They silently advanced farther down the chasm, the ground shaking more and more with every step they took.

As the ground shook again, even harder than before, Katherine tripped over a rock and landed on the ground, crying out as she did so.

She clapped her hand over her mouth and froze, but it seemed it was too late.

The ground shook violently as whatever  creature was with them advanced quickly.

Katherine stumbled back, her mind in shambles over what to do.

On one hand, she really wanted to find out what they were up against, and the idea of a centuries old monster intrigued her.

On the other hand, her common sense was screaming at her that THIS IS A DANGEROUS CREATURE AND YOU HAVE TO GET OUT NOW.

Alas, she hesitated just a bit too long and looked up to see a huge beast. She could barely make it out, as it was much larger than the small circle of light Thunder's horn cast.

She laid a hand on the panicked alicorns neck, trying to keep down the rising terror that was keeping her in place.

The creature before her was undoubtedly tall, had what looked like furry yet slimy skin, and was very, very mad.

As it reached towards her and Thunder in rage, it stirred Katherine's instincts through her terror. She yanked the whistle out of her pocket, blowing into it fiercely. The sound it created no longer sounded calming or sweet in light of the situation.

The whistle somehow penetrated Thunder's terror too, and as Katherine scrambled onto him, managing to evade the arm the had swiped towards her, he took off, flying hurriedly out to the sun and the warmth of the surface.

However, the huge monster wasn't keen on letting them get away that easily. It reached out and snatched Thunder's tail, dragging them back down despite Thunder's efforts.

Katherine turned around, still clutched Thunder as tight as she could, and trying to pry off whatever held Thunder.

She took out the whistle and beat at them, but to no avail. She tried blowing it, and that seemed to work. The monster loosened its grip for a second, but that was all that Thunder needed.

He flapped his wings as hard as he could, and managed to escape the hold of those awful fingers.

In the process though, Katherine felt the whistle come out of her mouth. She tried desperately to grab it, but it was too late.

She watched dejectedly as the whistle fell back into the depths of the chasm, taking away her only form of communication with the alicorns.

Thunder landed, exhausted. Katherine reached out and rubbed his nose.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know it would be like that..." she said softly.

She was still scared out of her wits by what had happened.

"Now, I guess you should go and see Dewdrop..." Katherine said reluctantly. "Good luck with your baby...and tell Dewdrop I said hi..."

Her voice cracked with emotion.

"You were good, and so was Dewdrop. I hope I'll see you someday again..."

Katherine turned away to wipe her tears, then turned back to see Thunder's brown eyes staring at her deeply, like he was sad too.

He lit up his horn and Katherine watched as the sparkling alicorn faded away into light, possibly the last time she'd ever see one again.