The Little Blue Pony Book Series. Book Title: Anna and the Dragon

“In front of you are photographs from both the air and from strategic points above the twisted river valley. You will notice in the photographs that there are no pictures of a dragon. However there have been eye­-witnesses that have reported sightings. Also if you look in this one photograph you will see a wisp of smoke which has no reasonable explanation on why it is there in the sky? Many who have viewed the photograph believe it is the smoke left over from a dragon breathing fire.” Ozzy took a deep breath and looked at those sitting at the table. “As the official in charge of Castle Candi security I am proclaiming a dragon alert: code blue. That is the medium level security alert which can go to one more level which is red. Blue is a “dragon watch” alert. If it goes to red, the alert becomes a “dragon warning”. “So you are saying you do believe there is a dragon in Magicland, specifically the Castle Candi region?” Anna asked. Splash nudged Anna and stuck his very soft little nose against her neck. She felt it wrinkle against her skin and then the soft, warm exhale of his breath which made her giggle. “Something funny Anna?” Ozzy asked. “No, I’m sorry. I think Splash was just letting me know he is ready to go out on patrol again. To keep looking for signs of the dragon.” Anna replied . “Perhaps that would be a good idea.” Ozzy replied. “Take these two Dodo birds with you.” He made a motion in the direction of Buzzy and Dan. “Feel free to keep them with you as long as possible.” “Will do sir!” Anna replied. “Come on you two. We need you for the first rule in tracking something that can possibly eat you.” “What’s that?” Buzzy asked. “Well you know how Splash can fly faster than either of you two? Anna asked with a big smile. “No argument there.” Dan jumped in to say. . Anna laughed. “Well it’s easy to figure. We don’t know for sure how fast the dragon can fly, right?” She didn’t wait for a reply. “But what we do know is that we can fly faster than you two, so if the dragon shows up. We don’t have to fly faster than him, just so we fly faster than you two.” “Very funny.” Dan and Buzzy both said at the same time. The group of four headed out of Castle Candi and flew into the blue sky overhead. Across the sky the four went. When they got up high they spread out to cover more ground. It wasn’t very long before Anna and Splash had spotted something that caught their interest. Buzzy and Dan flew along behind, each wondering what it was that caught the little blue pony’s attention. Down below there was a group of kids all sitting around eating what looked like cake and ice cream. As they got closer they could see the cake had birthday candles on it. The group landed near the party and Anna walked up to one of the parents in charge of the party. “Looks like a birthday party?” Anna asked. “Yes ma’am young lady.” The father said. “We have plenty. Please join us.” “That would be wonderful but only if we can offer a birthday present. We would be happy to provide rides on my pony for the kids. Do you think they would like that? Anna asked. The father looked very happy. “That would be wonderful. We couldn’t really afford to get any sort of entertainment for the party. To be upfront we didn’t bring any gifts. It was all we could do to afford the cake and ice cream. So if you gave them rides it would turn this lame birthday party into one that really was fun for the kids.” “Our pleasure.” Anna replied. The kids lined up and Anna began taking them for rides on Splash. She walked the beautiful little blue pony around in circles giving each kid a turn to ride. Dan and Buzzy took turns flying and doing tricks in the air which also was a crowd pleaser. There was a moment of drama when one of Buzzy’s tricks caused him to fly into Dan while he was doing one of his tricks. Feathers went flying in all directions. Dan hollered at Buzzy who in turn yelled at Dan. They stopped yelling at each other when they noticed they had lost so many feathers that their underwear was showing. That was when they stopped fighting with each other and began to point and laugh at each other. After losing the feathers it gave the appearance that both had lost their pants. They looked down and saw their scrawny bird legs were exposed. The crowd started laughing and gave a cheer. Both gave a big smile to the crowd and then they shuffled off to hide in the bushes until they could get their feathers arranged back so it looked like they had pants.
The day passed with the kids having the time of their lives riding the beautiful blue pony with the white trim mane, tail and socks. Splash kept it up without any breaks and was very patient with the children. When one kid was being put on his back, Splash would snuggle up to the next kid in line and crunch that soft little nose against their neck. Laughter would erupt. Even the parents got a little love from the little pony. Afternoon phased into evening. Everyone cleaned up after themselves and it was getting near dark when Anna and her friends said their good-byes to the kids and their parents. The group was in the air flying back toward Castle Candi when they saw a flash of fire from the other side of the sky. “I don’t think that was lightning!” Dan exclaimed. “Neither do I.” Anna replied. “You and Buzzy go ahead and continue flying back to the castle. Splash and I will go have a look. We won’t be long.” “Okay.” Dan replied. “Please be careful. If it does turn out to be something, do not get too close!” “He’s right!” Buzzy chimed in. “If you won’t let us come too, then at least be extra smart about how you check out the flash.” “You have my promise.” Anna replied. “I doubt it is anything. We may not even be able to find the location unless there is another flash of light.” Buzzy said what the others were thinking. “Or flash of fire. If you see its fire then you have to be really smart about getting closer. Just because we can’t see in the dark doesn’t mean the dragon won’t be able.” Anna paused, obviously thinking about what Buzzy had said. “You make a great point my little feathered friend.” She turned Splash so he was pointed in the opposite direction of where the four had been headed. “Thank you for reminding me, … er I mean us, that the other side might have abilities which we do not.” “You can thank me by heeding my suggestions.” Dan replied. “Count on it.” Anna replied. Then she gave Splash a little prod with her feet and the two went from hovering to flashing across the sky. Anna held on tight remembering what the leprechaun had said, way back when he first met Anna and loaned Splash to her. He told her to hold on tight when flying at night because Splash might not be able to see her in the dark if she fell off. If Splash couldn’t see her then he couldn’t fly down and catch her before she hit the ground. As such the two seldom chose to fly at night but they still did whenever the situation called for it. Suddenly there was a flash of fire so close it almost burned Splash. However the little blue pony with the white mane, tail and socks, was too agile to be caught. Splash did a sideways move that allowed him and his rider to avoid the fire hitting them straight on. As they were jutting off in that sideways fall there came another flash of fire. This time it illuminated the night sky enough so that Anna and Splash could see they had not been the target. Instead they could see it was the Geese Police patrol squad that was getting burnt. Many cooked geese fell out of the sky. Residents of the area started arriving with torches and some had flashlights. All of the people could be seen rushing around. They were seeking the cooked geese that fell to the ground. It was a bonanza of food for the poor people that lived in the area. Anna and Splash watched the people gather up the cooked geese while waiting to see if whatever caused the fire; would return. When it became hard to find any more of the cooked geese the crowd went home. When there was nobody left searching, the two friends left the area and returned back to Castle Candi. It was the middle of the night by the time they arrived so they went right to sleep. The next morning the sun was again shining. Anna left Splash to find Ozzy. She needed to report what they had encountered the night before. “I’m very familiar with that area.” Ozzy said. “It is where Twisted River widens out and the current slows down. If you happen to take Dan with you; he can show you the way if you describe the spot.” Ozzy kind of rolled his eyes while adding, “because as you know he is a dam duck. As such he actually does know a little more about the waterways than most. I mean, … if you think you might have trouble finding the spot. Things can look different in the dark than in the daylight.” Anna paused a split-second seeming to give thought to what she had just been told. Then she said, “Well there is still time to catch some sleep before the morning light. We shall do that and then decide tomorrow what our next move will be. That said, I imagine we will go back to the spot where the Geese Police were ambushed and collect what clues there may be. If we get really lucky we might run into a local farmer that has knowledge to help our cause. Or the dragon may actually show up again. You can never know for sure until you actually get out there and check things out.” “Quite a dent in the armor.” Buzzy exclaimed. “Losing almost an entire squad. The Geese Police will be extra nasty in the coming days. It is still being investigated but unless somebody comes up with some sort of physical evidence there will be no official statement announcing that a fire-breathing dragon is on the loose in the kingdom. If that is the case then the squad leaders will be looking to hang the ambush on the first available scapegoat. I’d hate to be in those shoes.” Dan gave an audible sigh and said, “Yeah right. A valued citizen such as a buzzard is always the first choice by the Geese Police to carry the blame. I’m the one that should be worrying. Common sense dictates that a buzzard is too … well I am inclined to use the word stupid but I will be generous and say focused: to be spending time organizing an attack at night against a squadron of battle-tested snow geese. Using the equivalent of a flame-thrower to carry out the ambush. No, that would take the kind of intelligence and inside-knowledge that you get when you involve a dam duck.” “If I hear about how superior a dam duck is: one more time I think I will blow dead carcass chunks. It is hard enough getting dead carcass to stay down when everything is good. I sure don’t need it to interfere with my digestion and I already have butterflies in my stomach from the thought of getting barbecued by a dragon! So just shut your flapping beak!” Buzzy exclaimed with frustration. “Sorry Buzzy. I was brought up to be proud of the fact I am a duck. Old habits die hard.” Dan said. “I wouldn’t worry too much. It is unlikely a dragon would waste its firey-breath on killing a buzzard and duck. Perhaps if there were fifty of us.” “All the same.” Buzzy replied.
When the morning sun began to peek through the darkness it began the task of warming everything. A process which is slow in the beginning but that continues to gain momentum throughout the day. Anna dumped out the school books in her backpack to make room for whatever they might find when they visited the spot where they saw the fire flash and the Geese Police fall victim. There may even be a burnt body remaining that the people didn’t find. It might lend evidence that there was actually a dragon in the sky. The two took off to find that spot. Buzzy and Dan had been keeping an eye on Anna and Splash in case they decided to not include them. They were right. Anna and Splash took off into the sky not bothering to tell their friends where they were going. Buzzy and Dan flew along behind them at a slower pace but were able to keep them in sight. A few minutes after Splash had set down on the ground came the sound of bickering as Dan and Buzzy came flying in. “If I had any brains at all I would have left you behind.” Dan was saying to Buzzy. “If you had any brains at all you would have chosen to be something besides a dam duck that thinks he’s much more important than he really is. For your information, nobody cares where there are bodies of water besides ducks. Big surprise!” Buzzy countered. “And if you had any brains you wouldn’t have chosen to be buzzard but if you had you would have been smart enough to shave your backside and learn to walk backwards so people would think you just had a crooked smile and bad breath instead of being as ugly as you are.” Dan replied. “Boys! Enough already. To be fair you both would look hilarious if you shaved your backsides and learned to walk backwards. That would be a crooked smile I would welcome and laugh at every time I saw them.” Anna said laughingly. Both Dan and Buzzy shut up and looked at each other as if trying to imagine the other in such a manner. Dan broke the silence. “Moving forward, have you found anything yet?” “No we arrived just ahead of you. But then I imagine you know that. Everybody spread out and look around. We’re looking for anything burnt or that might be evidence of a dragon.” Anna replied. “Why are the Geese Police flying around so close to Castle Candi anyways? When we defeated the Dark Queen wasn’t that enough to discourage their presence in these parts?” Dan asked. “Simple. After Splash used his magic to create a no-fly zone around Castle Candi the Geese Police found out and began to patrol the area outside the no-fly zone. It’s too bad that Splash didn’t have to power to create a no-fly zone around all of Magicland but he just didn’t have it. You know the rule that nature hates it when there is a absence in the cloth of life so it was not a surprise when the Geese Police decided to take over the territory previously governed by the Dark Queen. What is a surprise is the appearance of a dragon. Where is it staying? How is it managing to stay hidden so many hours out of the day? Perhaps the most curious question arrives after the others are answered.” “What question would that be?” Dan asked. “How did it locate a flock of Geese Police in the dark?” Anna posed. “If this creature can see in the dark it becomes much, much larger of a threat than otherwise because it then becomes incredibly easy to locate any inhabitants of the kingdom. Any light visible would be a great indicator of intelligent beings and the dragon could set fire to the entire surrounding area. So you can see how important it is to discover these answers; sooner than later. Lives are at stake.” “Hey over here. I found something.” Buzzy exclaimed from a short distance from the spot where the others were talking. Splash jogged over first and then stopped just a few feet from Buzzy and began to paw at the ground in front of him. When Anna caught up she saw what had Splash so upset. It was the burnt body of a snow goose. A few minutes later it was revealed that Buzzy had found the burnt wing belonging to the body of the snow goose that Splash found. The group looked around the area and found some other burnt wings and partial feathers but for the most part everything had been cleaned up by the locals who took advantage of a cooked goose dinner falling out of the sky. They took the evidence they found back to Castle Candi and showed it to Ozzy, who was in charge of security. This was one bird designed for attack. He was armed with sharp claws and beak, wind-resistant for fast flight, and capable of incredible air-acrobats which brought about serious injury to whatever he gave focus. Larger than the average osprey, Ozzy was a leader among leaders. However he was also not one to quickly rush to judgement. When he saw the burnt body he had one question to ask. “Where are the other bodies? If an entire squad was attacked in mid-air, there should have been multiple bodies.” Ozzy noted. “I cannot in good conscience waste our few resources on what amounts to being a ‘goose chase’. Granted, a cooked goose chase.” Anna was not to be ignored without effort however. She countered, “Ozzy, that is just the point. The locals saw free cooked goose dinners falling out of the sky and gathered them up before we could arrive to get the evidence to bring back.” “She’s right!” Buzzy exclaimed. “Ditto!” Dan echoed. “Okay I understand but you guys have to understand my position. Right now there is not enough evidence to prove a dragon exists, let alone that one is out there flying around in the dark sky at night burning squads of Geese Police. I mean, … say that is true. What is the downside for Castle Candi? There isn’t one.” Ozzy replied. “Not yet, that we know about.” Anna said. “Suppose the dragon was just out looking for something to burn when the Geese Police were just the first thing it happened upon.” “Well right now we don’t even know for sure there is a dragon. I have to operate on that basis. I have sent the evidence to our morgue where a doctor will examine it at close range for anything which might be unusual or important to the case.” Ozzy said. “If you all want to head to the local saloon and have a few drinks I will catch up with you and let you know what we found out.” “I thought the subject would never get brought up.” Buzzy hollered in a happy exclamation. “Dan you can buy first!” “Another big surprise.” Dan said in a discouraged tone. Then he got a happy look on his face and turned to Splash and said, “Gold coins my little flying friend?” Splash gave a whinny and then came the sound of coins falling on top of each other. “You’re the best!” Dan said, and patted Splash just above his nose. “Coming Buzzy?” “Right behind you.” Buzzy replied. “We’ll be around.” Anna said to Ozzy. “Splash will use his magic to know when we should join the two drinkers.” Ozzy shook his head in understanding and disappeared from their presence. Anna looked at Splash and said, “We need to find you a good deed to do, don’t we old friend?” Splash gave a whinny.
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It was just a few hours before dark by the time Anna and Splash had dropped off the evidence and had their meeting with Ozzy. After that they went for a flight around the kingdom to see if anybody needed their help. They were just about to give up as it was getting dark when they saw a house that had caught fire. Splash quickly flew them over. Anna saw there was a small pond not far from the burning house. “Splash, can you use your magic to move the water in the pond over to the burning house?” Anna asked. In response Splash flew to a strategic position where he was in between the pond and the burning house. That viewpoint gave them sight of the family which lived in the house. They were gathered outside watching the house burn. Quickly Splash caused the water to jump out of the pond and fall over onto the burning house. It went out leaving a smoldering house. Splash was not through however. He flew over the family and they were surprised by the sound of gold coins falling on top of each other all around them. Then the two flew down to the ground and from a perched position on the beautiful blue pony she said, “Gather up the gold coins. Look again in the morning when the light is better to make sure you get them all. Then use them to rebuild your home. Perhaps better than it was before.” The family was very grateful. They explained they were just sitting down to eat their dinner when they noticed the house was on fire. None had any idea how it had started. They only knew they were very grateful for nobody being hurt. Also for all the gold coins supplied by Splash. They explained they could find a place to stay with friends until the house was rebuilt. Splash gave the kids a special treat by giving them a ride just far enough off the ground so they knew they were flying. Then Anna and Splash said their good-byes and flew into the dark sky to look for any signs of the dragon. Back at Castle Candi in one of the taverns sat Buzzy and Dan, the dam duck. They were seeking information from anyone that might know something about the dragon. Also any information about impending attacks on Castle Candi was valuable. They entertained even the most crazy of stories. There was talk that they had heard before. That the Geese Police had sent reinforcements from the north to take over where the Dark Queen had left off; back when she chose to live a good life over living the life of a criminal. There was a lot of bragging which couldn’t possibly be true. Then there was a conversation which Dan found to be extremely interesting. He went and got Buzzy and had him come over where he could also listen. It was two snow geese. They mentioned there was another dimension which had been found. That it was opposite this world in many ways. One of which was that when it was summer here it was winter there and vice-versa. As such the place where they could enter the other dimension was usually blocked by thick ice. However recently it was discovered if they could keep the ice from forming on whichever side was in winter, that it would then allow for creatures to be able to pass over from one side to the other. There was a limited time per year when it was possible. Only during the heat of summer or the middle coldest part of winter were the two dimensions lined up so to allow travel from one to the other. It currently was the start of the coldest part of winter for Magicland. Buzzy and Dan left the tavern with the information and returned to Castle Candi where they awaited the return of their friends Anna and Splash. The sky that night was calm but dark. There were no rain clouds around. No clouds of any kind in fact. After a couple of fast zooms across the sky they decided to head back to Castle Candi. Upon returning to the castle, they were met by Buzzy and Dan. “We have information which we think may be important.” Buzzy said to Anna as she slid off the back of Splash. “This time it might actually be to our advantage to have Dan around. The word is that the patrols of Geese Police which have been frequent in recent days are coming not from the north but from another dimension.” Just then from a distance too far to see in the darkness, came a voice which was powerful, confident, and very familiar. It was Ozzy. “That would help to explain what the coroner found back at the morgue when I brought in the burned body of the snow goose. It turned out the head of the goose was ducked under its wing. When they dug it out it was the strangest thing I have ever seen. It was a snow goose but it had a beak full of sharp teeth. Just as strange were its feet. They were not webbed. They had sharp claws. Yet because of its big size, it was undeniably a snow goose. The scariest, biggest snow goose ever!” To hear those words come from Ozzy, who wasn’t afraid of anything: really hit home. As silly as Buzzy could be, and as arrogant as Dan could be; both knew better than to ignore Ozzy when he sounded … scared. “What are you talking about Ozzy?” Buzzy asked. “Imagine a bird as big as a snow goose. Only this one has sharp teeth and sharp claws. Who knows what they eat? As everybody is aware, the difference between a duck and a goose is that ducks eat insects and small fish. Geese eat just plants. So why did this goose have sharp teeth and claws like a predator?” Ozzy paused and then added, “Imagine an entire squadron of these big, weaponized versions of snow geese. What would happen if they caught one of us in mid-flight?”
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Two days later came a report from another farmer about his home being set on fire. A day after that came a report about another flock of snow geese being cooked in mid-flight and then falling out of the sky. Rumors had it that the entire bunch of locals all received a cooked goose dinner. Anna and Splash were sent to investigate the area and see if they could find another burned snow goose body. It was mid-morning when they arrived. This time they were not far from the spot where the Dark Queen’s castle came tumbling down. Back then there was an avalanche which Splash prevented from harming the surrounding community. The squad of snow geese was said to have fell on the side of the avalanche which did not reach the valley. That made it easy for Splash to fly low over the ground since it was still basically flat. Covering the ground were various bushes. Most of them resembled tumbleweeds. Short and able to take any kind of punishment, the little bushes managed to hide the body of one of the snow geese that had been burned, from the locals when they went searching for free dinners. Anna was able to spot it from the air when they flew over. “There! See it Splash? Set us down nearby and I will gather the body. We can rush it back to Castle Candi and have Ozzy get it examined. It should be enough proof the dragon exists!” Anna said. Splash did as was asked and waited patiently while Anna retrieved the burned body of the snow goose. This one did not have its head hidden under a wing. They could both plainly see this was no ordinary snow goose. It certainly did have sharp teeth and sharp claws. They weren’t certain it was a snow goose but they did know it was one of whatever was patrolling the region; masquerading as the Geese Police. Anna climbed onto Splash who made himself a little bigger than usual. It was one of his abilities. He could make himself grow bigger or smaller, to whatever size the circumstance called. Since carrying the snow goose’s body added weight to the equation, Splash made himself a little bigger to compensate. Then they took off into the sky which was blue without any clouds. It promised a clear afternoon ahead. They dropped off the evidence to Ozzy and went to a spot just outside a tavern which Buzzy and Dan often visited. A short time later they were rewarded when the two old friends came stumbling out of the tavern. Anna and Splash watched as they walk-stumbled away from the tavern. Behind them were birds of all sorts coming and going into the tavern. Anna noticed something funny about the way her friends were walking. The further away from the tavern they got, the better they were able to walk. As soon as they were able to get around a corner and out of sight of the tavern, the two took to the air. Anna and Splash followed. Quickly Splash was able to catch up to the two birds as they flew in the direction of Castle Candi. He flew in between the two and stayed even with their flight. When she could be heard Anna cried out, “Hey you guys are lucky it was us coming up from behind and not the dragon because you would both be crispy critters right about now. The locals would put you on the menu under the heading of ‘tastes like chicken’.” “Has the intelligence of a chicken, more likely.” Dan said while looking at Buzzy with an accusing stare. “This bumbling buzzard almost got me killed when inside the tavern. He goes and spills a drink on this big snow goose, almost surely a member of Geese Police; who proceeds to tell Buzzy that he needs to back up, because this was one snow goose with a screw loose! and he didn’t back up or move out of the way for morons or wussies. Genius here answers back: that’s okay sir. I do.” Anna couldn’t help herself and let out a laugh. Dan sighed and continued. “Well it took a few seconds, precious seconds, for the big dumb birdbrain to understand he had been insulted. I used that time to usher the genius out of the tavern and well, … I think you guys saw the rest.” They arrived at Castle Candi and set down in the spot they usually used as a meeting spot. Splash exercised his magic power to alert Ozzy they had arrived and he was there to meet them when they set down on the ground. Anna said, “We have brought another burned body. I am no scientist but even I can see these are not average snow geese. Look at the teeth and claws on these things.” “Agreed they are scary. What I find most curious at this point is if there is actually a dragon out there, is it or its appearance tied in any way to the predator snow geese or their appearance since all are happening at the same time.” Ozzy said. Buzzy had more gossip to add to the investigation. “I’ve got some crazy-sounding but if-true, very interesting info to share. This was told to me by a snow goose who was very drunk, and is probably very angry with me right now. You see while he was telling me this incredible story; I couldn’t stop myself from dipping into his wallet and taking all the money. It was for his own good. He would have just spent it foolishly on someone like me. I just sped up the process while cutting down on how bad his hangover is going to be tomorrow. Less money means less drinks.” “Stop rationalizing. We don’t care if you are a thief. Or a liar. Just don’t lie or steal from us. So back to what you learned?” Ozzy stated, then made certain that Buzzy saw he was listening intently. Buzzy gave Ozzy an offended look for a second and then continued his story. “So anyways this big lug of a snow goose starts mumbling about how he and his entire squadron, along with many other squadrons, spent the first part of the winter dropping as big of rocks as they could carry, into this little pond that sits just above the tree line. It is located roughly up on the mountain not far from where the Dark Queen’s castle once stood.” “You have my attention but not my reason.” Ozzy stated to Buzzy. “Where are you going with this?” Then he turned his attention toward Dan for his contribution to the subject. “Don’t look at me for this one.” Dan remarked. “This one was all Buzzy. I don’t get paid enough to mess with one of those big bulls. Especially not when birdbrain there is trying to pick the pocket at the same time as listening.” Buzzy quickly chimed in. “I’m a multi-tasker by nature. Why do you think it only requires the condor and the buzzard to clean up all the deaths? Because we’re natural multi-taskers.” Then Buzzy produced a wallet with money in it and an ID with the picture of a snow goose on it. He plucked out the money and threw the wallet on the ground. Ozzy sighed uneasily. Even the mightiest of predators had little interest in discussing the details about death. If anyone ever asked he claimed that ospreys were much better at dishing it out than taking it. “Stay on subject. What about this pond? So its full of rocks. I don’t see the imminent threat.” “I am getting to that. A little patience and respect for the one that risked his life to get this story, if you don’t mind.” Buzzy said in a righteous tone. “Then tell the dam story!” Dan exclaimed. “Its about a dam isn’t it?” “I knew you were going to be ape-crazy when you found that part out.” Buzzy half-laughed in reply. “Yeah my feathered-beaver seeker. It is about a dam. A dam that has until this year, always been formed naturally. Someone came forward with information which was ancient. It claimed that there was a pond above the tree line which was a portal to another dimension. It came to be known as ‘Opposite World’ because it often proved to be opposite this world. The first point being that when this side was unfrozen, that side was frozen. Then vice-versa. There are only two times a year when travel from one side to the other is possible. The Geese Police somehow managed to use this information to establish communication with the other side where between the two worlds they were able to figure out how to beat the natural dam that kept the two worlds apart. It was all about preventing the pond above the tree line from freezing over. Geese Police sent squadron after squadron armed with rocks which they kept dropping. The constant splashing kept the pond from freezing over solid. Then they caught an unexpected break. One that came with a price however. You see it is nearly impossible to keep up the continued dropping of rocks into the pond. The constant cold wins the battle over time. Or would have, but there was a surprise. Something was warming the water whenever it was starting to win the race of freezing over. At first the Geese Police and the opposite world Geese Police both thought it was a lucky break. And I suppose it was in terms of keeping the portal open. What was keeping the water warm however had a stiff price. The claim is that there is a dragon which originated from opposite world. that discovered the portal and now is using it to visit our world at will. The Geese Police use the portal but whenever their timing is bad and they enter the portal at the same time as the dragon; often times it has an end result of a lot of cooked goose falling out of the sky.” Buzzy took a second to catch his breath, then continued. “All that isn’t the worst part though. The worst part is that according to legend there is only a certain amount of time the portal is aligned so travel is possible. When the portal closes, whatever is caught on whatever side, stays on that side. What I am saying is, if that dragon is caught on this side of the portal when it closes, it is here for good. I mean even if it is smart enough to know to come back and try to use the portal later; it still is stuck on our side until that becomes possible. A full size fire-breathing dragon living full time in Magicland is not going to end well for us.” “Does anybody know where this portal-pond is located?” Ozzy asked. “Well we know its above the tree line.” Buzzy replied. “So its up there in the top of one of those mountains.” “I know of several ponds above the tree line. Even though as a general rule we ducks prefer water below the tree line. I still am aware of the water above the tree line as well.” Dan said. Anna jumped in. “I think I know how we can spot the pond which is being used as the portal. If it is true the squadrons of Geese Police were dropping rocks into the pond then there should be a number of the rocks that missed the water. I would think the pond which has a lot of small rocks surrounding it will be the one to keep an eye on.” “Excellent thinking princess!” Ozzy exclaimed. “Once you have located the pond that is being used as the portal have Splash contact me using his magic and I will come with the entire royal air force.” Splash gave a whinny. “Okay we are going to begin the search for the portal-pond. All we need is a little luck to stumble on it sooner than later. Also now that we know to watch the ponds above the timber line it will cut way down on the area we will have to search. Are you going to be taking out a squad to search, Ozzy?” Anna asked. “Most certainly. I’ll drop off the evidence to the coroner and then send out several squads. One of which I will be leading myself. You guys be careful out there. You’ve seen what the dragon can do to a bird in flight. And stay alert for any squadron of Geese Police too. Especially if there are some out there flying around with these characters.” He motioned to the burned body of the opposite world snow goose that he held. “They probably are not as agile as ospreys or eagles but their claws are bigger and their extra size will make them a threat to anything flying in the sky made of feather and bone.” Anna and Splash took off into the blue sky above. Buzzy looked at Dan and then they both began running to get their lift-off started. Next thing they were both climbing into the sky above. Dan was rattling on about something to do with dams while Buzzy kept his mouth shut as he labored to get into flight. Far ahead Anna and Splash were just seconds from arriving along the mountain tops where they would begin searching for the pond. The portal was located about two hours before dark. Dan came through again. Naturally the others of the group had to endure listening to Dan carry on about why dam ducks are superior to most other foul. The upside was that none of them had seen Dan so happy in quite a while. It was an undeniable help to the cause. Anna thought it might have been a bigger help to Dan than it was to their cause. In any case she was happy. Her friend had reason to be proud of himself and they had a lead on solving their problem. “I suppose we wait here and see what comes through?” Anna asked. “There’s about two hours until it gets dark. I don’t see any harm in hanging around until then. Splash don’t forget to send Ozzy word that we found the portal pond.” Buzzy said. Splash whinnied. Buzzy gave him a pat above his nose. The little blue pony with the white mane, tail and socks, returned the affection by rubbing his extremely soft nose against Buzzy, causing him to giggle. “That tickles little friend.” Buzzy said. “Tickles me that you would call Splash little when he’s as big as he wants to be.” Dan added. “You all tickle me. That’s why I like hanging with you.” Anna said. “Aww … we think you’re pretty wonderful too.” Buzzy chimed in. “Are you guys gonna hold hands?” Dan asked sarcastically. Nobody replied. “Then knock off the mushy stuff.” He let go a loud sigh. “It interferes with my ability to usher out the warrior in me.” “You got a warrior in you?” Buzzy asked. “Its one dam duck you don’t want to meet.” Dan replied. Just then the water in the pond became restless. It began to swish from one side of the pond to the other. The atmosphere took on a thicker feel. Splash was the first to notice. He began to act restless himself and he began to signal to Anna that they needed to get into the air. Anna wasted no time. She hopped onto the back of Splash as he began to grow to his bigger size. It allowed him to fly her without any struggle. “Up!” Anna cried. “Up Splash up!” A second later the two were hovering in the air not far from the pond. Next Buzzy and Dan flew up beside them. Then before they could do much more than acknowledge the other was there, came a plopping sound from the pond. Out shot an opposite world snow goose. Plop! Plop! Plop! Three more of the sharp-clawed snow geese came shooting out of the pond water. Then came a flash of fire from clear across the sky on the other horizon. Both Anna and Splash saw the fire flash across the sky. “The dragon!” Anna exclaimed. She had a decision to make. Did they stay at the portal-pond or go clear across the sky to the other horizon and see what made that fire flash in the sky? It seemed like they should go after the fire flash since that was likely where the dragon was located. While thinking everything over the plop!, plop!, plop!, continued in the background. Anna finally made her decision and that was when she noticed that all four of her group were surrounded by the opposite world Geese Police. They had their sharp teeth and claws exposed so to be ready for doing damage. There were many of them. The group of four was greatly out-numbered. Closer and closer the opposite world Geese Police came to the four friends. They were surrounded all the way around including above and below. It looked very grim for them. Splash used his magic to keep them at bay but for how long? His powers had limits. And the day slipped further into night. Anna realized the seriousness of the situation and said, “I don’t know how long Splash can keep them away. Start preparing for a complete onslaught.”
Chapter ——————————– Across the horizon at the same time Anna and friends were being surrounded by the Geese Police with teeth, a family was having their dinner interrupted by the smell of smoke in the air. A quick look around the farm and the father was able to see that the roof of his barn had been set on fire. Then he saw what caused the fire. In the glow of the fire on top of the barn he caught a glimpse of something dark, that was big, and that had wings! The father thought he was looking at a dragon. Chapter ——————————- Back at Castle Candi the royal air force was taking to the sky. There were three separate squadrons which were to go to two separate locations. Ozzy received the message from Splash about the portal-pond. At the same time came in a report from one of his scouts about the fire shooting across the sky on the opposite side of the horizon from where Anna and friends were located. Ozzy ordered one squadron to fly toward the fire. He then ordered the other two squadrons to follow him. Up into the sky flew the squadrons. When they reached a certain height they parted ways. The two squadrons following Ozzy were filled with osprey, eagles and owls. Each had their own specialties. In the bird world every species has special abilities which help it to survive and succeed in the tasks that are necessary for it to continue to survive for generations to come. Eagles for instance have great strength and are armed for battle. They have sharp hooked beaks and sharp long claws that can are so strong some could actually crush a human skull if they could fit around them. Eagles also are equipped with special strong feathers that allow them to battle while resisting the sort of damage that would keep the eagle from flying. Osprey are a little smaller than eagles therefore not quite a strong. However they are equipped with feathers which do not get damaged when they dive into the water at high speeds. Also they have the ability to launch into flight from a vertical position meaning they can fly straight up from a standing or floating position. Also armed with sharp beaks and claws, the osprey’s claws are special to allow them to grasp slippery fish. Owls are perhaps the most special of all the predatory birds because they are nature’s version of a stealth fighter. Their feathers are designed extra soft so they make no noise when the wings are flapped. Capable of seeing in the dark, they are natural nocturnal hunters. Also capable of turning their heads around enough to have vision in any direction, they are armed with sharp beaks and talons. The largest of the owl family, the Great Horned Owl, is capable of defeating any other flighted bird, although some in the eagle family would be a tough fight. Ozzy was backed up by nature’s finest flying apex predators. His royal air force was trained well and had vast experience. They did have one thing working against them. It was almost dark. Only the owls would be useful after the sun had completely set. Ozzy had considered only bringing the owls but decided to bring the others as they could always be sidelined if it became too dark for them to fight. Better to have too much help than not enough. When they arrived within sight of the situation at the portal-pond: Ozzy had the squadron hold up. They were still not seen by the opposite world Geese Police which allowed Ozzy to use strategy to stop the Geese Police.
Splash was getting tired. Anna knew her blue pony well enough to recognize when he was in need of rest. However they currently were not in a position where rest was an option. Surrounded by opposite world snow geese, that were armed with sharp claws and teeth in their beaks, things looked very grim. It was obvious that Buzzy and Dan would not survive the onslaught. Currently they were perched on Splash’s hind quarters. Anna knew that Splash could get away from the Geese Police with teeth. If he acted before he was completely exhausted. The problem was that as soon as he dropped the force field protecting them from the enemy, the two friends were in dire trouble. They would not be able to fly away fast enough before being caught. Splash was also aware of the situation and he obviously was determined to not let any harm come to his friends. But how long could he hold out? They had to figure out a plan and quick! “Buzzy, Dan? Have any ideas as to what we should do?” Anna asked. Buzzy and Dan might have been what some would call, ‘flaky’, or perhaps ‘irresponsible’, and some would have used the word, ‘crazy’, but they weren’t stupid. They had been around Splash long enough to know he had limits. They also knew he was capable of flying away from this danger. Therefore they concluded the reason he was staying was to protect them. They didn’t want their friend to waste his energy protecting them because they knew that when he finally gave into exhaustion the end result would be the same. So they did their best to man-up. “My, .. er I mean our best idea is that Splash should zoom the two of you out of here to get help. We’ll hold down the home base, so to speak, while you’re gone.” Dan said sincerely, though he was lying through his beak. “Yeah! That’s what we were thinking.” Buzzy agreed. “No sense in putting off the inevitable. Besides, I’m getting tired of waiting. I been wanting a piece of that big snow goose leading that bunch ever since I put eyes on him.” “Buzzy, I think that’s the bravest thing I have ever seen anyone do.” Anna said with a tear in her eye. “You really are a hero. Both of you are.” Buzzy and Dan both turned a shade pinker in the face. It was Buzzy who spoke up first. “Yes well thank you princess. Now we want to be rescued which won’t happen if you wait too long to zoom. So you should go before Splash becomes too tired to get you to safety. So lets not put this off. We’re ready any time you are.” “Agreed!” Dan said. He talked tough but Buzzy was glad it was almost dark because he didn’t want the others to see he couldn’t resist closing his eyes as he prepared for the force field to come down and the attack to commence. He said his prayers quietly to himself. “Go! Go now!” Splash gave a whinny. The force field came down but then went right back up which caused the Geese Police which were closest to them to be thrown backwards. Splash couldn’t leave his friends. There had to be another way! The remaining geese closed in closer around the group of four. Time was running out.
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