just one woman with a rifle. It never hurts to have back up. Sand, however, was still stunned by his words, seeing Spike hold out a hand to her, which Sand immediately took, the dragonblood helping her in with no issues. She sat in the front, whilst Spike untied the boat, climbing in and pushing away from the dock, slowly rowing down the river.

"How is a river even down here?" Sand asked to herself, but Spike still decided to answer, his inner Twilight poking out.

"There are plenty of ways for water to get underground. Frost from the snow melting, underground aquifers, sometimes even rivers from above falling into caves." Spike explained whilst he rowed, not noticing the look Sand gave to him, her eyebrow quirking in curiosity.

"How do you know that off the top of your head?"

"My sister was the librarian." Spike said, looking around, listening carefully as they went through the cave.

"Wait...you're Princess Twilights little brother? The savior of the Crystal Empire? The one who proved that Changelings could be good?" Spike looked at her, giving a shy smile, before returning back to rowing down the river, his eyes scanning the walls around them. There seemed to be some sort of growth along them, making Spike raise an eyebrow at such odd shapes. "Does that make you...some sorta dragon prince?"

"Not exactly...though I was the Dragon Lord for all of about two minutes though." Spike said, though he mumbled the last part to himself. Sand, however, still heard it, gasping a bit. She opened her mouth to say something, only to spot a glow ahead of them.

"What's that?" Spike sped up his rowing a bit, before pushing them around a rock, their eyes adjusting as they came across such a strange sight. "Spike, is that - are those...?"

"Glow worms." Spike confirmed, giving a soft smile. They watched as the caverns opened up above them, the blues and greens of the glow worms tails illuminating the path for them, their bioluminescence calming to Spike and Sand. They paddled underneath, the beetles seeming to glow brighter as they paddled past them. The soft glow illuminated the walls around them, showing off the work of millions of years, strange patterns of beauty carving down the walls.

They were truly lucky to see such beautiful things, people had gone their entire lives without seeing such wonders, and in the back of their minds, they knew this. They exchanged no words, however, as nothing needed to be said, they simply were there, enjoying the glow of these little bugs. They finally passed them, the sound of clicking smashing through the peaceful moment they had. Spike looked at his gauntlet, peering at the geiger counter, watching it go haywire. Spike scrambled for his mask, Sand following suite and tugging her on. Hers was less bulky than Spikes, who was adjusting his helmet to strap his onto place, and easily slipped on. The filter was smaller and easier to fit on, but she would have less time to breathe than he would, which meant Spike had to hurry.

He started paddling faster, hearing his geiger counter click every so often. He perked up when he heard a splash behind them, looking back, Sand adjusting her rifle and aiming around, her eyes narrowing a bit. When they saw a rock tumble down from the ceiling and create another splash, Sand visible relaxed, though Spike just kept paddling, his eyes scanning around.

"So...what's it like to be a brother to a famous princess?" Spike shrugged, making Sand look back at him, continuing, "I mean, gotta get some ladies being the brother of a princess. Or dudes, ya know, I'm not judging."

"Yeah, I looked like a thirteen year old until last year, so prospects were pretty slim. And those who were interested in me before then usually had an eye kept on them." Spike spoke, his voice muffled through the mask, scanning the waterline, pushing against a rock to not smack into it, his paddles pushing them forward.

"End of the world, girls already outnumbered the guys before hand, prospects must have been pretty good." Sand ventured, making Spike stare at her.

"Why are we talking about this?"

"Just passing the time with small talk." Spike hummed a bit, staring at her, unconvinced by her probing questions. "So...why did you -"

Spike interrupted Sand immediately, "I don't go for kidnappers who shock the daylights out of me to try and use me as a toy for more kids. And I definitely don't go for royals who torture people just to try and take me home."

Sand gave a soft noise, the boat finally falling under a silence. Spike was rather happy the conversation ended, whilst Sand was trying to find something to say. She finally found her voice, speaking, "I'm sorry..." Spike perked up a bit, before Sand continued, "You don't deserve any of this. You're just a boy trying to survive...sure, a dragon, but you gotta deal with the same shit as us." Sand then adjusted a bit, then corrected, "Well, most of us don't have to worry about two bitches trying to get in our pants while commanding armed forces, but you get the point."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

They sat in silence after that, Spike scanning around whilst he rowed, Sand watching, rifle held at the ready. Spike had continued to row them, before seeing snow drift downwards in front of them, Spike giving the flake a confused look, pushing them around the corner.

Snow? Underground?

Spike pushed them further, Sand giving a gasp as they rounded the corner, Spike eyes widening at the sight before them; the body of a hydra. Whether or not if it was the one at Froggy Bottom Bog was debatable, as Spike could only see two out of four head. One of its heads was so mangled, skull smashed to pieces half of its face torn away. Another neck was a bloody stump, a third and fourth weren't visible, as half of its body was submerged in the water, whilst the other half was clearly scavenged, flesh ripped away and bones visible. Spikes eyes narrowed as they paddled around the giant, Sand looking up to see the sky, clouds smothering the sky.

"Sweet Celestia, how heavy is this thing to just fall into the caves?"

"I'm more worried about what killed it."

Another splash echoed out, Spike twirling around, his eyes scanning the waters, seeing them disturbed. Sand was too busy to hear the sound, staring up in wonder at the carcass, Spike giving a grunt as he jostled the boat a bit, speeding up. "Hey! What gives?!"

"We're being watched." This made Sand peer around, adjusting her grip on the rifle.

"You sure?" The boat rocked again, though this time it wasn't Spike who did it, Sand aiming around as she saw a flash of something in the inky black waters. "Uh...how much further until we make it to the door?"

"We won't make it to the door if it decides to attack, so I will keep an eye out for some place for us to hop off, you just keep this thing off of us." Spike said as he started paddling again, hearing water shift around them, his pupils turning into slits as he started rowing back into the caves, ignoring the howling winds and the snow covered carcass of the hydra.

Spike watched the waves start shifting towards the boat, letting go of the paddles and reaching for his Snapper. The thunder of a gun smashed through the snow and wind, a round punching into the water. The creature was hit, giving a screech as it sunk into the water, a pool of blood following it, Sand giving an excited shout as it sank deeper, "I HIT IT! I FUCKIN GOT YOU, CUNT!"

The celebration was short lived, as she was nearly sent overboard by the boat rocking again, a tail slapping against the boat, the blood pool moving around them. Spike pulled his masked off, taking a deep breath, before blasting the water with his flames. Although the flames would not hit the animal, it did heat up the water to a near boiling point, chasing the creature away. Spike ignored the shocked look of Sand as he started paddling again, giving a loud exhale out, smoke spilling out of his mouth.

"How did you -"

"I'm a dragon. I can breathe this stuff, you can't. Now, keep an eye out, the light show won't drive that thing off forever." Spike barked out, pushing further into the tunnel. Right on queue, a loud hiss echoed out as Spike turned back, not slowing his rowing down, trying to examine the creature.

It was far too large, though not large enough to swallow the boat, it would cause some serious damage. The creature itself looked like a pike, however, its front fins were far too pronounced and its jaws held way too many teeth, some tumors running along its back and its back itself was split open, showing off muscle and bone, its scales clearly having ripped apart thanks to the muscle growth. On its back was a bullet hole, still leaking blood as it swam toward them, giving a pained sound as it swam into the boiling waters, pausing for a moment.

Spike felt a soft feeling of sadness seeing the fish, watching it open its jaws at them, hissing loudly. It was clearly in so much pain, and all they did was add to it. Spike shook those thoughts from his head, ignoring the little Fluttershy in his head as he looked around, another thunderous shot echoing out, making the creature screech at them. It started to brave through the boiling waters and swim towards them, jaws extended. It smashed into the boat, teeth poking holes into it as it grabbed a hold and shook the boat, jostling them around, Sand aiming her weapon and firing at the beast, though the jostling made her miss, a the pike only becoming more determined as it shook them harder. Spike, feeling a little queasy by being jostled around so much, decided he had enough and took his snapper out and started firing at the pike.

Once. Twice. Thrice. After a fourth shot it finally let go, water spilling into the boat as its teeth finally slid out, the pike swimming around, Spike sliding his snapper back into its holster, peering around, his eyes scanning the darkness. He slid his mask back on, before paddling towards a random direction, Sand adjusting, loading another round into her rifle, firing again.

Spike suddenly pulled on his backpack, giving a pained snarl as his back jerked outwards, his clothes shifting a bit, exposing skin to the cold air. Sand looked at Spike, the pike taking the moment to rush forward, using its front fins to launch itself out of the water, Spikes spike splitting apart to form scales. Spike shot his hand out, grabbing the pikes lower jaw, its teeth shattering upon coming into contact with Spikes hand, though it didn't register it was in pain as it kept trying to bite into Spikes scaled hand.

His back shifted again, Spike giving a scream of agony as he threw the pike back into the water, the fish was stunned for a few precious moments as Spikes back erupted outwards. However, instead of blood, a massive burst of steam erupted outwards, alone with two massive, leathery masses fanning themselves out, Sand staring in wonder as the shadow overtook her.

Wings.

Spike had wings.

He flapped them once, the water around them splashing around from the massive gust of wind, Spike shaking himself as his hands shifted back, panting, steam spilling from his mouth as his tail whipped around. He looked at Sand, who was staring awestruck at him, before he suddenly grabbed her, ignoring her yelp and launching them off the boat. The boat itself was suddenly smashed by the pike, turning into splinters, Spike flapping his wings once as he started to glide deeper into the tunnel.

Sand gripped onto his armored shirt, the mask hiding her crazy grin as he flapped his wings, banking down the tunnel, his bag jostling a bit as they banked another corner. Spike spotted a glint as he passed by, using his arms to clutch Sand tighter to him. He suddenly flared his wings out, flapping them a few times to slow them down, using his wings as an air break, a sort of wings suit.

No. A parachute more like.

Spike dropped Sand onto solid ground - beautiful, wonderful solid ground in Sands humble opinion - Spike suddenly dropping down next to her, flapping to try and slow himself down. He suddenly slammed into the ground, rolling a few times, before shooting his wings out, the single clawed fingers on his wings smashing into the ground, digging deep grooves into the stone as he slowed himself down. When he finally stopped, he stood up, his eyes glowing in the low light, Spike flaring his wings out and shaking the dirt and dust off of himself, Sands eyes rolling over his figure.

Any other time, in the low light, Spike may have even been mistaken as a demon from the deepest pits of Tartarus. However, in Sands eyes, the boys massive draconic wings were almost like that of an angels, and the green eyeshine was a faint showing of what his soul held - a bright future. Not just for her, but for everyone who welcomed in.

"Sand, are you okay?"

She blinked those thoughts out of her head, shakily standing to her legs, wiping some dust off of herself, giving a hidden grin underneath her mask. "Other than almost becoming lunch for that thing...I was just swept off my feet by a hunk with wings. I think I am living everyones fantasy right now." Spike rolled his eyes at this, before Sand walked forward, Spike was careful to adjust his wings, folding them against his back as he pulled his backpack off, his claws hooked themselves around himself, creating a scaled cloak. Sand walked towards him and rested a hand on his cloaked shoulder, watching him stop and look at her. "Are...are you okay?"

Spike thought about it for a moment; was he okay? His back ached and likely would for several hours, and he hadn't used his wings him months. The skybloods thought they had it bad, but at least they didn't have to shift their wings out as kids and learn to control them. That was a tough time for Spike. At least he had the girls to help him out then.

Sand wasn't asking that though, she was asking if he was okay.

"No...but, I will be." Spike answer honestly, before pulling his mask off. "Your filter is about to run out, and judging by its looks, you got a minute or two left. Here." Spike pulled his filter out, before replacing it with a new one, holding it out to Sand, making Sand peer down at him. She took a deep breath, before pulling her mask off. She grasped his, then pulled it on, adjusting the straps to make it fit on her face. He stood back up, before looking back at the river, hearing splashing coming closer. "Find the door. Quickly."

Sand walked along the wall, her hands grasping in the darkness. Spike pulled out his shotgun out, his wings adjusting and flaring out. "Saaaaaand." He gritted his fangs as the waves came closer and closer. Not unlike a pterosaur, he folded his wings inwards and pressed the claws on the ground, anchoring himself as he took aim. "SAND!"

"KEEP YOUR WINGS IN PLACE, NOT EVERYONE CAN SEE IN THE DA - oh, found it!" She wrapped her hands around a door handle...only for the door to explode outwards, narrowly missing Sand as the massive claws of a Mutt erupted outwards and buried themselves into the stone. "SPIKE!"

Spike twirled around, seeing the Mutt bark angrily as it grasped at the metal railing, pushing it into the water, though Spikes right wing reeled back, before smashing into the Mutt, sending it flying away from Sand. Spike fires a shell into the beast whilst it was down, the dazed creature roaring as blood spilled, Spike pumping the boomstick, a shell flying out, another shell rotating into place, taking aim and firing once again, the Mutt screeching at him as it was sent scrambling back. He pumped the boomstick again, another shell rotating into place, the revolving shell flying out as he glared at the Mutt.

It stood back up, blood spilling from its wounds, Sand scrambling next to Spike as he glared at the beast, his wings flaring out instinctively to protect Sand. The splashing was louder, though Sand only watched at the pike zoomed past them, launching itself out of the water and snapping its jagged fangs into the arm of the Mutt, which yelped in surprise. Spike too this moment to pull three shells out, clicking them into place as he watched the pikes find grab onto the ground, then drag the Mutt into the water, the two bleeding beasts disappearing in a pool of blood and inky black waters.

Spike watched as the blood continued to drift upwards, Sand sliding her bolt back to load another round in, before pointing to the door with her gun, "Maybe...you should take point."

"Good idea." Spike mumbled back, his barrel still smoking as he folded his wings behind himself, "It would be better to get away from the water."

Cherry slept in the chair, a Stetson on her head as she crossed her arms, her legs crossed as well. Had someone looked at her in the moment, they would have mistaken her as an old sheriff in a western movie. Though, one would not fault her for sleeping, as she was still healing from her wounds from the other day, though she was lucky, just a few deep bruises and cuts across her belly and chest. That being said, her body still needed to repair itself, and that took a lot of energy. The shirt she wore was just a faded old band shirt - something she had been into during her early twenties - that happened to fit. All in all, quite the peaceful scene...were it not for the radio suddenly sputtering the life, making the woman jump in her chair and fall backwards, smacking her head against something.

Cherry ignored the pain on her head and set the stetson off of her head, picking up the headset and sliding the headphones on, listening intently. She could just barely hear a voice, fiddling with the volume before finally getting it right, the fears in her chest suddenly dying down at the voice, "I repeat, this is Caverns Alpha to Cherry Blossom, are you reading me?"

"We read ya loud and clear, Caverns Alpha. And might I say it is a blessin to hear ya voice again." Cherry responded back, leaning back in her chair. She looked over to see a cup of water, forgotten whilst she slept, taking a big gulp before speaking, "I see ya figured out the issue with the tower."

A new voice popped in, older, one she instantly recognized, "That we did, Cherry Blossom. Any word from Caverns Actual?"

"Not a peep, but I assume they'll have their ears on soon enough." Cherry sat up, smiling a bit, "Ya heard from Spike yet, Silver?"

There was a pause.

An uncomfortable one.

"Silver?"

"We think we know where Spike is." The voice finally spoke, Cherry getting the same sinking feeling in her gut as she looked around.

"I'm sensin a 'but' in that sentence..."

"He's been captured by some unknown character. Goes by the name of Mama." Cherry sat back, giving the radio a shocked look. As though it was an actual vision of Cherry it was broadcasting, Silver continued, "Cherry Blossom? Cherry Blossom, do you know this...Mama?"

Cherry Jubilee was shaken out of her thoughts by a hand, looking up to see Stone standing there, a cup of coffee in her hands. The woman was still in her gear, which may have worked in her favor as she saw the look on Cherrys face. "Y-yeah, I know her...Silver, ya need to get Spike out, now."

"We were planning on it, we need to -"

"No, Silver, you need to GET Spike OUT! The bitch is ten tons of crazy in a five pound sack. If half tha stories I've heard about her are true, then ya need to get goin!" Cherry leant forward, giving a grunt as she stood up, "And don't ya worry about the Caverns none, I'll take care of that." She looked over to see Stone shifting a bit in her seat.

"So...how bad is this...Mama?" Stone asked, making Cherry stare at her.

"Let's just say I'd rather mud wrestle an adult manticore than talk to her."

Mayor Mare watched the clock tick by, rhythmically drumming her fingers along the desk. Today had been a rather quiet day, and whole she rather enjoyed quiet days, she had to admit she was missing a certain someone. She looked over to see an empty chair that Spike would sit at when he visited her, her eyes turning soft as she remembered he would sit there and just talk to her, bothering he while she got paperwork done. Although she found it quite distracting, she could never be angry at the lad, as she secretly enjoyed that time.

Then she remembered the day he had shot up to be taller than hee. She would tease him by saying something like, "You'll always be my little Spikey-wikey" or making him lean down so she could kiss his forehead or cheeks in front of others. She sighed softly as she missed seeing the blush he would give when she praised him or how shy he acted when someone flirted with him.

She'll be honest, she may not have been his mother, but she certainly was missing him like he was her own son.

She decided to stand up and walk away from her desk, some "fresh air" would do her good. She walked over to her door, opening it, and walking out, closing it behind her. Had she stayed for another ten seconds, she would have been interrupted by a Thunderlane, running in with a frantic look in his eyes. He looked all around the room, before looking back out, jogging away from the door, looking around for Mayor Mare.

The Big One was lying against a wall, bleeding against it. The wind and snow made it hard to watch as the Big One looked upwards, the final man falling, blood erupting from his nose, eyes and ears. The man fell down, gun lying on his side, the Big One lying there, staring upwards as it clutched the wounds on its body. The Big One looked around at the group of men that had ambushed them, the second group to do so that day, and leant backwards, clutching one of its many wounds. It heard whimpering next to it, the Big One looking down to see a shape form against the snow, far too small for a man, scuttling towards him. It pressed his hand against one of its wounds, the Big One giving a sigh as it watched the little one uselessly try to plug up the hole. "Я не могу остановить кровотечение." the Little One said, pulling its hands away as the Big One grasped onto its hand. The Little One grabbed the Big Ones hand and nuzzled into it, sniffling a bit as teared well into its eyes.

"Не волнуйся. Я сделал свою работу, теперь ты должен делать свою." The Big One replied, squeezing the Little Ones hand. It then adjusted a bit, breaths coming out as shallow wheezes as blood pooled around it. "Ты помнишь дорогу?"

"Да."

"Не теряй веры, дитя мое. Просто помогите дракону пройти его путь, и вы оба получите желаемое." The Big One wheezed out, gently cupping the Little Ones cheek. Slowly, its hand became limp, the Little One holding it for a few more moments, knowing its father was gone. The Little One stood up, looking around, before nodding to itself.

"I have to find Spike."