"Heavens to Betsy! That varmint just shot Rainbow!" cried out Applejack, urging her own hooves to run faster. Worries for Rainbow's well-being soon evaporated when she saw the griffin soaring into the air, followed close behind by a rainbow blur. "Oh, never-mind... she's okay..."
... forgot about that quick healing thingamajig... thought Applejack. However, the scream that followed came from a pony that definitely did not have that luxury.
"AH!" Applejack spun around at the cry and saw Rarity stopping mere inches from a metal bolt in the ground. At the same time, Fluttershy dove to the side, barely missing the pair of outstretched metal talons swooping down on her.
"Applejack! Behind you!" called out Rarity. Applejack caught movement at the corner of her eyes and stepped to the side by reflex, narrowly avoiding a second metal bolt slamming into the ground. Applejack looked up as the second griffin passed over her and saw them circling back around.
"RUN!" yelled Applejack. The three of them quickly galloped away as two more bolts landed nearby. Applejack rammed her head into a cart she came across, and with a quick snap of her neck, launched it toward their pursuers. One of them, Lilith, avoided the flying vehicle without any effort. Her companion, on the other hoof, flew right into it. However, to Applejack's surprise, the griffin only tumbled in mid-air for a bit before catching himself.
"DIRT PONY HIT BLAKE!" roared the griffin. "BLAKE BREAK YOU!"
Oh appleseed! Applejack darted down a side street as the griffin gave chase. The narrow path prevented the griffin from flying down to her and the overhanging roof provided some cover. However, that didn't stop the griffin from firing blindly down at the earth pony. Bolts after bolts landed around her, a few even grazed her, which stun a bit even if they didn't cause any permanent harm. The side street wasn't very long, and soon, Applejack found herself turning down an open road, where bewildered griffins stared at the pony galloping down it.
"GOTCHA!" roared Blake as he let loose another bolt, which again missed, but came dangerously close to a nearby griffin. That was enough to send all of them running and flying away in a panic. As bolts continued to fall around her, Applejack figured out two things.
One, this Blake fella was a very, very lousy shot.
Two, there were a lot of innocent bystander around her.
Need to get this idiot out of the village. with that goal in mind, Applejack galloped toward the nearest exit she knew of.
====================================================================
Rarity skidded to a halt inches away from the cliff edge at the end of the alleyway. Her heart thumped painfully like a jackhammer in her chest. Wheezing and gasping, Rarity gulped down as much air as she could while she pressed her back against. She looked around frantically, looking for a way out, a way to get away from...
... nothing.
Rarity looked around her. The alleyway was empty and the sky above was clear. There was no sign of the griffins that were chasing her, which was a relief. However, the fact that she couldn't see her friends was starting to worry her.
That worry turned to outright fear when Fluttershy's scream echoed nearby.
====================================================================
Get idiot griffin out of village... done. assessed Applejack as she galloped out onto the open field by the cliff. Behind her, Blake followed her in the air without showing any sign of stopping. In fact, the griffin was getting more and more determined to kill her.
"STOP RUNNING DIRT PONY!" roared Blake as another one of his bolt landed where Applejack had been just a second ago.
"Well! Stop trying to kill me!" shouted back Applejack.
"DIRT PONY HIT BLAKE!" the griffin fumbled around in his satchel before he, as impossible as it seems, got angrier. "DIRT PONY MADE BLAKE USE ALL SHINY POKEY!"
Oh good! He's out of weapons.
"DIRT PONY MAKE BLAKE USE BOOM APPLE!"
Er... what? Applejack looked back. In the griffin's metal talon was a round metal sphere, with a short length of string that was sparking on the end. He hurled the metal sphere at the earth pony, who quickly ran to the side away from it. The bomb detonated a good few dozen hooves away from her, but was still close enough to knock her to the ground and shower her with red hot shrapnel.
"DIRT PONY LIKE APPLE?" mocked Blake in a gleeful tone.
Nope... Applejack pushed herself up, spitting out dirt and grass from her mouth. She could feel the shrapnel poking through her skin as her body struggled to eject them. It was a strange and uncomfortable feeling, like dozens of ants crawling through her.
"DIRT PONY WANT ANOTHER?" Applejack snapped her attention back to the griffin, who had another those bomb out. She took off galloping once more as Blake lit the fuse by the sparks from clicking his metal talons together. "DON'T RUN! IT'S JUST APPLE!"
Applejack kept an eye on Blake, who held the lit bomb in his talon. When the fuse was almost gone, the griffin chucked the bomb at her once more. Applejack dodged to the side again, but as before, the bomb detonated just off the ground, catching her within the explosion and sent her tumbling head over heel. This time, Applejack found herself hurtling toward the edge of the cliff.
She managed to dug her hooves in just in time to stop herself from flying over the edge. Instead, Applejack found herself dangling just under an overhanging section of the cliff. She took a moment to catch her breath and to work the additional shrapnel out of her body. Her eyes caught the griffin, Blake, flying down the side of the cliff. He didn't notice the earth pony clinging to the cliff wall just below the overhang, obscured by the shadow it provided. Instead he was searching the bottom of the cliff, apparently convinced that she had fallen to her death amidst the waves that crashed against the jagged rock below.
Big mistake! thought Applejack as the blade-like horns emerged from the side of her head. She galloped down the side of the cliff, her eyes tracking the circling motion of the griffin below. Blake was starting his turn back when she launched herself off the cliff straight at the unaware griffin.
One thing Applejack didn't count on, however, was the sheen on her near razor sharp horns. The flash of light reflecting off it when her horn caught the sunlight was enough to warn the griffin of the incoming attack. A single flap of his wing was all that was needed to get himself out of the flying pony's path. With the griffin out of her view, Applejack found herself falling toward the sea itself.
Got a bad feeling about... Applejack never did finish her thought when she plunged into the foaming wave. To her shock, she found herself drowning almost the instant she was submerged underwater. Flailing her legs about, she struggled to find purchase as the undercurrent swept her away. As luck would have it, the current brought, or slammed, her right into a rock. Applejack quickly dug her hooves into it and launched herself out of the water. using the brief respite in the air before she dropped back into the sea, she found a small section of beach nearby. With another powerful kick against the jagged rocks, she launched herself toward dry surface.
Applejack splashed down near the water's edge, where crashing waves kept on washing over her. She quickly crawled the rest of her way onto the sandy beach before collapsing into a heap. She took the moment to collect her thought as she tried to catch her breath.
What the hay was... a hissing sound quickly derailed her train of thought. She looked to her side, and found a lit bomb laying in the sand right next to her.
Oh Clop! Applejack swore mentally as she tried to scramble away from the explosive device. She barely just got to her hooves when the bomb went off, sending her plowing through the sand. She came to a stop at the base of the cliff, amidst piles of fallen boulders.
"DIRT PONY LOVE THAT APPLE?" Applejack glared at the griffin mocking her as she pushed herself upright. She spat out mouthful of sand and winced from the pain of her body trying to force bits of metal shards from the bomb out of her. However, the griffin wasn't about to give her any rest when he pulled out two more bombs and lit them. "HAVE TWO MORE!"
Applejack didn't move. She knew that in her current state, any attempts at avoiding those explosives would be futile at best, if it wasn't so before. Instead, she needed at plan.
She didn't manage to form a plan when Blake hurled the bombs at her. Out of pure reflex, Applejack closed her eyes and braced herself, hoping beyond hope that she could endure this.
The bombs detonated right at her sides. But strangely enough, she wasn't thrown about, and neither could she feel the shrapnel lashing into her. Sure the explosive jolt did shook her a bit, but otherwise she remained solidly planted to the ground. Applejack opened her eyes and saw the strangest change that had came over her.
She was black. Not that her hair and mane had turn to black, but a solid, bone-like mass had covered her entire body. As she took a closer look, Applejack could see pieces of shrapnel, just barely embedded in the mass, falling off them.
It's an armor... of sorts... thought Applejack as she tried to move her body. While the hard carapace was making movement a bit restrictive, but there was no doubt that she could still move. ... nice...
"What... how..." stuttered Blake, which drew her attention.
"Well, I guess yer 'apple' ain't so great now, is it?" said Applejack. That had the effect enraging the griffin once more.
"NO!" Blake pulled out two more bombs. "MORE APPLE GOOD!"
He lit the two bombs in his talons, and in his rage, threw them immediately. It was a small mistake, but one that Applejack quickly recognized. She spun around and bucked the two incoming explosives right back. Blake's expression turned from rage to one of surprise before the twin bombs detonated next to him, engulfing in a cloud of smoke him.
"Now! How do ya like dem apples!" called out Applejack as the smoking griffin plummeted to the ground. Blake, however, was not dead yet. Although seriously injured, he still managed to crawl to his feet, wearing a look of rage on him.
"Dirt pony is going to..."
Both Applejack and Blake suddenly noticed a loud hissing noise. Applejack traced the sound to one of Blake's satchel, which was giving off a copious amount of smoke. Something that Blake also realized shortly thereafter. Dumbfounded, he looked back up at Applejack, who quickly backed up and reform the armor around herself.
"... Oh... this is ba..." Blake's voice was cut off when his satchel exploded. Even in her armored form, Applejack was pushed back by the force of the explosion. When the smoke finally cleared, all that remained of the griffin was a crater in the sand, one that was quickly filled in by sea water.
====================================================================
The gravel crunched beneath her hooves as she galloped down another alley. Fluttershy had long lost track where she was, nor did she really care. She had been running for a while, trying to escape from the griffin that was pursuing her.
"Gah!" screeched Fluttershy when a metal bolt landed right in front of her. She turned and galloped down a different path. But in the back of her mind she knew that no matter how hard she tried to escape, the griffin would always find her. The griffin never reveal herself, instead the only time Fluttershy knew she was found was when a metal bolt landed right in front of her. Fluttershy was growing hysterical from the sheer panic of not knowing where her pursuer was.
Without warning, the walls that surrounded her dropped away and the sky opened up. Fluttershy dug her hooves in, stopping herself from running head first into a wall. She looked around in panic, and found herself sitting in the middle of a small clearing surrounded on all side by rock walls. Fluttershy turned around, trying to escape from the alleyway she came from, when another metal bolt landed right in her path.
"Please stop please stop please stop please stop..." whimpered Fluttershy as she shuffled back against the wall.
"Aw..." came Lilith's voice. "... come on, keep running, I was just starting to have fun."
Fun? the thought triggered something in Fluttershy. You were scaring me... for fun?
Fear turned to anger as Fluttershy shook. "... no..."
"What did you say?"
Fluttershy took a deep breath. "No. I'm not running any more."
"Aw... come on..." Fluttershy flinched when another bolt landed, this time much closer to her. However, she managed to suppress her urge to start running. "... the game was just getting started."
"Then I'm not going to play." said Fluttershy, trying to keep herself from shaking. She glanced around nervously, scanning the thatched roof and the cloudy sky for any sign of the griffin.
"Fine, be that way." Fluttershy didn't even have time to react when she felt an impact in her right side. Almost immediately, her hind-leg gave out under her. She looked to her side, and found a red-feathered dart embedded next to her cutie-mark.
A rustling sound to her right drew her attention. On the roof, silhouetted against the low hanging sun, a griffin took off into a small glide before landing just a few yards away from her. Lilith stood there, casting a bored look at Fluttershy while holding blowgun in her metal talon.
"Tsk... I was hoping to have more fun with you..." she said. Fluttershy tried to drag herself away with her still usable fore-legs. At the same time, she was fighting against the sudden urge to fall asleep.
"Hm... odd, they say these things should drop your kind fairly quickly." said Lilith as she took out another dart from her satchel and stuffed it into the blowgun. "Oh well, two should do the trick."
Fluttershy redoubled her effort to get away when Lilith pointed the blowgun at her. The griffin took aim and started to inhale when a blur smashed against the side of her head, causing her to drop her weapon to the ground. Lilith held the side her head, where rivulet of blood was dripping down, and swore loudly. Fluttershy soon found the reason for the griffin's behavior, a bloody brick lying on the ground next to Lilith.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" in walked an enraged Rarity. Her horn glowed, levitating several pieces of rocks and bricks next to her. "YOU RUFFIAN! BRUTE! HOOLIGAN!"
With each word, Rarity chuck the hovering projectiles at Lilith. The griffin raised her right wing to protect her head from the projectile while, as Fluttershy watched, drew out her loaded crossbow from under her left wing.
"... Rarity..." Fluttershy choked out, still trying to fight off the sedative effect of the dart. "Rarity!"
"What Flutter..." Rarity turned to her. In her moment of distraction, Lilith whipped out her crossbow and took aim.
"... watch..." forced out Fluttershy, but the rest of her warning was stuck in her throat when Lilith squeezed the trigger.
*CRACK* Fluttershy watched in horror as Rarity's head snapped to the side, throwing her into a spin before she collapsed to the ground.
... Rarity... no... tears welled up in Fluttershy as her gaze was frozen on the still unicorn. ... no...
"Dammit... that hurts..." complained Lilith, who glanced toward the unicorn with a snarl. "Well... Damian never said we needed a unicorn."
The griffin strode toward Rarity and glared down at the motionless unicorn. "Hm... I wonder what unicorn tastes like... hope Damian doesn't mind..."
... you monster... Fluttershy shook as red haze clouded her vision. The drowsiness quickly fade away along with the paralysis in her legs.
"Nah, you snooze, you lose, I say." said Lilith as she examined her metal talon before reaching out for the unicorn.
"... you monster..." growled Fluttershy. Black and red tendril crisscrossed her mane as they started to morph and shift, twisting themselves into a jagged spear.
"Huh?" Lilith froze and turned her head toward her at the sound. For a moment, she had a perplexed expression on her, before quickly turning to one of fear.
"YOU MONSTER!" roared Fluttershy. A solid bundle of tendrils, thick as a tree trunk, shot out from her mane. The griffin didn't even have time to blink before the solid mass smashed into her. The tendrils continued on, carrying the impaled griffin with it until it slammed her into the wall. For a few seconds, the tendril kept Lilith pinned to the wall while the griffin's eyes wobbled in shock and pain as she stared back at the pegasus. Then, the bundle of tendril retracted, shrinking and fraying apart until it reverted back to Fluttershy's pastel mane.
With rage burning in her, Fluttershy's body shook as she marched toward the griffin with deliberation. Lilith was, as impossible as it seems, still alive. Blood pooled inside the gaping hole through the middle of her torso as she gasped desperately for breath. Sheer terror filled her eyes as she watched the pegasus approached.
"... If you try to hurt my friend..." snarled Fluttershy as she reared back. "... I'll make sure you meet your END!"
The last thing Lilith saw was a pair of hooves descending on her head.
====================================================================
"Hey! Get back here!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she swooped past Damian. She had to give the griffin some credit, he knew how to fly. While her wings gave her the speed advantage, her added momentum due to her mass meant that she couldn't outmaneuver the griffin. It was something that was starting to irk her as Damian once again dodged her ramming attempt. Rainbow Dash quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a metal bolt sailing past her. She banked around and watched as Damian took off away from her.
They had been doing the same dance for almost ten minutes, Rainbow Dash reckoned. And so far, the number of times she managed to hit the griffin was precisely zero. Damian, on the other hoof, managed to land a few metal bolts right in the pegasus. Of course, while it did stun something fierce having a bolt of size tearing through her body, as far as she knew, it didn't cause much damage. The fact that she always recovered quickly after getting hit so many times was freaking out the griffin in a major way.
"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU MONSTER!" yelled Damian as Rainbow Dash continued her pursuit.
"Hey! Who are you calling a monster? Jerk!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "And what did you do to Gilda!"
Rainbow Dash didn't really expected a response, and she didn't get one. Putting more powerful strokes into her wings, Rainbow Dash surged toward Damian. Even with her inability to land a hoof on the flighty griffin for the past... oh, a few dozen attempts, Rainbow Dash hoped that in one of the pass the griffin would make a mistake. Something that Damian didn't make in this pass as he snapped away from her.
"Gah!" yelped Rainbow Dash as a metal bolt slammed right at the base of her left wing. She plummeted for few second before her body eject the bolt and she regained use of her wing. Grunting in annoyance, Rainbow Dash she turned back to track the fleeing griffin, made somewhat difficult against the glare of the sun.
Wait! The sun! a planned formed in Rainbow's mind. She pushed herself higher as she followed Damian, who had an eye on her watching her every move. Here I go!
She dove down toward the watching griffin like she had done many times before. Just as she expected, Damian quickly changed direction. With a deft twitch of her wings, Rainbow Dash rolled to the side and avoided the flying bolt. Another quick adjustment in her wings, Rainbow Dash soared up, up toward the sun.
"STOP DOING THAT YOU MON... AH!" Rainbow Dash grinned in satisfaction as Damian was forced to cover his eyes. She looped over the top of the climb and broke into a dive. The griffin struggled to see in her direction. When Damian managed to catch a glimpse of a shape diving toward him, he gave his wings a hard flap, trying to change his direction. Although by then, it was already too late for the griffin.
Rainbow Dash's right wing impacted its counterpart on the griffin with a sharp crack. After leveling off to prevent an intimate encounter with the ground itself, she looked back with immense satisfaction as Damian spiraled down to the village. Circling around, Rainbow Dash followed the griffin as he crashed into the village's main road, where villagers were starting to gather around the downed griffin.
Well, time to end this. thought Rainbow Dash as she descended and hit the ground in a gallop. Her wings, no longer needed for flight, morphed into two sets of menacing claws. She didn't intend to kill the griffin, just to scare him into telling her what happened to Gilda. Plus, Rainbow Dash had a feeling that this creep would know where Twilight and Pinkie were. Her hooves thundered along the sparse plain as she charged into the village. Damian was already up, battered and bruised, with his right wing bent at an odd angle and dragged uselessly on the ground. When he saw the pegasus barreling toward him, he did something that Rainbow Dash never expected.
Damian pounced into the surrounding and pulled a griffin, which Rainbow Dash recognized immediately as the egghead Galena, into a choke-hold and jammed the loaded crossbow at her temple. Rainbow Dash quickly dug her claws into the ground and screeched to a halt.
"Stay back or she gets it!" warned Damian.
Hayseed! "Hey! Let her go you coward!" shouted Rainbow Dash, growling at the griffin as she pulled her claws out of the ground.
"Nuh uh..." Damian shook his head. "Like I'm going to listen to you FREAK! BACK OFF!"
"... please... let me go..." pleaded Galena when her captor dragged her back a few step.
Rainbow Dash snorted in anger, her right hooves scrapping at the ground, but was otherwise unable to do anything.
"Galena!" called out Lady Amelia as she trotted in. Her eyes glanced toward Rainbow Dash, or specifically her clawed wings, before turning her attention back to Damian. "Damian! What do you think you're doing? Let her go!"
"So... conspiring with the enemy, eh?" said Damian with a nasty snarl. "I should be the one asking IF you know what you're doing..."
"I..." stuttered Amelia. Her eyes darting between Rainbow Dash and Damian.
"Rainbow! I saw you..." Applejack skid to a stop next to Rainbow Dash, her eyes staring at the scene before raising her volume. "HEY! Yer no good, stinking cheater!"
"Ain't cheating if it gets the job done." answered Damian with a smug look.
"And what what are ya going to do now?" challenged Applejack. "Can't exactly do anything dragging her around like dat."
Damian's looked around him. It was clear to Rainbow Dash that the griffin had no idea what he's going to do next.
"It looks like you need some help, Damy.." Applejack looked up in dismay at the source of the voice. Lilith was gliding down toward them before she flared her wings out and landed in a short trot next to Damian.
"Where's the yellow one?" asked Damian. Lilith seemed unsure, glancing at Rainbow Dash and back to Damian. A sudden sense of dread descended upon the pegasus.
"I'm sorry..." said Lilith, looking ashamed at herself. "She put up quite a bit a fight... and I may have... accidentally..."
No! Rainbow Dash screamed inwardly as her wings went slack from shock. Beside her, Applejack was frozen with her eyes wide in disbelief.
"Argh! Father needed a pegasus!" cried out Damian in frustration. His outburst snapped Rainbow Dash back to the situation at hoof.
"How about this?" Lilith gave Damian a flirtatious grin as she ran her talon through his neck feather. "I'll take this little griffin and keep her... situated so you can go give that pegasus..." Lilith gestured toward the Rainbow Dash. "... a good thrashing before we deliver her to your father."
Damian went contemplative for a few seconds, catching Rainbow's seething glare before letting out a malicious smile.
"Sounds like a grand idea." said Damian as he pushed Galena into Lilith. He immediately started advancing on Rainbow Dash, flexing his metal covered talons. "I'm going to enjoy hurting you."
Rainbow Dash, however, did not pay attention to the approaching griffin for long. Instead, she stared in bewilderment as Lilith whispered something to Galena before simply letting the bookish griffin go. Then, without Damian noticing what's going on, Lilith pulled out her crossbow and followed after him.
"Hey! What the hell are you all looking at?" asked Damian, noticing the two ponies were looking at something behind him. He never did get a chance to find out what it was. The instant Lilith reached Damian, she reared up, wielding the crossbow in both her talon and swung. The crossbow introduced itself to the back of Damian's head, which snapped forward into the ground and dragged the rest of the body with it.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood slack jawed, their eyes flicking between the unconscious form of Damian and a very surprised looking Lilith.
"Uh... wha..." uttered a bewildered Applejack. That appeared to have caught Lilith's attention, who looked up at them with a mixture of fear, confusion, and surprise. Before long, however, all those went away when she started crying.
"... we did it..." sobbed Lilith. "... all those villagers... we killed them... oh Celestia..."
A collective gasped spread across the gathered griffins as black and red enveloped her form as she started to shrink. Her coat and wings lightened to a yellow color as pastel mane grew out from her neck. The lion-like tail split apart into pink colored strand. Her metal talons popped out as the uncovered talons fused into two hooves. When the transformation was finally complete, the tendrils disappeared, leaving behind a weeping Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy!" called out Rainbow Dash and Applejack as they rushed to Fluttershy's side, ignoring the murmur from the griffin crowd around them. Fluttershy looked up at the two ponies with flooded eyes.
"Rainbow... Applejack... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." said Fluttershy in between sobs.
"No... it's okay Fluttershy..." said Applejack, putting her hoof on the sobbing pegasus' back. "Ya dun nothing wrong."
"... we got Twilight..." choked out Fluttershy. "... and Pinkie... and I didn't do anything... I wanted to do something... but I couldn't... I'm sorry..."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged a surprised and worried look. However, a fresh wail convinced Rainbow Dash that Fluttershy needed them right then and there. She took the crying pegasus' shoulder by her hooves and pull her from the ground to eye-level.
"Fluttershy, look at me." said Rainbow Dash. When Fluttershy didn't respond, she gave her a small shake. "Look at me!"
Fluttershy did as she said. Rainbow Dash had to forced down the urge to cry with her when she saw Fluttershy's tear-streaked face.
Be strong for Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash knew to some extent what Fluttershy's going through. It's the same with her when she first... absorbed the diamond dog back in Ponyville. The flood of memories and emotion was painful, and that was from a diamond dog what had partially turned and whose worst act was, as far as she knew, conking another diamond dog in the head. But for Fluttershy, she had... consumed a griffin, whether she was in control of herself at the time Rainbow didn't know and didn't care. What's important to her was that the normally kind and meek pegasus in front of her had just witness memories of unspeakable horrors.
"Fluttershy, listen to me. That's not you." said Rainbow Dash forcefully.
"But..." choked out Fluttershy as she tried to look away. Rainbow Dash gave the pegasus a quick shake and got her to look back.
"It's... Not... You..." emphasized Rainbow Dash. "It's not you that did all those things. They are just memories, memories of a really, really bad griffin."
"... but..." Fluttershy didn't finish whatever she was trying to say when Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around her. So instead, Fluttershy buried her face in Rainbow Dash chest and wailed her heart out.
====================================================================
Ugh... my head hurts... groaned Pinkie Pie. Her mouth felt like sandpaper and her nose was filled with stench of blood. Of course, those concern were secondary to the screeching sound of metal on stone that was making her headache worse.
"Oh great... the annoying pink one is awake." Pinkie Pie's ears shot up. It was a voice she recognized a long time ago, if almost a year was a long time.
The party pony opened her eyes. She was lying in a cage, a fairly large in her own opinion. From the chilliness she felt against her head and the sheen it gave off, the floor was made out of metal, just like the three metal walls and ceiling that surrounded her. The only side that was not a solid wall was covered bar bars of steel with a small door set in it. It was pretty well lit by a row of gas lamps just outside the bars of the cage. Which was enough light for Pinkie Pie to see a sorry looking griffin, who was dragging a heavy looking metal tub, inside the cage with her.
"... Gilda?" Pinkie Pie stared at the griffin in front of her. It was Gilda, that much Pinkie Pie was sure of, even though she looked completely different from how Pinkie Pie remembered. The air of superiority that defined the griffin was gone, replaced by a cloud of depression and defeat. There were injuries all over her, some new, some old, with a very prominent black bruise around her left eye.
"Oh good..." muttered Gilda as she dragged the tub to Pinkie Pie. The screeching of metal on metal sent her mane standing on end. "... Stinkier Pie remembers me."
"Hey! I'm not..." Pinkie Pie paused and examined herself. Dark reddish brown gunk and stains had soaked into her coat and mane. She gave herself a whiff, and gagged when a strong scent of rust and something rotten invaded her nose. "... okay, I guess I do stink. Good one!"
"Whatever..." Gilda wearily said. She walked up to Pinkie Pie and grabbed her by her mane.
"Hey!" ignoring the pony's cry of indignation, Gilda chucked her into the water filled tub where she landed in a splash. Pinkie Pie's head broke through the water surface, spitting water out of her mouth. "What was that about?"
"Giving you a bath." said Gilda. "The guards were complaining about how much you smell... ugh, you smell even worse than that unicorn..."
... unicorn? it took Pinkie's groggy mind to work out who Gilda's referring to.
"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie stood up in the tub, her draped over the side of the tub so she could lean out. "You saw Twilight?"
"Who?" asked a perplexed Gilda.
"Is she purple?" asked Pinkie Pie. "And a mare? That's kind of important... and a unicorn! You know, the one with the horn? Is she a purple mare unicorn? Oh... that's a mouthful..."
"... yes..." Gilda turned and rummaged through a bucket that held assortments of cleaning supplies. "... I guess you know her, or something..."
A pair of hooves grabbed Gilda's shoulder and spun her around. The griffin found herself face to face with one very worried pony.
"What's happening to her?" asked Pinkie Pie. "What are they doing? Zombify her? Turn her into a robot? Baked her into cupcakes? Please tell me they didn't bake her into cupcakes! Because pony cupcake tastes nasty, not that I tried one before... actually, what do MMPH!"
Gilda had reached up and clamped Pinkie's mouth shut with her talon.
"If I tell you... will you shut up?" asked Gilda sounding very exhausted.
"Mm-hmm." Pinkie Pie nodded. Gilda eyed her for a few seconds before releasing her talon.
"As far as I know, they didn't do anything to her... other than keeping her asleep..." said Gilda. "... for now, anyway."
"Oh..." muttered Pinkie Pie while Gilda started pouring liquid soap into the tub, causing the water to foam up with bubbles. "... so... what are they doing to us?"
"Heck if I know..." said Gilda. "... learned not to ask too many questions around here."
"Why?" asked Pinkie Pie. Wordlessly, Gilda pointed her talon at her bruised eye. "Oh... so... where are we?"
"Don't know." said Gilda, pulling out a long-handled brush.
"Who are they?"
"Blackwings." answered Gilda as she dipped the brush into the soapy water before she started scrubbing Pinkie Pie on the head.
====================================================================
Rainbow Dash was lying on the ground beside Fluttershy, who had worn herself out from the crying. For the moment, she settled next to Rainbow Dash with her head beneath Rainbow's wing, letting out an occasional sniff.
They're back in the mead hall and were resting in the far back corner of the massive room. Next to them was Spike, who was wrapping some sort of tape around Rarity's horn. The unicorn was lucky, the crossbow bolt had hit her horn almost dead-on, which stopped the bolt from going into her head. The impact however, was hard enough to chip her horn and gave her one heck of a migraine. So for the moment, Rarity lied on her side with her head on a pillow while Spike worked on bandaging her horn.
Not far from them was Applejack, who was in the process of explaining to Amelia and Galena just what happened to them. More specifically, what they had become. The two griffins sat in rapt attention, listening to every word that came out of the earth pony's mouth. Rainbow Dash caught occasional gasps from them when Applejack talked about monstrously mutated creature they encountered, and even more so when she mentioned about the infected griffins they encountered.
On the opposite end of the room, by the door, were four griffins, two on each side. Guards by the looks of it, although it didn't look like they're very good guards. Their chain-mail armors were worn and rusted. The weapons they carried looked like they were made in a hurry, ranging from a kitchen knife tied to a stick to a piece of wood with nail driven into it. The only weapons that looked remotely like a weapon were the two crossbows they took off those... thuggish griffins.
The most telling part, was the fact that none of the guards appeared confident in their role. They did try their best to look fearless and imposing, but Rainbow Dash could clearly see the fear in their eyes as they look at her. She did understand their reaction, considering that almost the entire village had witness a pegasus who turned her wings into giant claws and another who could perfectly mimic the form of a griffin. Rainbow Dash wondered if they knew Fluttershy could only do that after killing and eating said griffin, and if not, what their reaction would be if they found out.
Probably something drastic... thought Rainbow Dash. She watched as Amelia, Galena, and Applejack all got up. The griffins headed for the door while Applejack came to join them.
"So... what's happening?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Well, they..." Applejack gestured toward the two griffins that were just leaving. "... believe us when I said we are not a danger to them, and they're going to try to convince the rest of the villagers of that." said Applejack.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Rarity.
"Well... apparently quite a few villagers think we are some sort of monsters..." said Applejack.
"That bad?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah..." Applejack ran her hoof over her mane. "... from what Galena told me, there's a group of villagers outside with pitchforks and torches."
"That's... not right!" cried out Rarity. She winced from pain when she tried to get up and was forced to lay her head back down. "You are not monsters..."
"No..." sniffed Fluttershy. "... they're right... I am a monster."
"No, you're not! Don't say that." said Rainbow Dash.
"It's true..." Fluttershy looked up at them, her reddened eyes threatened to tear up once more. "I killed her..."
"Fluttershy." Rarity spoke in a soft voice. "That thug tried to kill me. If you hadn't stopped her, she would have killed me for real."
Fluttershy shook her head. "You don't understand... I couldn't control myself... I hurt her, bad, and she's dying already... but I didn't stop... I was so angry..." Fluttershy stared down at her own shaky hooves. "I just... raised my hooves up... and just stomp on her... even when she's dead... even when her head was just a... bloody pulp... I kept hitting her... again... again... and again..."
Fluttershy looked back up with eyes starting to well up in tears. "I'm scared... What if I lost control again? What if I hurt one of you? I don't want that to happen... "
"It won't happen." said Rainbow Dash.
"But if I lost control around you..."
"Then we'll stop you." said Rainbow Dash. "Just like how you stopped me from hurting our friends back in Ponyville. Of course, I don't have your Stare thingy, so it might have to be a bit more... um... physical..."
"Ah don't know Rainbow..." said Applejack while looking at Rainbow Dash with a furtive grin. "Remember last time when ya tried to get her to watch dem dragons migrate? She gave ya a good stomping."
"Hey! I was just surprised that's all!" answered Rainbow Dash in indignation.
"Don't ya worry Fluttershy." said Applejack, ignoring Rainbow's outburst. "If it ever comes to that, I will help Rainbow on that!"
"Wait, hold up there, are you saying that you'll help Rainbow Dash with... what, beat up Fluttershy?" asked Spike looking thoroughly confused. The ponies exchanged an awkward glance at each other.
"... Ah was thinking something less... painful, like holding her down or tying her up..." said Applejack.
"We're talking about Fluttershy, right? The same pony who took down a castle-sized hydra by turning herself into a giant porcupine and stuck hundreds of bulked up buffaloes on those... spikes like marshmallows on sticks?." deadpanned Spike.
... good point... the thought ran through Rainbow Dash as she watched Applejack trying to think of something else.
"... or drop a boulder on her, that seems to work..." continued Applejack, sounding more unsure by the second. "... or just knock her out..."
"That's... fine..." mumbled Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy!" Rarity gasped in shock. "You're actually... okay with being treated in such a brutish manner?"
"If that will stop me from hurting my friends." said Fluttershy. "I'm... fine with it."
"Beside, we can take a lot of... er... smacking around." chimed in Rainbow Dash. "I mean. Look, Fluttershy survived being eaten by a hydra and a boulder crushing her. Applejack survived having a giant hole punched through her. I survived being skewered, burnt, and a sewing machine to the stomach. It's not going to be a big deal if we, or you, had to get a bit... forceful if we get out of control."
"Oh... wow... I can't wait to see what the friendship report will be." said Spike. "Dear Princess Celestia. Today I learn that part of being a good friend is to stop them from doing something they'll regret. Even if it meant crushing them under a boulder or beating them senseless."
Silence descended on the group for a short while before Applejack let out a snicker. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but join in. It wasn't long before the two started laughing their heads off. Even Fluttershy and Rarity weren't immune as they started giggling. As for Spike, after running what he said through his mind a few time, also chuckled a bit at the way it sounded. The laughter continued for a few minutes before the ponies and dragon had to catch their breath.
"So..." Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. "... Fluttershy. If you ever, EVER lose control of yourself, we'll make sure you won't hurt any of your friends, got it?"
"Got it." Fluttershy nodded with a smile. "Thanks."
"Are we... interrupting something?" Amelia's question drew the ponies and dragon's attention. The griffin walked up to them, followed closely by Galena, both wore a perplexed look on them.
"Ah, no yer um... lady... ship." said Applejack. "Just done working out some issues, that's all. So, how did it go?"
"Fairly well." said Amelia. "In fact, those that see you as... well, monsters are in the minority. Most just needed my assurance that you are no danger to them. There's even a small group that believes you're super heroes of sorts, mostly the younger ones."
"I guess that's good to hear." said Applejack. "So... just who are those griffins that attacked us, and why do they have two of our friends?"
"Those are the griffins of the Blackwing tribe." said Amelia as she sat down next to them. "As for how or why they have your friends, I do not know. In fact, none of us had ever seen these... deformed griffins you spoke of."
"How about Damian?" asked Applejack.
"He's still out, and as much as we tried, we cannot wake him at the moment." said Galena.
"Wait a second!" piped up Rainbow Dash. "Fluttershy, do you know anything about this?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm sorry... I... can only see bits and pieces... nothing about strange griffins..."
"Her... memory?" asked Amelia, looking perplexed along with Galena.
"Oh... yeah... about that..." said Rainbow Dash. "... apparently, whenever one of us... um... 'ate' someone, we get their memories."
Both Amelia and Galena looked aghast at the revelation. For Amelia, however, the horrified look quickly changed to one of desperation. Fluttershy suddenly found herself in the grip of the lady griffin.
"So do you see anything about Gilda? Leo? Are they really alive? Are they well?" asked Amelia with desperation in her eyes.
"I... I don't... GAH!" Fluttershy jerked back out of the griffin's grip before she collapsed on the ground. Her hooves pressed against the side of her head as she writhed and screamed in pain.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack quickly rushed to the pegasus' aide.
"What... what did I do?" uttered Amelia in bewilderment. "Did I hurt her?"
Before anyone did anything else, Fluttershy's scream stopped abruptly and was replaced by exhausted groans. Her hooves left her temple as she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position.
"Are ya okay, Fluttershy?" asked a worried Applejack.
"I'm... fine..." came Fluttershy's strained reply. "... I just... saw more of her memories... and it hurts a bit when that happened..."
"I'm most sorry if I caused you harm." said Amelia.
"It's okay, I..." Fluttershy looked straight at Amelia, who looked back expectantly. "Your daughter and husband are alive, and..." Fluttershy's eyes suddenly swelled to the size of saucers. "... GILDA IS MARRIED TO DAMIAN?"
====================================================================
If there's one new thing Gilda quickly learned about the pink pony, beside general annoyance and frustration the equine caused her, was how talking this pony was. She didn't know how Pinkie Pie got going. It started with just a few question by the pink pony about her, all of which Gilda refused to answer. It ended with Pinkie Pie pretty much regurgitating everything that happened to her and her friends since Gilda's... humiliating departure. The griffin had tune most of it out, only catching a word here and there. Things like party, Fluttertree, gum party, boring party, chocolate rain, costume party, sister party, big dragon, babies, baby party, fake wedding party, real wedding party...
Okay, maybe two new things about the pink pony, the second one being how much said pony loved to throw parties. Of course, that's assuming the pink pony was telling the truth. The more recent series of Pinkie Pie's rant had pretty much convinced Gilda that the pink pony was just pulling her leg. Things like shooting stars that turned everything into blood thirsty monsters was already hard enough for her to believe. What sealed it was when Pinkie Pie claimed that Fluttershy, who Gilda remembered from the pony's description as the meek and weak crybaby, managed to destroy a hydra and horde of monster buffaloes, if monster buffaloes were even real in the first place. Then there were things that Rainbow Dash did...
Rainbow Dash... the name ran through Gilda's mind. Truth be told, she missed the pegasus. Rainbow Dash was, as far as Gilda knew, the closest friend she ever had. Which made it hard when she remembered how she blew the one chance she had to reconnect with her.
In her musing, Gilda had not realize that it was quiet around her. When she did notice, she stopped scrubbing and looked down at the tub, and saw a pair of cerulean eyes staring back.
"What?" asked Gilda.
"I asked. What happened to you?" answered Pinkie Pie with her eyes staring at her expectantly. Gilda rolled hers in response.
"Already told you, don't want to talk about it." replied Gilda.
"But you promised!"
Gilda eyed the pink pony in surprise. "I did not!"
"Yes you did!" said Pinkie Pie. "When I asked if you will tell me what happened to you if I tell you what happened to me, you said 'Sure'."
Gilda racked her brain for when she said that, and the closest she came up with was her off-the-cuff remark of "Yeah, sure, whatever."
"I didn't mean that." said Gilda.
"But I told you everything..." said Pinkie Pie. "... it's not fair if you don't tell me."
"Well... life isn't fair..." answered Gilda dejectedly as she resumed scrubbing Pinkie's back. When she heard something like a cross between a whine and a whimper, she stopped and turned her attention back to the pony's face. Pinkie Pie was looking up at her with wide, glistening eyes while her mouth was stuck out in a pout and quivering. Gilda groaned inwardly.
"Are you going to cry now?" asked Gilda.
"I... I don't know..." answered Pinkie Pie. All the while she maintained her best impression of a puppy dog pout.
"Ugh... look, if I tell you, will you promise not to do that again?" asked Gilda. Her response had the desired result of cheering the pink pony right up.
"Uh huh!" Gilda leaned back to avoid the splashes of soapy water caused by Pinkie's vigorous nodding.
"Fine..." sighed Gilda, rolling her eyes as she did so. At least she won't be talking for a while...
====================================================================
"How the hay is Gilda married to that... that JERK!" fumed Rainbow Dash. "Or even better question, WHY?"
"She's not married to Damian." said Amelia.
"But how come I... she..." Fluttershy spoke with a stutter, her mind trying to make sense how to refer to her memories. "Lilith... think that she's married?"
"Because she was supposed to..." continued Amelia.
"Say wha?" Applejack, along with the rest of the ponies plus one dragon, gave Amelia a puzzled look.
"My lady," started Galena with slight hesitation, "it might be easier if we tell them... considering that they're about as involved in this as it is going to get..."
"I guess it couldn't hurt." said Amelia after a few moment. She took a deep breath to gather her thought, and took another look at the assembled ponies. All of whom were looking at her with rapt attention.
"How much do you know about the griffin tribes?" asked Amelia. That got her a collective shake of heads from the ponies. "Guess I will have to give you a crash course on that."
"As you probably know, despite this entire region being called the Griffin Country, the griffin tribes are, more or less, independent from each other." started Amelia. "We have no leader that governs all the tribes, unlike you ponies and your princesses."
"Dispute among tribes are quite common, mostly involve territorial boundaries. To resolve those issues, the griffin tribes will send delegates to form a Council, where the delegates will discuss and vote on how to resolve the disputes."
"What happens if one of the tribe don't like the decision?" asked Applejack.
"They can go against the decision and start a war to get what they want." said Amelia. "In fact, it was the most common way griffin tribes resolve their disputes centuries ago. At least until Princess Celestia stepped in."
"Princess Celestia?" exclaimed the ponies.
"Yes," said Amelia with a faint smile, "after the Great Griffin War, Princess Celestia managed to gather all the griffin leader together. It was under her watch that the First Council was formed. One of the first agreement among the council members was that members of the council are obligated to enforce the council's decision, by force if necessary. There are other minor details, but the important thing is that it's a strong deterrent for tribe seeking to go against the council's decisions. If they do try, they'll find themselves at war with nearly every other tribes on the council."
"Okay, it's a... nice history lesson." commented Rainbow Dash, getting slightly impatient. "But what does that got to do with Gilda?"
"I'm... getting to that." said Amelia. "Since council decision was made based on majority vote by tribal delegates, it is prudent for tribes to form alliances to protect their interest. There are many ways an alliance can form, one of which is..."
"Marriage..." blurted out Rarity. "Gilda married that... ruffian so your tribes can be allies?"
"Yes... at least she was supposed to..." said Amelia. "At first I was opposed to it, but our tribe was not one of the more influential tribes, and there were disputes brewing among the coastal tribes regarding fishing territories. We needed the alliance with some powerful tribes, and Blackwing was among the most powerful and influential."
Amelia hung her head, as if in shame. "... so, two years ago..."
====================================================================
"... my parents arranged for me to marry Damian." said Gilda.
"So... is he nice?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"What do you think?" scowled Gilda.
"That bad, huh?"
"You have NO idea. It took me just minutes to work out that he's a narcissistic ass who actually cared for no-one but himself." growled Gilda, rolling her eye to the ceiling. "Every time we go out, he would complain about how plain and weak I looked..."
"... aw..." Pinkie Pie muttered as the brush pushed harder against her back.
"... You feathers are so messy! Why don't you dye your wings, pretty yourself up some? Smile in front of others! You are making me look bad!" Gilda kept raising her voice as she continued to rant.
"... aw... aw..." Pinkie Pie yelp of pain grew louder as the hard bristle dug into her back.
"Then there were the 'dates'..." Gilda air quoted with her free talon, while still grinding the brush into Pinkie's back with her other talon. "... if you could call them that! He would lead me around and show me off like some sort prized pet! And then gets angry whenever another guy tries to hit on me! He even told them I'm his, like I'm just a piece of... argh!"
"... aw... aw... aw..."
"He even had the gall to hit on other chicks when I was standing right next to him! It was like I wasn't even there!"
"... aw... aw... AW!" Pinkie Pie screeched out when the brush, tangled in her coat, tugged painfully on it. Gilda stopped talking and looked down.
"Um... sorry..." said Gilda.
"It's okay." muttered Pinkie Pie. "Wow... he sounded like... a big meanie." commented Pinkie Pie, earning her a dejected sigh from Gilda.
"You have no idea..." said Gilda. "... I knew that it was important for the tribe, and I didn't want to disappoint my parents... but I just couldn't take it anymore... so I..."
====================================================================
"... just a week before she's supposed to get married... Gilda ran away." said Amelia.
"Geez, I can't imagine why!" quipped Rainbow Dash, who immediately regretted it when Amelia glared at her.
"Says the pony who broke my daughter's heart!" growled Amelia.
"But, your ladyship, how do you know that Gilda... harbor's such feeling for Rainbow?" asked Rarity.
"I don't know, perhaps the fact that she wrote about Rainbow all the time while she was at the flight camp. Or the fact that in her runaway note she said she was going to look for her. Or the fact that Damian came here, demanding to know who's this Rainbow Dash individual that Gilda said she rather marry than him!" Amelia said with a snarl, barely keeping her temper under control. "Speaking of which... JUST WHAT IN TARTARUS DID YOU DO TO MY DAUGHTER?"
====================================================================
"So... did you really fall in love with Rainbow?" asked Pinkie Pie, causing Gilda to freeze for a moment as she processed the question.
"I... don't really know." answered Gilda. "Maybe not like that... maybe something more like an awesome tag team flying duo or something... do you... understand why I'm trying to say?"
"You want to be BBFF with Rainbow?" answered Pinkie Pie.
"What?" blurted Gilda in confusion.
"Bestest best friend forever."
"Er... yeah, I guess that was it..." Gilda went silent as she started to rinse off Pinkie Pie.
"So... after you ran away, what happened?" probed Pinkie Pie after Gilda stopped talking for a while.
"Oh right, moving on. Of course, I had no idea where Rainbow Dash was. So I pretty much just wandered around Equestria, taking an odd job here and there." said Gilda. "Then I saw Rainbow Dash on paper, something about a Sonic Rainboom, and found out she lived in Ponyville. So... I went there and... well..."
"Rainbow Dash broke up with you for being a big meanie." said Pinkie Pie, finishing up Gilda's sentence for her.
"Yeah..." muttered Gilda dolefully.
"Why?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Why what?"
"Why were you so mean to every pony? I mean, Rainbow Dash would still be your friend if you weren't so... crabby." said Pinkie Pie.
"I..." Gilda started hesitantly. "I thought Rainbow Dash was still the same old Rainbow Dash: Good with prank, love a good stunt, and totally cool..."
"Still is." interjected Pinkie Pie.
"...I thought that if I'm not cool anymore, she won't want me as a friend." concluded Gilda with a sigh. Pinkie Pie stared at the downtrodden griffin for a few seconds before she figured out what to say.
"Silly Gilda, being cool doesn't mean being a big meanie grumpy mean-meanie-pants to her friends." said Pinkie Pie.
"I sort of got that when Rainbow broke off with me..." said Gilda, looking more down and miserable at the recollection.
"Why didn't you say sorry back then?" asked Pinkie Pie. "If you did, I'm sure Rainbow Dash would have forgiven you."
"She would?" asked Gilda in surprise.
"Sure!" Pinkie Pie nodded her head vigorously, sending droplet of water flying everywhere. "That's what friends do!"
"I..." Gilda hesitated for a moment. "... I guess I was too stubborn to see that... or just didn't think about it..." she said. "I didn't know what to do, hanging out with Rainbow Dash was my entire plan. But try as I might, I just couldn't bring myself to go back and say I'm sorry... Instead, I went back to drifting around... until... something convinced me to go home."
"What?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"A shooting star."
====================================================================
"... and that's what happened." concluded Applejack. "We never see her again after that."
Amelia sat there in silence, staring at the ponies in front of her. She raised her talon to her forehead and rubbed it with a groan.
"Oh Gilda... why did you do that to yourself..." said Amelia morosely.
"Lady Amelia..." whispered Galena, her talon resting on Amelia's shoulder.
"So... what happened to Gilda?" asked Rainbow Dash, who's getting a bit impatient at finding out just what happened to Gilda.
"Four months ago..." resumed Amelia after collecting herself. "Gilda came back. And she..." Amelia sniffed. "... I've never seen her like that. She was... just... hollow, both physically and mentally. I tried asking her what happened... and the only thing she told us was that... you broke up with her."
"She locked herself in her room. Despite being skin and bone, she barely ate. Every night I could hear her crying." sighed Amelia. "I tried reaching out to her, but... I didn't have much chance to do so before... before..."
"... before?" echoed Rainbow Dash.
"... a few weeks after Gilda's return, Damian showed up with a couple his thugs and demanded that our tribe pay them tributes in return for their... 'protections'." Amelia scowled as she said the word. "It was simply outrageous, the amount they're asking would put us in near starvation. Obviously, my husband refused on the spot. Our fighters out-numbered them five to one, and we thought that Damian won't be stupid enough take on us with that kind of odd. Unfortunately, as you all probably noticed, they've somehow managed to... make themselves stronger, unnaturally strong. I watched them shook off bolts and blades that would've killed any griffin. In the end, more than half of our fighters were killed, and the rest, including my husband, were captured. He was going to execute my husband for fighting back..."
"Wait!" interrupted Rarity. "I thought your husband is still alive!"
"He is." said Amelia. "Against Leo's wish, Gilda begged Damian not to kill her father. Damian agreed to take her father and the captured warrior alive as prisoner instead of killing them. In exchange, Gilda would be his prisoner... since then, our tribe had been sending food to the Blackwings as tribute."
"We were... lucky, all things considered. Most of the other tribes that fought back were completely wiped out, and a few tribes that were considered... worthless by them suffered the same fate. The more fortunate griffins among them were captured."
"That's terrible!" exclaimed Rarity. Fluttershy nodded in agreement, wincing as she tried to suppress the memories.
"If I get my hooves on those... Blackwings jerks, I'm gonna..." fumed Rainbow Dash.
"Wait, if yer sending food to them, you must know where they are." commented Applejack. Amelia shook her head.
"The tributes are picked up by Damian and his thugs." answered Amelia. "As far as I know, they've abandoned their previous home and I have no idea where their current one is."
"Then we will just have to wring it out of him!" stated Rainbow Dash, her hooves making a violent twisting motion.
"Well... you're going to have that chance." said Galena as she walked toward them from the door. "The guards had informed me that Damian just woke up."
====================================================================
"... and that's how I ended up here." concluded Gilda while she was pouring the bloody and soapy water from the tub down the drain in the cell. "... as Damian's very own personal pet... pathetic isn't it..."
Pinkie Pie, who was drying herself off, poked her head out of the towel she was using. She stared at the depressed griffin, who's dragging the now empty tub toward the cage door.
"No it isn't." said Pinkie Pie, cracking a small smile at Gilda. "I mean... you did save your dad!"
"Only for now..." muttered Gilda. "... as long as Damian think it's still fun to humiliate and torment me. Once he gets bored... well... it's just a matter of time..."
"Cheer up Gilda!" said Pinkie Pie cheerily. "My friends will save us!"
"Huh?" Gilda turned and gave the pink pony an incredulous stare.
"Yeah! Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy are looking for us, I'm sure of it! Don't know how they're going to find us... but when they do, they're going to open up a can of whoop..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Gilda waved her talon dismissively. "... whatever."
"You don't believe me?" asked Pinkie Pie. Gilda stopped walking, but did not turn around.
"Whatever silly fantasy you have in that bubbly head of yours to keep you going, that's fine." said Gilda. "But leave me out of it."
Before Gilda could resume moving to the door, Pinkie Pie raced in front of her and plopped herself down in front of the griffin. With her hooves outstretched, Pinkie Pie stopped Gilda in her track with her hooves on the griffin's shoulder.
"It's not a filly fantasy. My friends will come. They will save us. I'm sure of it. In fact..." Pinkie Pie took a step back while maintaining a serious look at Gilda.
"Okay... I've never done this before... since it's not exactly my promise to keep... but I give you my Pinkie Promise, that we will get out of here. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Pinkie Pie concluded with her hoof over her closed eyes.
"My... my... my... that's quite a thing to say..." a voice from behind Pinkie Pie caused her to jump. Gilda's expression turned to one of fear. Pinkie Pie turned around and found herself backing into Gilda out of reflex from the towering form.
Easily twice or thrice as tall as Gilda, the new griffin cast an ominous shadow over them. His coat is a jet black, contrasting his almost pure white head feathers and wings. What made the new griffin looked even more intimidating, was a yellow eye staring out from behind a metallic mask that covered the left half his face. It looked even more off-putting when compared to his right eye, which was blue.
"Lord Seth..." Gilda spoke with a fearful tremor in her voice. The griffin, however, did not seems to have heard her. Instead, his attention was focused on the pink pony.
"Well... it looks like you'll have to break that promise of yours..." he said with a leer.
====================================================================
The walk to the dungeon was a short one. The entrance was set into the side of the cliff, down along a set of stairs carved into the rocky wall. Amelia was ahead of them, while Applejack trailing close behind one impatient Rainbow Dash. With a quick turn at the bottom of the stair, they traveled down a dark tunnel illuminated by burning torches along the wall. It took them no time to reach the end of the tunnel, where a steel door was set in the wall, flanked by two nervous looking guards.
"Let us in." order Amelia. The guard on the right nodded in response. He fished out a set of key from his satchel and unlocked the steel door.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack followed Amelia through the steel door. The clanging sound echoed in the enclosed space as the guard shut the door behind them. It was a small dungeon, consisting of just a single room. Like the tunnel outside, it was lit with a few torches along the walls. They provided enough light for Applejack to see that against wall opposite to the entrance was none other than Damian. A metal band surrounded his torso, pinning his wings to his sides. Heavy shackles on each of his limbs anchored him to the floor, allowing only limited movement within the already confined space of the dungeon.
Yet, despite his state, Damian was smiling when he saw them enter the dungeon. A smug, condescending grin that took Applejack all her willpower to stop herself from giving Damian a good beat-down.
"Finally!" said Damian in mock exasperation. "I was just wondering when room service will show up."
However, Rainbow Dash did not have that kind of self-control.
"Why you!" Rainbow Dash charged forward, or she would've if it wasn't for Applejack keeping a firm hoof on her tail. The pegasus didn't seems to care that she isn't making any progress. "I'm going to cave your head in!"
"Whoa! Rainbow! We kinda need his head... well, not caved in." said Applejack.
"That's right. Don't want to do anything stupid now do we?" Damian glanced at Amelia in a threatening manner. "Unless you want to doom your family and tribe."
"Where are they, Damian?" asked Amelia, her voice low and level. "Where's my family? And the ponies you took?"
"You know, I really hate that about you." commented Damian, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Always business, never fun."
"I will ask again." said Amelia through gritted beak. "Where's my family?"
"And our friends." added Applejack. "Ya best tell us quick, else I just might let my friend here..." Applejack gesture with her free hoof toward the seething Rainbow Dash. "... have her way with ya."
"Ooh... kinky." said Damian with a grin. "Never did it with a pegasus before."
"What are you... WAIT! NO! EW!" blanched Rainbow Dash. "Let me go! I'm gonna teach that jackass a lesson!"
"Remember Rainbow..." said Applejack. Although a part of her really wanted to just let Rainbow Dash go nuts on the griffin. "... head not caved in."
"ENOUGH GAMES!" roared Amelia. "IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL TELL ME WHERE MY FAMILY IS!"
"Ooh! I'm scared." Damian let out a chortle after an obviously fake shiver. "What? Do you actually think you can threaten me?"
"In case you don't understand your situation." growled Amelia, her voice carrying an acidic edge to it. "You are in MY prison. You..."
"No!" interrupted Damian. "It is you who don't understand YOUR situation."
"What?" asked Amelia, a hint of surprise in her icy voice.
"I'm getting a bit tired of having to remind you, constantly." said Damian with an annoying air of superiority. "I still have your family. In case you haven't notice."
"And we have you." replied Amelia.
"True, but you see..." continued Damian. "... my father knows I'm coming here. If I don't go back... by, say, tomorrow morning, my father will lead his army to come look for me..."
"Not if I kill you first..." Amelia shook in anger as she said that.
"... then my father will kill you and every single griffin in your tribe... and your husband and daughter." Damian returned with a nasty grin. "That is if he is feeling particularly merciful. If he's not... well... he knows ways to ensure that you'll wish you're dead."
Amelia didn't answer, instead she just kept her death glare locked on Damian.
"Now, it doesn't have to be that way." said Damian. "Here's my... proposition. Let me go, and everything will go back to the way things were."
Applejack swore she could see steam coming off Amelia, who's trembling out of rage.
"You... you..." spat out Amelia, barely in control of her rage. Applejack could hear a creaking sound of as Amelia ground her beaks together.
"Oh, give it up." said Damian in a bored voice. "It's not like you have any other option."
"Actually..." Rainbow Dash spoke in a tone that made the mane on Applejack's back stand on end. "... we do have another option."
"Rainbow, what are ya..." Applejack didn't finish her sentence when a pair of hooves slammed into her, sending her crashing through the steel door of the dungeon. Shaking off the daze, Applejack quickly pulled herself up, just in time to see Rainbow Dash, with her wings in clawed forms, descend on Damian.
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Pain. It was a sensation that Rainbow Dash remember, back in Ponyville when she attacked that monstrous Diamond Dog. But this one, for the lack of a better word, felt more potent. Thoughts, memories, visions, and voices that did not belong to her rushed into her mind.
"Damian! My son!" an image accompanied the disembodied voice, a griffin, an older adult, the right half of his face was covered by a mask. "Just the griffin I'm looking for."
"Who are they?" came Damian's voice. The image flickered and abruptly changed, revealing two griffins, each with a pony slung over their back: one pink, one violet.
"Test subjects." excited tone from the father.
"Care to tell your only son what you're doing?" annoyed voice from Damian. "Or even better, what you're doing back there?"
Image flickered again, showing massive steel gate.
"I'll tell you when it's ready." said the father, dismissive. "Now, this is what I need you to do..."
Her view pulled back rapidly, through twisting tunnels. Before her vision went white, she was presented with the sight of a mountain with smoke billowing out the top.
The intense pain receded along with the visions and voices. Rainbow Dash wrenched open her eyes and found herself lying on the ground, staring back at three terrified griffins, Amelia and the dungeon guards, plus one stunned Applejack.
"What... what have you done..." Applejack mouthed.
Rainbow Dash pushed herself up, a sense of triumph filling her.
"I just found out where they are." started Rainbow Dash with a grin.
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"Well... it looks like you'll have to break your promise..." said Lord Seth as he leered down at the pink pony.
"Hey! I never break my promise!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "Especially not the Pinkie Promise!"
"I find your... naivety to be most... what's the word... comedic..." replied Seth in a condescending manner. The three griffins that followed him, each as large as Seth, snickered. Pinkie Pie recognized one of the griffin from his missing tail, who lost it due to her earlier... attempt to rescue Twilight. "Do tell me, how do you even intend to fulfill that... promise of yours?"
"My friends are going to come here, and they're going to save us!" declared Pinkie Pie.
"Your... friends?" asked Lord Seth barely suppressing his own chortle while the griffins behind him broke down in laughter. "The weak little ponies?"
"They're not weak!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "They have... powers beyond your imagination, and they're going to use them to kick your flanks! ALL OF YOUR FLANKS!"
"HA!... Hey, you..." Lord Seth pointed his talon at Gilda, barely able to talk from his laughing. "... pony-lover... do tell me you actually believe her..."
Pinkie Pie spun around to see Gilda's response. The captive griffin looked terrified, but something else in Gilda's eyes caused Pinkie's heart to sink. A look of guilt and pity.
"I... I don't..." stammered Gilda.
"But Gilda, I'm telling the truth! Rainbow..."
"I'm sorry..." Gilda looked away, not daring to make eye contact with Pinkie Pie.
"But it's the truth!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, her hooves shaking Gilda by the shoulder. "I made a Pinkie Promise on that!"
"Look on the bright side, pony." said Lord Seth. "At least when things didn't turn out as you promised, she won't hold it against you."
"I don't break a Pinkie Promise." growled Pinkie Pie.
"You don't exactly have a say in that." snarled Seth, who had stopped laughing. "And guess what? As of now, I have three of my best warriors hunting for your friend. If they're lucky, they all get captured. If they're not... well, my son would probably get a chance to find out what a pony taste like."
"I never break a Pinkie Promise." hissed Pinkie Pie, her eyes scanning around her.
"Pinkie Pie?" whispered Gilda who watched her with worried eyes.
"Well, there's first time for everything." snarked Seth. Pinkie Pie found what she was looking for and dived for it.
"PINKIE PIE! NO!" shouted Gilda, but she was half a second too late. Pinkie Pie grabbed the bucket filled with cleaning supply in her mouth and charged through the unlocked cage door. With a quick hop, she launched herself into the air and swung the bucket at the leering face of Lord Seth. The steel bucket smashed into the masked half of the griffin's face and broke away from the handle, sending it and its contents scattering on the stone floor.
"I NEWAR BWEAK MY PWO... wha..." Pinkie Pie's jaw went slack from shock, releasing the bucket handle which clattered to the floor. What shocked her was not the fact that Seth wasn't fazed by a heavy bucket to the head. It was what's beneath his mask which was dislodged by the bucket's impact. A cloudy yellow eye surrounded by pulsating red, almost glowing, veins that spread out like the roots of a tree. The same kind of veins that Pinkie Pie saw on the infected creatures.
"You... you... HURK!" Pinkie Pie gagged when the tailless griffin, who took advantage of her momentary distraction, grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the ground.
"Boss! You alright?" asked the tailless griffin.
"I'm fine." said Seth, picking up the deformed mask from the ground and set it on his infected eye. Then he turned to the immobilized pony with a sinister smile around his beak. "So... that promise of your is that important... right?"
Pinkie Pie could only gasp in response, trying to draw breath against the tight grip on her throat.
"I will take that as a yes..." remarked Seth as he turned around to leave. He paused long enough to remark to the tailless griffin. "Bane, help this pony... keep her promise."
"Er... boss?" questioned the Bane. Pinkie Pie couldn't see how the half-masked griffin responded, since her view was blocked by the massive form of the griffin above her. However, she knew it was something bad when Bane grinned in response and Gilda screamed.
"NO!" came Gilda's cry, followed by sound of metal gate slamming shut and rattling as someone struggled to open it again. "DON'T DO IT! SHE'S JUST BEING STUPID!"
"What..." choked out Pinkie Pie, her eyes darting around in panic before fixing on Bane's cruel smile. "... what are you..."
"Let's see, what was it that you said... oh right!" said Bane. "Cross your heart and hope to fly... well, we don't want you to fly just yet... so... stick a cupcake in your eyes..."
Bane raised his metal clad talon in front of her and flexed it. "Say hello to Mister Cupcake."
It took a second for the meaning to click in Pinkie's mind. Her heart skipped like a hummingbird as the metal claws approached her eye. Pinkie Pie started to struggle, but the grip on her was as solid as ever, and her hooves scrapped uselessly against the smooth stone floor.
"Wait! Wait!" Pinkie Pie squeezed her eyes shut, but it was no use. The sharp claws dug into her left eyelids and pried them open. "Please! I'm sorry! It's about the tail and the smacking your boss thing right? I'll make it up to you! Anything!"
Tears started to form in her eyes from the prickling pain around her left eye. Her iris was shrunken into a dot from sheer terror as she stared up at the merciless griffin.
"Please... don't..." pleaded Pinkie Pie, her whole body shook as she started to hyperventilate. "... please..."
"I'm going to enjoy this..." said Bane with relish.
"Please no... no... No... NO... NO... NO... NGAHHHHHHHH..."