“Lupin the Rabbit Griffon dreams a dream…”

“In the other room Ferngully sleeps as well…”

She sleeps with her mouth open. As she goes deep into rest black liquid starts leaking from her lips. The drops hit the floor and splatter. The splatters pop up off the floor as spiders.

They crawl out of the room and walk down the hall. They slip under the door to Lupin’s room. The things make a B-line for the Luffon’s bed. They start climbing all over her body. This caused the Luffon to twitch in her sleep. One of the spiders reached the mouth of her beak and drops in.

Lupin suddenly jumps awake and tosses her blankets away looking for spiders. See none she sits there panting waiting for her feathers to ruffle down.

“You think you can try walking today?” Lupin hears a nurse Griffon ask Ferngully.

Lupin gets herself a crutch and walks over to check on the Bat Pony.

“Don’t worry, I’ve always been a fast healer,” Ferngully answered.

The nurse released the straps holding Ferngully up. She winces as she holds up her body weight. The Bat Pony starts to topple over to her side but the Griffon nurse leaned against her.

“Be careful,” She warned the mare.

“I will,” Ferngully nodded her head.

Ferngully takes a few wobbly steps forward.

“Wow, you do recover quickly,” Lupin remarks, “I would clap, but well you see.”

Ferngully turns to the nurse at her side. “You think you can get me a pair of crutches too?” She asks.

“Knock knock,” Whirly Pop remarks as she knocks on the doorway with her hoof. “The two of you are looking a whole lot better. Although to be honest it would be harder to be worse.”

Both Lupin and Ferngully give weak smiles at this remark.

“Sorry, I guess I was a little inappropriate,” Whirly Pop sighs, “You both have a long recovery don’t you?”

“You want to talk about something or are you just checking up on us?” Lupin asked.

Whirly Pop looks at the nurse. “You think these two will be well enough to be discharged?”

“Well technically as long as they are mobile there isn’t really much else we can do here for them,” The nurse remarks, “I can at least ask those two to do is to not overexert themselves.”

“Not much hope for that with me,” Ferngully chirps.

“I’ll do my best,” Lupin shrugged.

“Okay, I will have some people come over and help take you two to the farm,” Whirly Pop nods her head.

“Wait, both of us?” Lupin asks.

Whirly Pop holds out a piece of paper. “I had Fearion talk to your bosses, you will act as liaison to his special guests well you recover. Once your mission is done you will be free to return home.”

Lupin gives an exhausted sigh.

“It pays a lot more than what you currently have been getting paid,” Whirly Pop adds, "I think your bosses considers it a severance package to make up for what happen to you."

“That after noon…”

Four ponies came to get Lupin and Ferngully. Two mares Honey Mead and Metalance, Two stallions pink one and burnt red one.

“Who’s the bucks?” Lupin asked.

“Puck and Vepicon,” Honey Mead answered.

“We own a farm outside of town,” Vepicon answered.

Ferngully was exhausted and was sitting on a wheelchair to be pushed around.

“You want a chair ma’am?” Puck asked Lupin.

Lupin sighs, She was feeling sore from the redistributesion of her body weight. “You can take a chair but I want to see how far I can get on three limbs before I give in. I need to get used to it sooner or later anyway.”

“Out side…”

The hospital was in the Griffon district of Stallion City. The upper class part of the city. Because of this the streets and sky was filled with mostly Griffon.

One could tell this area of the city was designed for flying creatures. Every few blocks there was an open area of land. Sometimes a small park with a few trees along the edge. Others a brick pad. The area was marked with bright flag poles with different colored flags.

Griffons would land in these areas closest to where they wanted to go and then move the rest of the way on foot.

Some of the Griffons gave the ponies dirty looks as they walked past. One bumps into Honey Mead causing her to bump Ferngully’s wheelchair.

“Watch where you are going dirt pony,” The Griffon snaps.

“We are the ones leaving the hospital Honey Mead snaps back.

“It’s no use,” Vepicon puts his hoof on her shoulder

“What’s with these people?” Ferngully asked.

“How many Earth towns and settlements have you seen?” Honey Mead replied to the Bat Pony.

“A couple in the Wildlands of Equestria and a few walking into greater Earth then there’s Earth Capital,” Ferngully noted.

“Earth Capital is by far out stretches the most civilized city. This place doesn’t count,” Honey Mead explained, “We have control of this city officially but the Griffons own it.”

“I don’t understand?” Ferngully answered.

“Most Earth settlements are poor,” Honey Mead points out, “Those who are not coexisted with some other race. The Earth Capital gets its power from the Dore’s wealth from mining. Whoever they a line with controls Earth. Your settlement had a great number of Bat Ponies as well as Earth Ponies. What do you use those Earth Ponies for?”

“Mostly labor, They carve necessary materials from the mountain face, Also food, We provided them with public gardens to grow some foods.” Ferngully answered thoughtfully.

“See they grow most of your food,” Honey Mead points out.

“Well actually we Bat Ponies grew most of the food,” Ferngully corrects,” We have a cliff side that faces the rising sun were we grow vines. They taste like rhubarb and have to be boiled with sugars to be safe to eat. But we do grow them with techniques shown to us by Earth Pony and they help us maintain some of the irrigation system.”

“I see, my point still stands,” Honey Mead replied, “Most Earth Pony villages and towns are quite poor.”

“So, what makes the Griffon so special?” Ferngully asks.

“We have all the money,” Lupin adds, “Griffons have a talent for alchemy, But you can’t make something from nothing. We can make gold and pay it’s weigh in gold for the materials that make it.”

“If you make gold so easily wouldn’t it's loose it's value?” Ferngully noted.

“Yeah, but the gold comes out as powder,” Lupin points out, “The same for the orichalcum witch we make from gold and mercury. Orichalcum it's self is one of the strongest metals out there on par with mythrill if not stronger and is deadly to make. But it’s good for making weapons. One who comes into battle with an orichalcum weapon has a higher chance of coming out alive. The orichalcum is even higher valued then the gold. Anyway all this makes a class gap between the Griffons and Earth Ponies.”

“So basically Griffons look down on ponies?” Ferngully responded.

“Some do,” Lupin shrugged.

“I wonder if we can hail a Griffon taxi?” Vepicon looks up at a wagon flying over head.

“I doubt they stop,” Puck remarks, “You know how hard it is for a pony to get a Griffon cab in this neighborhood?”

“We have the money,” Vepicon points out.

“You can try but we aren’t far from the pony district,” Puck points out, “We should give that money to a pony cabby then let the birds have it.” Puck turns to Lupin, “No offence.”

“None taken,” Lupin replied.

They made a turn and travel a couple of blocks. The buildings quickly went from well kept to falling apart.

“Lupin grunted as her limbs started to ache.

Puck whistles down a pony wagon. An Earth Pony that was pulling a wagon stopped in front of them. Puck looks back at the rest of the group.

“I don’t think all of us are going to fit in this one,” He points out.

“How about I take Ferngully and maybe one of you go with me and the rest of you takes the next one,” Honey Mead suggests.

“I’ll come with you,” Vepicon volunteers.

Honey Mead and Vepicon helps Ferngully into the taxi. Once they settled in they gave the driver the okay to start moving. After they left the curve, Puck motions to flag another one down.

“Metalance? Puck?” A mare’s voice calls out to them.

They turned to see what looked be Rat Tak-Tak and Pot Shell walking out of a tavern.

“What brings you two out here?” Puck remarks.

“Still trying to find new leads on what the Gryphus are up to,” Rat Tak-Tak answers, “There is a new rumor going around about Griffons that escaped from their Gryphus holdings. There’s also something about an Iron Bird that’s very weird. Not sure what’s that about just yet.”

Another cab pulls up. Metalance, Puck and Lupin got into the cab.

Metalance turns to Rat Tak-Tak and Pot Shell. “Are you two going to be becoming with us?” She asks the ponies.

“I think we will take the next one,” Rat Tak-Tak points out.

They soon road out to the countryside. Many farms dotted the scenery and as they went farther from the city the farm houses were less and less closer together. They stopped at an old farmhouse, that had recently been fixed up.

“Lupin spent the night at the farm…”

“And the next morning…”

“Rise and shine,” A lavender colored mare with cow udders cutie mark says as she pulls a curtain back letting sunlight shine on Lupin’s face.

Lupin groans and pulls a blanket over her head. Tits Up grabs the blanket in her muzzle and pulls it off the Griffon.

“Lady can’t you just let me rest?” Lupin moans.

“You had enough days in bed dear,” Tits Up answered.

Mousecakes was in the kitchen cooking. She was making some pancakes and frying up some bacon. Rat Tak-Tak and Pot Shell had already set down and began to eat.

“You’re cooking meat?” Lupin said shocked.

“Huh? Oh, we ponies are really opportunistic eaters and don’t mind a little meat,” Mousecakes answers, “Not that we go around killing creatures for their flesh.”

“The pig we had to kill,” Tits Up points out, “One of the wild boars that rip up our farmlands. Violent creatures that are hard to negotiate with. Griffons pay good money for their meat so ends up being more profitable to catch and kill them when they violate our land.”

“Well I don’t think ponies have to kill anything,” Pot Shell mutters to himself.

“I don’t find the idea that bad,” Rat Tak-Tak remarks as she stuffs a peice of meat in her mouth. “Then again I have traveled deep in the Wildlands of Equestria. Most plants are poison there and it isn’t uncommon for ponies to eat meat for food.”

“I myself has never traveled the wildlands but my spa uses soaps made from body fat that came from creatures like this.” Mousecakes had finished filling a plate that she put aside. “I’m going to take this to Ferngully, she’s still in bed recovering.” The mare grabs the tray with her mouth and walks away.

Lupin sits down quietly to eat with the others.

“Well me and Pot Shell are going to go into town and try to dig up some more leads and information,” Rat Tak-Tak remarks.

“So why do the two of you keep going out together?” Lupin asks.

“We are posing as a couple,” Rat Tak-Tak explains, “If we start mixing up our groups it may cause suspicion against us.”

“I see,” Lupin replied.

When she was done, Tits Up drags the Griffon out to the chicken coop. They start picking eggs. Lupin looked a little grossed out by the experience of having to touch freshly laid and still wet eggs.

“Okay?” Tits Up asked.

“I’m fine,” Lupin wipes her claw off on her thigh.

After the putting the eggs away, they moved to the barn which had a few cows and it. The cows gives Tits Up and Lupin a smile as they walked into the barn.

“Miss your late, our tits are really swollen,” One of the cows moaned.

“Sorry about that, I wanted to give the Griffon a little extra rest,” Tits Up replied with a smile.

“That was late?” Lupin raised an eye.

“See I’m nice,” Tits Up smirked. She then puts a bucket underneath the cow’s udder and takes her tit in her muzzle and pulls. Milk squirts out into the bucket and Tits Up motions Lupin to do the same with the next cow.

Lupin leans against the cow to right herself. She grabs the tit of the udder with her claw and starts milking the creature.

Tits Up starts looking around the barn.

“Where’s Milly?” She asks.

“She went out to the pastor and never came back,” One of the cows replied.

Tits Up looks at Lupin who just finished milking the cow. “I think we need to tell one of the boys to search the field.”

They quickly found Vepicon outside the barn.

“Hey Vepi, you think you can take couple of ponies and search the field. Milly is missing,” Tits Up asks.

“Sure, I’ll take Metalance and Honey Mead out there,” Vepicon replied.

Lupin went back inside the farmhouse. There she runs into Whirly Pop. Whirly Pop had an orichalcum bow in her muzzle.

“My bow!” Lupin shouts.

This startled Whirly Pop.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Lupin told the pony.

“Sorry, we were holding it for you,” Whirly Pop replied, “I suppose it isn’t much use to you now, but there still might be someone you wanted to give it to.”

“Well I’m the only one in my family that was good with a bow,” Lupin answered.

“It is a magnificent specimen for a bow,” Whirly Pop notes, “I wish I had the bowing hooks so I could at least try it out.”

“What the heck are bowing hooks?” Lupin asks.

“Hooks that allows an Earth Pony to hold and use a bow,” Whirly Pop explains.

“Oh I see,” Lupin replied, “Well if you had bowing hooks I would let you use it.”

“Maybe we can pick some up in town,” Whirly Pop points out.

“I have a pair of bow hooks,” Puck remarks as he walks by.

“I guess that settles that,” Lupin shrugged.

“Later…”

Whirly Pop had put a pair of metal hooks on her forehooves. Ahead of her was a hay bale with a paper sheet taped to it as a target. A quiver of arrows hung to her side giving easy reach for her muzzle. Lupin and Puck stood behind her.

“Here,” Lupin hands the bow to Whirly Pop.

The pony grabs the bow with her hooks. One hook faced toward her and the other hook faced away. The face the way hook catches the shaft of the bow well the toward facing hook takes the string. Whirly Pop takes an arrow in her muzzle in swiftly hooks it to the bowstring. She then pulls back on the string the mechanical aspects of the orichalcum bow makes a clicking sound with her draw. Then she let go of the bow making a loud zipping sound. The arrow flew through the air and hits the center of the target.

“Fantastic shot miss,” Puck cheered Whirly Pop on.

“That didn’t feel right,” Whirly Pop notes, “I don’t think the arrow hit where it should of.”

“That’s the targeting magic,” Lupin told her.

“Is there any way to turn it off?” Whirly Pop asks, “The point of practice is to practice if I have magic interfering, it’s not going to help me when a fire nonmagically enchanted bow.”

“There’s a button in the side and that you can press with your hook,” Lupin points out, “You can keep the bow if you want?”

“Really don’t need to,” Whirly Pop interjected.

“Aren’t you like royalty or something? It is a magnificent bow deserving of someone of your stature,” Lupin stated.

“I can’t just take a thing like this,” Whirly Pop tells the half rabbit Griffon.

Lupin gives a smile, “How about you can keep this thing until your done with your mission here. If by then you become attached to it then you are welcome to take it home.”

“I suppose,” Whirly Pop said reluctantly.

“Open the empty barn!” Metalance shouts, “We found Milly!”

They turn to see Metalance trotting in front of Honey Mead and Vepicon. To their shock, honey Mead and Vepicon were dragging the caucus of a large cow. The cows body had gashes across its thick hide. Puck hearing the order walks over to the white barn with the peeling paint in opens the door. Meanwhile Tits Up and Mousecakes quickly emerges from the farmhouse.

“Oh my what happened?” Mousecakes gasps.

“Boars,” Tits Up answered, “Quick one of you lock the cattle barn, I don’t want the cows seeing this.”

Lupin and Whirly Pop were the closest to that barn and quickly put a board over the door locking it.

“Tits, we’re going to have to kill the boar nest for this,” Vepicon told lavender mare, “You should start processing the body now before we get overwhelmed.”

“I’ll have the girls help me right away,” Tits Up looks back at Mousecakes, Whirly Pop, in Lupin.

Whirly Pop wrinkles her nose. “What do you mean by process?” She had an idea and it was making her feel little ill.

“Yeah, I don’t mind eating meat and using its byproducts, not sure about cutting up a body,” Mousecakes replied nervously.

“Nonsense, you’re staying here you're helping,” Tits Up tells them.

“Well I guess Metalance and I are going to take our weapons and hunt these beasts down with Puck and Vepicon,” Honey Mead remarks.

“Later in the barn…”

Tits Up finished putting a rope around Milly’s neck. “Okay girls pull her up.”

Whirly Pop and Mousecakes pulls on the rope hoisting the heavy cow up into the air.

“Lupin try to hold her still for me,” Tits Up orders.

Lupin leans herself up against the post, and grabs the dead cow with one of her claws. Tits Up starts cutting into the hide making the proper incisions that allowed her to move away the cow's pelt.

“Little mangled but there is still enough good pieces of it to make some proper leather,” Tits Up remarks, “Here put this in the basket over there.” She gave Whirly Pop the pelt before cutting back into the cow. “You take these.” Tits Up gives Mousecakes some strips of meat as she cuts them off.

“Out in the field...”

The area was tared up grassland now dried mud. This was a field wrecked by the boar.

Metalance kicked at the hard dirt. “This is a lot of damage.”

“The hay here was going to help feed ponies,” Vepicon remarks, “Now it is going to be decayed mush going back into the soil.”

Honey Mead wrinkles her nose. “It smells like the cow barn.”

“Eeek!” They hear something scream.

Over in the adjacent field, they saw a small Griffon figure running from a group of boar. She was injured or weak because she kept trying to flap her wings and only barely managed to get hops off the ground.

“Got to help her!” Honey Mead shouts as she galloped gallantly forward.

“Well here we go,” Puck rolls his eyes as the other two ponies with him takes off after Honey Mead. He then follows.

The Griffon trips and falls, a boar was soon on top of her. As she began screaming, a spearhead goes through the boar’s skull. Honey Mead pulls out the spear and whacks the next nearest boar with the shaft of the spear. She stunned the thing.

“Are you okay lady?” Honey Mead asks as she positions herself better between the boar and the Griffon.

Metalance stabs the stunned boar in the thigh. The two remaining boar turn to run. Vepicon stabs it in the rear with his sword hitting the weak flesh underneath the tail. It starts bleeding out and collapses only getting a few meters away. Puck starts firing arrows at the other boar. He gets off three before it falls to the ground. The thing kept on squealing in squeaking as Metalance walks up to it.

“Get away from me you bastards,” The boar snaps as Metalance plunges her spear head through the boar’s eye socket. It struggled a little and stopped moving.

Honey Mead looked the Griffon up and down. The thing didn’t look healthy. “Are you okay?” She asks the Griffon.

“I have a message! I have a message!” The Griffon shouted in a panic.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Honey Mead reassures the Griffon.

The Griffon faints in Honey Mead’s hooves.

“The Griffon... Awakes in a bed...”

She sees the large yellow thing laying in the bed next to her. It stirs and looks at her.

“I see you are awake,” Ferngully remarks.

“Where am I?” The Griffon shouts.

“You’re at a farm a few miles outside of Stallion City,” Ferngully answered.

The door opened up in and a purple pony walks into the room.

“You said you had a message?” Rat Tak-Tak asks, “Where did you come from?”

“My name is Goldie,” The Griffon answered, “, I came from the Gryphus mines at Gollumus mountains. They had me prisoner there,” Goldie clutches a blanket and starts sobbing. “I was a breeder.”

Tits Up looks at Lupin.

“It’s been stated that Gryphus can’t breed on their own,” Lupin answered, “They either have to capture Griffon females or find volunteers. I’ve heard due to the size of the male's members volunteers are rare.Mating with a normal Griffond isn’t too pleasant to begain with.”

“And here I thought bigger was better,” Ferngully snickered.

“This isn't funny she lived this,” Lupin snaps.

“I’m sorry,” Ferngully replied

“Miss Goldie,” Whirly Pop walks into the room. “I am Whirly Pop noble of the Snack branch of the Houses of Apples. Any information on the Gryphus be helpful to us.”

Goldie blushes, “You’re really a noble?”

“Yes, in fact my uncle runs Earth Kingdom,” Whirly Pop remarks pointing at herself.

“Should you be telling her this?” Tits Up asks.

“He has up point ma’lady,” Metalance adds, “If news goes around that you and your brother are nobles you’re only increased the danger for you and our kingdom.”

“I understand the risks,” Whirly Pop nods her head, “and I’m sure our new friend here understand the risks I’m taking by revealing this. The lady here needs trust, and she’s not going to get it if we keep hiding things from her.”

“I you the ones that Claymari was talking about?” Goldie remarks, “The Gods of Chaos reigns providence down on us.”

“You know Claymari?” Metalance says in shock.

“Well they came from the same place they must know of each other,” Ferngully points out.

“She helped me escape,” Goldie answered.

“How is Claymari doing? Why didn’t she escape with you?” Whirly Pop asks.

“She’s working with the Gryphus,” Goldie tells them, “They are keeping an extremely close eye on her. The best she could do was help a bunch of us escape with a message.”

“What is his message?” Whirly Pop demands.

“Iron Bird,” Goldie replied.

“That’s it?” Metalance remarks.

“That was all,” Goldie answered.

“Well a simple message is the best kind to give in this kind of situation,” Lupin remarks.

“Yes but what does it mean?” Whirly Pop asks.

“Isn’t an Iron Bird a creature?” Ferngully remarks.

“Yeah, I remember hearing something about that to,” Metalance adds.

“Iron Birds are rumored to live on the Iron Mountains,” Lupin points out.

“Okay, what does Claymari want us to do with this information?” Whirly Pop remarks.

Ferngully begins laughing. “The most obvious thing to do, go there.”

“She does have a point,” Metalance agrees.

“To be more specific I think she wants us to do something with the Iron Bird,” Ferngully adds, “Suppose what it is we will have to figure it out once we get there.”

Pot Shell comes running into the room. “There are three massive Gryphus coming this way.”

“They are after me!” Goldie cried.

“No, they are after Lupin!” Pot Shell shouted.

“Why are they after me?” Lupin jumped back.

“You killed one of them,” Pot Shell explained, “They apparently just now found out that you are alive.”

“What about the rest of us?” Whirly Pop asks, “Where is Rat Tak-Tak?”

“I haven’t heard anything about us, I don’t think for the moment they’re interested,” Pot Shell answers, “Rat is trying to gather some reinforcements from the city guard.”

“You think the Gryphus would suspect us of being together?” Ferngully points out.

“Good point,” Whirly Pop nods her head.

“Then I think it’s imperative that you stay hidden,” Lupin tells them, “I’m pretty sure that the Gryphus haven’t seen most of you. But they may have a description and that is a risk we can’t take.”

“So you are just going to give yourself to them!” Whirly Pop shouts.

“I have to,” Lupin said resigning herself to the idea. “It’s my duty.”

“You’re not committing suicide because of your arm are you?” Whirly Pop asks.

“I am not sure,” Lupin answered.

They heard flapping outside. Three massive Gryphus landed in the middle of the farm.

“We are looking for an one armed Griffon,” Kira announced.

“I’m here!” Lupin walks out of the farmhouse.

“Wow that thing stumped her good,” A male Gryphus smirks.

“Come here girl,” Kira orders.

Lupin reluctantly did what she was told. Kira picks up Lupin in her massive claws. She takes the rabbit Griffon up to her face.

“You know that was my boyfriend you killed there right?” Kira tells Lupin.

“I hope the sex was good because all you can produce is rotten eggs,” Lupin snaps.

Kira gives Lupin and gentle squeeze. The Luffon feels her spine pop and lets out a scream. Kira squeezes harder making Lupin piss herself.

“I got a taste for making little creatures piss themselves from playing with Claymari,” Kira laughs as the liquid runs down Lupin’s leg.

Whirly Pop grits her teeth and start to step out into the open when Metalance puts her hoof on her shoulder.

“No, you can’t go out there,” Metalance tells her, “If you do this sacrifice be in vain.”

“She shouldn't of had to sacrifice herself,” Whirly Pop snaps knocking back the hoof. She then steps out into the open.

Honey Mead hiding in the barn house across from them quickly looks at Metalance and silently mouths the words. “What now?”

“Keep on hiding, we need to keep the element of surprise when this goes bad,” Metalance mouths back.

Honey Mead turns to Vepicon and Puck was hiding with her. “We are staying back and waiting for the signal.”

“What’s the signal?” Puck asks.

“Not sure but I think it involves the little white pony screaming,” Honey Mead answers.

“Who are you?” Kira asked as Whirly Pop walks out into the open.

“Professional negotiator,” Whirly Pop answers, “or I could be one of the people who owns this farm. Either way you're talking the me.”

“Look at the britches on this one boys?” Kira smirks to the other Gryphus.

“This Griffon is under my protection, I asked kindly for you not to harm her anymore and leave,” Whirly Pop demands.

“Kindly ask you say?” Kira mocks as she slowly squeezes Lupin tighter.

“Stop!” Whirly Pop cries hearing Lupin scream out more. “Please, I'm Whirly Pop of the Earth Nation and a high noble in the Apple family. If we trade places surely you could negotiate a good sized ransom for me.”

Kira smirks again, “Or I can just grab you anyway.” Kira squeezes Lupin until she pisses blood.

Lupin screamed then her screaming turns into bloody coughs. As Kira watched she saw something new emerge from the Griffon’s gaping mouth. First it was the legs, eight of them in total and black. Then came the body. To Kira’s shock it was a black spider, spider made up of shadows.

Lupin’s body made a loud crunch. The lifeless body falls from the Gryphus’s claws like a rock as the spider jumps at her. Kira flinches to hit the spider away but there was nothing. She looks confusingly at the other two Gryphus. They were laughing humorously among themselves revering in Kira’s cruelty.

“Now?” Honey Mead asks silently to Metalance.

“Still not yet,” Metalance replied as she shook her head.

Whirly Pop screams with tears rolling down her cheeks. “You cruel bastards!”

The Gryphus just continued to laugh harder. Whirly Pop quickly opens her saddlebag and pulls out the orichalcum bow and arms it with an arrow also from her saddlebag.

“What are you going to do with that thing little pony?” One of the other Gryphus teased.

“This is the bow that killed her boyfriend,” Whirly Pop snaps, “It’s spelled to hit your vital points.”

This unnerved Kira little bit, “Y-you only have one shot pony.” She motions for the two escorting Gryphus to approach the pony.

Whirly Pop’s heart beats frantically, she looks at Lupin’s dead body then closed her eyes screams and fires. The arrow implants itself into the wing of one of the Gryphus. Whirly Pop saw this and her heart sinks. She had forgotten that she disabled the targeting magic for the practice. The pony’s mind raced trying to think about what she could do next, to find the inspiration that could save her life.

“Elsewhere...”

Velvet Rope approaches Inspiration in its case.

“What are you doing here!” Leo shouts at the silver colored pony.

Velvet Rope tosses him into the wall with her magic. Now free of distractions Velvet Rope pulls Inspiration from its case and holds it in her hooves.

“Now you will finally be with your true master,” Velvet Rope says to herself out loud.

Suddenly the blade glows white then it disappears in white light only leaving sparkles that faded away.

“No!” Velvet Rope shouts, “Where did it go! Where did it go! We were so close!”

Leo starts laughing.

“What’s so funny old stallion,” Velvet Rope snaps.

“That case was to stop the blade from finding it’s true master,” Leo laughs, “You see Inspiration is a blade that can perform miracles and maybe the most powerful of the blades.”

“Back at the farm...”

A light appears in front of Whirly Pop. This strange event caused the Gryphus to take a step back. Even the ponies in hiding stood there in awe. Before Whirly Pop’s eyes, a rapier sword appears in the orichalcum bow.

“Inspiration?” Whirly Pop mutters in shock.

“Whirly Pop starts remembering back…She remembers looking at the sword when they first brought it in…”

“So this is Inspiration?” Whirly Pop remarks to Leo who was working on a bench behind her.

Leo turns to look at the blade. “A magnificent weapon.”

When Whirly Pop puts her hoof on the blade she heard a voice. “I am your inspiration.”

Whirly Pop pulls her hoof away. She turns to Leo, “Did you hear that?”

“Here what dear?” Leo asks.

“A voice said it was my inspiration,” Whirly Pop answered.

“When did this happen?” Leo said hastily.

“Just now, when I touched the sword,” Whirly Pop points out.

Leo smiles, “Interesting maybe this means you’re a chosen one. Maybe you should try touching the sword again? ”

“Okay,” Whirly Pop puts her hoof on the sword. Then she pulled it away. She and Leo become wide eyed as the sword started doing something.

“Back to now...”

“I am your inspiration,” The sword said to Whirly Pop as it floated there loaded in the bow.

“What do you want me to do?” Whirly Pop asks.

“You want to kill them with this bow?” Inspiration replied, “No, kill is too simple, you want to dominate, you want to hurt, you want them to never forget, to be the muse of the memory of pain.”

“Yes, yes,” Whirly Pop cries.

“Then our will be done,” Inspiration replied.

Inspiration’s blade starts turning, then the tip folds open. This whole time the sword was making a clicking sound as pieces of it move and slide like some kind of complex puzzle machine. Pieces of it grab a hold of the bow and the bow itself becomes one with the mechanical mass. A ring forms in the middle of the machine and Whirly Pop knew what to do with it. She sticks her hoof through the ring and aims it at one of the Gryphus.

The bow now looked like a cross between a bow and a chainsaw. With a thought the device starts firing large bladed bits at the Gryphus in rapid succession like a machine gun. The bits hits the Gryphus and wounds splatter across it’s body causing the massive creature to scream out in pain.

The second male Gryphus tries to flank Whirly Pop. By now mechanical armor started crawling up her arm and wrapped around her neck. The lower half of her face was now covered in a metallic mask. Whirly Pop dodges the Gryphus’s attack. Well doing so, she claps her forehooves together and pulls them apart in she now had two large chainsaws on both her front hooves. The blades starts spinning and she dives into the Gryphus. It’s blood splatters everywhere and he screams out.

Whirly Pop climbed on top of the Gryphus and drapes a chain around its neck. The chain was connected to two spinning gears on each one of her forehooves. Once in place, it starts spinning. Within seconds she slices through the Gryphus’s neck and it’s head falls to the ground.

The Gryphus that was shot earlier tries to crawl away. Whirly Pop holds out one of her hooves and a large orichalcum cabled net grabs the creature. Gears start moving in the Gryphus is drawn in closer to the mad pony. Soon all of the slack was gone and the cable starts biting into the Gryphus’s flesh. He lets loose a scream as his bones crack and flesh flops through the gaps of the cable.

Whirly Pop turns to Kira. “That is fun.”

Kira brakes out of her shock and shakes her head clear. She bolts for the sky. But this did not stop Whirly Pop whose entire body was now covered in armor. Jets on her back fire off and the pony takes to the sky. Kira turns around to see metal death flying after her. She starts zigging and zagging like praying being chased after by a predator.

Kira feels something hit her left arm. Then suddenly a cold burning feeling shoots up the arm and she loses her ability to move it. She turns her head to see her arm covered in frost with two metal spikes sticking out of it. The Gryphus grabs the spikes with her functioning claw. She shrieks as the cold burns her palms.

“Irony is the best punishment,” Both Whirly Pop and Inspiration said in the same voice.

Whirly Pop backs off her pursuit and heads back to the farm. She lands and Inspiration retreats into the form of a bow.

“Whirly Pop!” Pot Shell shouts as he runs to his sister.

As the colt approached the mare, she collapses allowing him to catch her.

“You saw that right?” Puck remarks to Honey Mead.

“Yes I did,” Honey Mead replied.

“That blade made her do that,” Puck points out.

“No, she was just angry,” Honey Mead shakes her head, “We all have killed.”

“She enjoyed that way too much,” Puck adds, “She didn’t have to kill them the way that she did. That was madness. She lost herself just now.”

“Can we not talk about this now,” Honey Mead snaps.

“I’m just saying keep that sword away from her,” Puck shrugs, “Before you are unable to.”

“One long flight later...”

Kira crashes into the mineshaft.

“Kira!” Polis shouts.

“Stay away!” Kira shrieked.

“What happen to you?” Polis asked, “Where did the others go?”

“Dead, a Sword Mare killed them,” Kira shouted.

“But Claymari’s been here the whole time,” Polis points out.

“Claymari isn’t the only mare with a magic sword,” Kira snaps.

“You really need to get that arm checked out,” Polis reaches for Kira’s arm. It looked like it was covered in slime and to his shock when he touched it the limbs slids off her shoulder and fell to the ground.

Kira passes out,

“Kira! Kira!” Polis shouts.