A strong burst of blistering wind blew swirls of crystal
snowflakes in every direction. They danced and twirled endlessly before settling
down on the heaps of white sugary powder that glazed the bare earth of Terror
Mountain. The chilling cold froze various sticks and rocks into icicles that
seemed frozen in time forever. The mountain was blinded by the ferocious weather
in a blaze of terrifying white blankness and piercing wind that screamed out
from the thick clouds above.
A small disco Zafara could barely be seen through
the wintry snowstorm. Her usual bright and cheerful bubble gum colors almost
disappeared under the thick sheets of snow that matted itself against her fur.
Her sturdy whip-like tail limped to the ground sadly as the Zafara trudged along
the narrow and dangerous cliff.
"Where are you Glider?" she shouted with her
last remaining breath before she crumpled through a deep set of snow.
"I’m right here!" the blue Shoyru shouted. He
hopped softly to where his Zafara friend, Slinky, was stuck and helped her up.
"How much further is it?" cried Slinky eagerly
while blocking her eyes from the numbing snowflakes.
"It’s just right up that hill," Glider replied.
They continued to slowly trudge up Terror Mountain, sifting through the knee-deep
flakes and battling against the numbing air. At last they reached the top of
the mountain where the land smoothed out its edges and ran flat. Gathered there
were crowds of many other Neopets who were chatting brightly despite the weather.
They were tightly bundled in heavy layers of vibrant scarves, gloves, and earmuffs
to keep warm. Once the Zafara and Shoyru had joined the crowd, they pointed
excitedly at the large banner strung high above the ancient trees, ‘Terror Mountain
Annual Ski Championships.’
The two friends hurried to the sign-up booth
and gave their names to a cheerful looking Bruce who handed them each a tag.
"You are competitor number 12," he said to Slinky
the Zafara, "and you will be 13," he added to Glider. "Remember the rules and
good luck." Slinky wasn’t paying attention. She was busy staring with wide excited
eyes at one particular Usul in the midst of the crowd. She was wearing bright
pink garments and a large bow gathered at the top of her ears that could be
spotted a mile away. She giggled bubbly like a little girl playing with Usuki
Dolls and constantly flipped her golden locks over her shoulder so that the
curls bounced and waved in the wind. Surrounded by her were fans busy snapping
pictures, engaged in interviews and getting autographs signed. The Usul was
famous and shined like a true star.
"Wow, is that Lucy, the 5-time champion of the
Terror Mountain Annual Ski Championships!?" the Zafara said in awe as if she
was seeing the majestic Faerie Queen Fyora. Her jaw dropped in surprise and
she stood transfixed as if the blazing snowstorm had frozen her into a solid
ice cube. Glider turned around too and pointed in amazement. "Wow I can’t believe
it’s really her!" The two pets walked over to Lucy, dodging the many screaming
fans that were desperately clinging to their newly signed autographs of the
famous Usul.
"Well hello young pets," Lucy said as they encountered
her. "I see you have come to brave this harsh weather and test your luck in
this ski competition," she said with a gentle proud laugh. Glider and Slinky
were still in a state of shock and fumbled around with the right words to reply
with. They couldn’t believe they were seeing Lucy, let alone talking to her.
She was of course, the most famous Usul in all of Neopia.
Suddenly, a loud whistle blew which broke the
chatter and an Elephante on a speaker announced, "Welcome all Neopets to the
Terror Mountain Annual Ski Championships!" The crowd clapped and hollered joyfully.
"The prize this year shall be the circlet of the Snow Faerie and a golden trophy
awarded kindly by Taelia herself. Everyone whirled around and peered at the
beautiful snow Faerie that sat on her silver throne. Her gown was a gorgeous
pearl white decorated with glimmering threads of gold. Tiny stars and sequins
shone brilliantly from her sleeves. Shimmering ice crystals were laced delicately
through her hair and her rosy cheeks brightened as she smiled upon the crowd.
In her hands she held the final prize, the circlet of the Snow Faerie. It was
almost just as beautiful as Taelia with thousands of sapphires and diamonds
encrusted on its rim. The crown sparkled like a million tiny dancing pixies
in the air. It was one of the rarest treasures in all of Neopia, a fine prize
worth winning.
The Elephante continued speaking. "All competitors
please take your marks at this time." Quickly, Slinky and Glider slipped their
ski’s on their feet and slid to their positions at the starting line. There
were many Neopets all lined up and everyone was holding their breath for the
departing words. Glider looked nervously over his shoulder for a final glance
of Lucy. Strangely, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey what happened to Lucy?" he whispered softly
in Slinky’s ear. But his words were lost as the Elephante blew his whistle and
yelled, "Go!" The skier’s began to race down the hill all in a flash second.
"Come on!" Slinky shouted, pulling Glider on
the shoulder. "The race has started!" The two friends darted down the mountain
like a speeding arrow. The wind grew louder and whispered in their ears. They
slid gracefully down the mountain while carefully balancing themselves on the
rugged cliff. The world seemed to blur into a mist of ice as they skied through
the thick powder and twisted through the maze-like path. Glider breathed in
the fresh winter air but his eyes glanced nervously ahead. Suddenly, he slanted
his skies diagonally and came to a stop. A puzzled and confused expression drifted
onto his face.
"Watch out, Glider!" Slinky screamed from behind.
The Zafara came crashing into her friend and they both tumbled a few feet down.
"Why did you stop?" she asked angrily. "We’re surely going to lose the race
now!"
"Because of THAT!" Glider protested. He pointed
his ski pole to a sign a few feet away. It was stuck into a large mound of snow
and could just barely be seen. It read ‘Caution. Danger ahead. Please turn left
for a safer route.’
"What?" Slinky whispered under her breath. Her
eyebrows furrowed into confusion. "Are you sure that sign is right?" The two
pets stared to the left where the ski path disappeared through a thicket of
enormous gnarled trees lightly dusted with snow. Their branches were entwined
so you could hardly see beyond the first few pines, which created shadows that
darkened like dangerous souls. Far away, a Weewoo sounded and it echoed sadly
down the path. A mysterious fog crept through the path, searching around every
bend and hollow and under and over every root. It gently circled around Slinky
and Glider’s feet, trapping them with a rope of snowy mist. They slowly glided
through the new narrow path, which led them deeper and deeper into the forest.
It was completely silent and nothing but the occasional cracking of a twig under
their skis could be heard.
"I wonder where all the other competitors are,"
muttered Glider under his breath. "It feels like we are the only ones here."
As Glider said this, Slinky peered curiously over the edge of the path and looked
below. Giant sized boulders with sharp piercing edges glinted and cast a dark
shadow over the snowy land. In the distance, something like a WereLupe howled
gravely. Slinky let out a gasp and shut her eyes tightly as her stomach clenched
into knots.
Suddenly, the earth began to tremble violently.
At first it started very softly. Slinky could feel its pulse vibrate on her
paw. Small pebbles and hand-sized rocks dropped from the sky and decorated the
snow path with little indentations. Then it grew louder and louder and the cliff
shook harder. The small rocks turned into giant sized boulders, which smashed
triumphantly on the ground. Jagged cuts of ice dived into the air and punctured
the frozen earth like knives. The sound was magnificent. The avalanche filled
the world with a loud blast and tumble of stones and ice down the mountain.
It looked as if the two Neopets could not escape its horrifying wrath.
"Watch out!" screamed Glider just as one of the
chunks came whizzing right past Slinky. She dived just in time before the rock
hit her. The Shoyru and Zafara stood there terrified, looking for a way out.
They were completely surrounded by the avalanche and the particles that seemed
to rain down upon them.
"Quick, over here!" yelled the Shoyru. He motioned
towards the trees where there was a thin passage. It was their only hope so
Slinky and Glider went for it, charging through the sharp bristles of the trees
and escaping the danger that pursued them. At last they entered a large bowl
where they stopped and rested, breathing heavily and sighing for relief.
"Wow that was close," Glider panted. "That was
a strange accident, wasn’t it?" Slinky looked back, deep in concentration.
"Glider, it wasn’t an accident," the Zafara said
slowly. The Shoyru looked at her with interest. "I think I saw someone up there,
high above the cliff. Someone pushed those ice boulders down and I know it,"
she said feeling frustrated.
"And that sign!" added Glider excitedly. "Someone
obviously put that sign there to confuse us!" Slinky nodded in agreement.
Glider shrugged, easing his tired shoulders and
sat down on the cold icy snow. It was already mid afternoon and the sun refused
to show its warm face from behind the gloomy grey clouds. White snow continued
to sculpt itself into interesting shapes and forms like mini castes and towers.
The Shoyru’s eyes began to water with despair. There was no hope of winning
the ski race now. They were lost, cold and tired in the middle of a deserted
winter wasteland. It was hopeless. Slinky looked at her sad friend. She wished
there was anything to she could do. If only there was something to lead them
out of this mess. The Zafara’s eyes scanned the vast distance ahead. Suddenly,
something caught her attention. A little ways down the slope, a little trinket
glittered radiantly against the white landscape. Slinky skied down to where
it lay tightly wedged between two rocks, which were lightly sprinkled with Faerie
dust snowflakes. She picked it up and examined it closely. In her hands was
a little bottle of rainbow sand. The colors brilliantly glowed against the blank
scenery, like a never-ending rainbow in the fair sky. Slinky rotated the glass
bottle and analyzed its contents.
"This is strange, very strange," she said. "What
is this sand doing in the middle of Terror Mountain?" Glider skied down to meet
his friend and looked at the strange sand too, turning the glass over and over
so that the tiny grains mixed with other colors. Soon they noticed another bottle.
This time it was blue and it shimmered like the stars in the celestial night
sky.
"Here’s another one!" shouted Slinky in wonder.
The two friends continued skiing down the shoot until they discovered a green
bottle of sand. It was the lushest green the two pets had ever seen, like the
exotic plants of Mystery Island. Again they noticed another bottle, this time
containing deep red sand like the pure color of a fire gem. Farther down they
skied and each time they found new bottles of sand.
This is very odd, thought Slinky, maybe
this is some sort of clue. Finally, they found the last bottle of sand that
was placed right in front of an icy cave, hidden beyond a high mound of snow.
A pale blue shadow cascaded over the stone entrance. Thousands of rocks were
piled high on top of each other to make the cave tower above the trees. Glider
took a brave step forward.
"Wait!" cried Slinky. "What if there is something
terrible hidden in there?"
"Well, we won’t know until we find out for ourselves,"
he replied simply. Slowly, they skied through the entrance. Darkness showered
upon their faces and swallowed them in its black mouth. A quiet drip of water
pattered on the floor of ice from the icicles above. On the walls of the cave,
the two friends could barely make out the intricate holes and openings transformed
over the many years from the fearless wind. A soft noise traveled to their ears.
It seemed like a quiet humming along with rhythmical breathing. At first the
pets hardly noticed the sound until it grew louder. Slinky began to shake with
fear and her heart began beating rapidly. There was something strange around
the corner…
Then they saw it. Slinky gasped with fear and
her eyes bulged with terror. In the corner of the ancient cave lay a horrible
beast that all Neopets dread, the Snowager. Its massive body curled in a spiral
and its shiny white scales gleamed mysteriously in the darkness. It was asleep,
and it snored heavily to echo throughout the walls. The Snowager’s head lay
resting on top of a gigantic collection of colorful neggs and treasures that
sparkled like pure gold. Slinky could not contain her fear any longer. She shrieked
with terror and limped to the ground. At once the Zafara realized she had made
a serious mistake. The beasts’ eyes blinked open to display its red bloodshot
eyes. It searched around the cave until it spotted the trembling Zafara and
her Shoyru friend who stood there motionless, trapped behind a wall of panic.
Slowly, it raised its long neck, reaching the height of the ceiling. Then the
mighty Snowager let out an earth-shattering bellow, which shook the cavern with
power. Slowly, it uncoiled itself and slithered to where the two petrified pets
were, hissing and sputtering violently. In a flash second, the Snowager opened
its jaws to reveal pointy incisors dripping with thick saliva. It thrust its
head forward snapping its teeth close to Slinky but missed out of shear luck.
"Come, on lets go!" screamed Glider. But Slinky
just lay there hunched in a pitiful ball of fur by the beast’s tail. She was
crying uncontrollably and wouldn’t open her eyes, waiting for it all to end.
Now the Snowager went for Glider, darting its hideous head right for the Shoyru.
Glider noticed just in time and blocked its jaws with his ski pole, which snapped
in half and splintered on the floor. At the last moment, Glider bravely scooped
up Slinky in his arms and darted out of the cave, flying on his ski’s as fast
as he could possibly go.
Once they were outside in the fresh air again,
Glider lay down Slinky who was still crying pathetically.
"Wow, Glider you saved my life!" she choked.
"I don’t know what I would’ve done without you." A silver tear glistened on
her cheek. She smiled through her tears and gazed at Glider. "Thanks for being
a great friend." The Shoyru was speechless but he smiled back warmly.
"I’ll always be there for you no matter what,"
he said gently.
Just then, the two pets heard shouting. They
glanced to the right and saw a couple of skier’s fly by on the snow. One Usul
with a bright pink scarf and mittens was in the lead.
"That’s Lucy!" exclaimed Slinky in amazement.
"The race is still on! Come on, lets win this thing!" she said eagerly with
a sudden change of heart. The Shoyru and Zafara stood up and entered the path
with all the other skiers. They slid through the ice gracefully like a bird
in the sky. At last they caught up to Lucy who was in the lead. Sweat dripped
from their necks as they raced for the finish line. Lucy kept her eyes focused
ahead but felt the competition between her and Glider and Slinky.
"Stand back, you foolish little Neopets!" Lucy
screeched. The two friends almost fell down in shock. Was this really Lucy,
there biggest role model talking? They could not believe this. "You heard me,
fools! Leave this competition to the pros." Then, if that couldn’t be worst,
Lucy stuck out one of her ski’s so that Glider fell. He tumbled down the cliff
like an oversized snowball. He lay there, buried beneath the freezing snow.
"Nooooo!" cried Slinky. She skirted down the
path to where her friend lay helpless. "I have to help him," she thought.
"Slinky, I’m hurt," said the Shoyru weakly. He
lay his head down on the snow around him and breathed cooly. "Hurry, finish
the race. Don’t let Lucy win. Go!" The Zafara stood there watching her friend.
She knew what she had to do. She had to win the race and avenge her hurt friend.
Slinky turned and dashed back in the contest. She could feel the wind whipping
against her ears. It seemed to whisper "faster, faster." On she went, racing
past the other competitors until she caught up to Lucy, her new rival.
"Back again, little insignificant one?" asked
Lucy when Slinky was racing by her side. She didn’t respond back, just remained
focused with a clear mind. The finish line was becoming visible now, its huge
red letters of "Finish" seemed to scream out to everyone. She could hear the
crowd clapping and hollering with excitement as they saw Lucy and Slinky nearing
the end side by side. If only she could go a little bit faster, Slinky could
win the race and finally end Lucy’s winning streak. But she couldn’t go fast
enough, and just by a few slight inches, Lucy ripped through the red ribbon
and won the competition. It was over.
Everyone shouted with joy as the now 6-time winning
champion, Lucy, crossed the finish line. Her eyes gleamed with joy as the golden
trophy and the circlet of the snow Faerie was handed to her.
"It's mine, all mine!" exclaimed the Usul with
excitement. She held her prizes into the air and absorbed all the glory and
fame. Slinky looked at the ground, ashamed that she let her friend down by losing
the race. She didn’t know if she could ever look Glider into his eyes again.
Just then, the Shoyru came limping into the scene, holding onto his skis like
crutches to support his twisted ankle. Surprisingly he had a soft smile curled
onto his face.
"Glider… I’m, I’m s-s-sorry I l-l-let you d-d-down,"
sobbed Slinky. She was sure her friend would be mad and angry with her.
"It’s okay," he replied, "but Lucy didn’t deserve
to win," he said.
"What do you mean? She won fair and square afterall,"
Slinky said, "even if she didn’t turn out to be the great person we thought
she was." She glanced towards the crowd and all the little fangirls who were
getting more autographs signed by the famous Usul.
"No, she cheated us!" said Glider. "Don’t you
see, Slinky? Lucy was the one who put that sign there, which directed us to
the wrong path! She was the one high above the cliff that dropped those ice
boulders down on us! She was the one who put those sands in the snow for us
to find, and led us into the Snowager’s lair! Lucy was the one who did all of
this!"
The shock hit Slinky at once, like a nail being
slammed by a hammer. The idea of having her only role model betray them and
cheat was just too much to handle. "We have to tell someone," she resolved.
"And now," presented the Elephante on a loud
speaker. "The winner of this years Terror Mountain Annual Ski Championship is…"
"STOP!" cried Slinky, waving her paws in the
air so everyone could see. She stepped up on to the platform where the Elephante
speaker was and spoke.
"I want everyone to know that Lucy is really
a fraud." The audience gasped and whispered like crazy. "She prevented us- and
probably others too- from winning this competition." Then the Zafara bravely
recounted her tale to leave Lucy shrinking smaller and smaller and growing redder
in the face by the moment. When she was finished, everyone pointed and stared
at the Usul.
"Is this true, Lucy?" asked the Elephante. The
Usul just stared at her feet bashfully.
"Yes," she said simply. "How else would you have
expected me to win 5 years in a row?" Then her voice grew louder and angrier.
"But if it wasn’t for these two foolish Neopets I would’ve won for the 6th time."
Her nostrils flared and she glared angrily at the two pets. There was a long
pause and everyone held their breath.
"Well," said the Elephante, "this years prize
shall be awarded to Slinky the Zafara and her friend Glider the Shoyru, for
their excellent example of truthfulness, courage, and loyalty!" Everyone went
insane with joy. Glider and Slinky jumped up in excitement and gave each other
a long hug.
"We did it!" whispered Glider. "We won!" The
two could hardly contain their happiness as Taelia placed the circlet on Slinky’s
head and handed the golden trophy to Glider. The rest of that day, the two friend’s
were busy signing autograph from screaming fans.
The End
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