//------------------------------// // Day 8: Part 3 // Story: Prototype: Black Rain // by Fuberrari //------------------------------// Pinkie... Twilight... Gilda... Please be okay... thought Rainbow Dash as she, along with Fluttershy, followed Applejack at a brisk pace down the many corridors. Despite being deep within enemy territory, their passage was unhindered. While there were occasional curious glances from the griffins they ran past, their perfect disguise and her disguise's... status as the son of Seth meant that no one dared to stop them. No, the difficult part wasn't the griffins, but the memories they triggered. Each new faces brought to fore new memories from Damien. Dark memories of the cruel and terrible things these griffins had done to others, and she wasn't alone. Applejack appeared to suffer the same as she was, with twinge of grimace whenever they recognize griffins of varying... infamy. Fluttershy's behavior, however, made Rainbow Dash quite nervous. Ever since they left Skinny's... torture dungeon, Fluttershy had wore an impassive expression on her. But in her eyes, Rainbow Dash could see the a barely suppressed fury burning within them, the same look that she gave Skinny before they let Applejack... consumed him. And if there's one thing Rainbow Dash knew, it's never a good idea to get on Fluttershy's bad side, especially with her new found abilities. "Isn't that Gilda?" asked Applejack in a hushed voice. Rainbow Dash looked forward and squinted it. Even in the dim light, Rainbow Dash could recognize Gilda, who was pacing down the corridor ahead of them next to another griffin. "Gilda!" called out Rainbow Dash. She saw Gilda took a quick look back and, to her surprise, whispered something to the griffin she was with before the two quickly darted down a side path. "Hey! Stop! It's me! Rai..." Applejack gave her a quick shove to shut her up. Rainbow Dash was about to retort before stopping herself. She realized that without knowing how many other griffins were in shouting distance, announcing that they're in their base was probably not a good idea. Rainbow Dash knew the griffin Gilda was with. Bane, a griffin that, to Damian's dislike, became one of his father's favorite warrior on account of him being bigger and stronger. Known for his excessive cruelty and violence, even Damian was a bit afraid of him. But none of the explained why Gilda was, apparently, running away from them. Sure, Gilda hated Damian, but even she won't dare to disobey his orders. Unless... "She's cheating on me..." muttered Rainbow Dash, earning her a shocked look from Applejack and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash returned a confused look before her, or Damian's, cheeks reddened when she realized what she just said. "No! I mean she's cheating on Damian... wait, no, Damian thinks that Gilda's cheating on me... wait... I... argh, you know what I mean... let's just go get her." Applejack and Fluttershy didn't say another word as they continued their way down the corridor. As the trio approached the side tunnels Gilda disappeared into, Rainbow Dash ran through several ideas in her mind. Ideas that, hopefully, could get Gilda to come with them without giving away their disguise to Bane. Or, just kill Bane... thought Rainbow Dash as they were about to turn into the side tunnel. That was when all hell break loose. It started with a familiar sounding battle-cry that caught her by surprise, followed by a pink blur that went flying out the corner. It caught Applejack in the side and slammed her into the opposing wall. The shock wave shook the tunnel, sending gas lamps rattling along the wall as dust and debris fell from the ceiling. "What the..." the words were stuck in her throat when someone, or in this case somepony, leaped out of the cloud of debris. It was Pinkie Pie, whose tail looked like it had some kind of black, bony flail at the end of it. The pink pony landed on the ground and gave them a savage glare. "HIYA!" without missing a beep, Pinkie Pie launched herself toward them. Her flail-like tail sweeping a wide arch as she spun in midair. "Pink..." Rainbow Dash quickly ducked to avoid having her head knocked off by Pinkie Pie's flail-tail. Fluttershy, still disguised as Lilith, wasn't so lucky. The bony mass smashed into the her head and sent her crashing next to the wall that Applejack was embedded in. Pinkie Pie landed where Fluttershy once was and gave Rainbow Dash a sinister looking smirk. "Wait! It's me! Rain..." before she could even finish her sentence when something slimy and rough wrapped itself around her body and her mouth. Rainbow Dash only caught a quick glimpse of the black and fibrous mass connecting her to Pinkie's tongue before her whole world went dark. ===================================================================== Something was wrong. Gilda knew that seconds after Pinkie Pie... swallowed Damian. Unlike her previous victims, Pinkie Pie's stomach remained inflated, which kept her hooves off the ground. "Huh. This never happened before." commented Pinkie Pie as she slowly rolled to the side until her right hooves touch the ground. "Pinkie Pie! Are you okay?" asked Gilda with worries as she trotted over. Pinkie Pie gave her a shrug. "I think there some... uh... technical difficulties." answered Pinkie Pie as she gave Gilda a sheepish smile. "Ugh... what da hay?" Gilda snapped toward the sound in panic. To her surprise and fear, Skinny stumbled out from the pile of rubble that he created, and other than appearing a bit dazed, there was no sign of any injury on him. Instinctively, Gilda pulled out a crossbow she... acquired from the pulverized corpse of a victim of Pinkie Pie and pointed it at Skinny. "Stop right there! Don't..." Gilda stopped abruptly when the crossbow in her claws jumped. She looked down, and blinked at the unloaded crossbow that she remembered as loaded just seconds ago. Slowly but deliberately, Gilda looked back up and found the metal bolt embedded in Skinny's chest. Skinny, who had his eyes on her, followed her gaze to the same metal bolt. "Ow." uttered Skinny, who looked back up at Gilda with annoyance. "That hurts! Why da hay did ya do that for?" We're screwed! We're screwed! We're screwed! We're screwed! the thought repeated in Gilda's mind as panic washed through her. "Hey! You sounded just like Applejack!" commented Pinkie Pie cheerfully. Okay! All hope not lost yet. with as much discretion as she could, Gilda slowly reached for the dagger by her side. The dagger that once belonged to the same owner as the crossbow. I can just... "What are ya talking about? Of course Ah'm Applejack." said Skinny. ... What? Gilda stopped reaching for her dagger as she blinked at Skinny with disbelief. Skinny didn't see her staring, as he seems preoccupied at examining his own side. "Oh... right, forgot." said Skinny with an embarrassed look. As soon as he said that, mass of black tendrils enveloped the griffin as his form shrunk rapidly. Seconds later, the tendrils merged into an amber colored earth pony with three red apples as her cutie mark. For the second time today, Gilda's jaw dropped. "Hey! It IS you!" said Pinkie Pie cheerfully as she slowly turned herself around by digging her right hooves against the ground. "Yep, its me!" said Applejack. At the same time, a yellow pegasus with three butterflies as her cutie-mark came stumbling out from the crater. The same crater that, as Gilda remembered, was caused by Pinkie Pie knocking Lilith into it. The pegasus was still a bit wobbly on her hooves, but she recovered quickly with a quick shake of her head. "Hey Fluttershy! You're here too!" Pinkie Pie let out a gasp before continue. "Wait! That means I attacked you! I'm so sorry!" "It's okay." answered Fluttershy in a near whisper. "No problem! Yah didn't know... by the way, what happened to ya? And where's Rainbow?" asked Applejack, who was perplexed at the condition Pinkie Pie was in. "Applejack? Pinkie Pie? What's going on?" came Rainbow Dash muffled cry. It took Gilda just a few seconds to realize that it came from Pinkie's inflated stomach. Both Applejack and Fluttershy appeared to realize the same thing as they stared at the pink pony with their mouth open in shock. "Hi... uh... Rainbow..." said Pinkie Pie sheepishly. "I... uh... might have swallowed you." "You did what?!" came more muffled shouts. "You... you swallowed... EW! IT'S ALL DARK AND SLIMY AND WARM AND..." "Don't worry, I will fix it! Hang on!" Pinkie Pie started heaving, as if she was trying to throw up. In fact, Gilda was sure that it was what the pony was trying to do. "Hey! What's going on? What's happening?" came Rainbow Dash's muffled cries as Pinkie's stomach rippled. "Just... a... sec..." grunted Pinkie Pie. As soon as she finished saying that, a blur of rainbow shot out from Pinkie's mouth. "Whoa!" Applejack ducked, barely missing the streak of rainbow sailing over her. The rainbow blur smashed into the wall with a wet splat, revealing one dazed Rainbow Dash face-planted against the solid surface. "Rainbow! Are ya okay?" "Ugh..." groaned Rainbow Dash as she slowly peeled away from the wall, leaving behind a distinct pegasus-shaped impression in the hard rock as she collapsed on the ground. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" cried out Pinkie Pie as she scampered over. "I didn't know I'm going to do that! I thought I could just... you know... throw you up or something." "Yah sure did throw her up... and away." commented Applejack. "Are you feeling okay?" asked Fluttershy as Rainbow Dash pushed herself up gingerly. "I'm okay... but..." Rainbow Dash shuddered. "... let's not speak of this, again, ever." "Okie dokie loki! Ooh! Before I forget!" Pinkie Pie zoomed next to Gilda and put her foreleg around the back of Gilda's next, startling the griffin. "Hi everypony, this is Gilda. Gilda, meet my friends and rescue party! I think you know Rainbow Dash already." Pinkie Pie pointed to the rainbow maned pegasus with her free foreleg. "This is Applejack." her foreleg shifted to point to the orange earth pony. "... and Fluttershy." she finished with her hoof pointing at the yellow pegasus. Rainbow Dash she knew, obviously. As for the other two, Gilda didn't recognize the earth pony Pinkie Pie gestured to, but she did recall the yellow pegasus that she... terrorized back in Ponyville. All three were looking at her with a hint of pity in their eyes. "Um... hi..." said Gilda hesitantly. She looked to Fluttershy, feeling a bit guilty at the way she terrorized her. "I'm... sorry about what happened last time we... uh... met." "It's okay." said Fluttershy in a soft voice. "It's nice to... um..." the pegasus paused as she stared at the griffin. Gilda knew she must looked terrible with all the bruises, both new and old, all over her. The worst was probably the fact that her front was covered in blood, something Rainbow Dash quickly noticed. "... uh, Gilda? Who's blood is that?" asked Rainbow Dash, her hoof gestured at Gilda's chest. "It... its..." "Ooh! Me! Me!" answered Pinkie Pie before Gilda could continue. "It's mine! At least most of it is." "All that's your blood?" exclaimed a wide-eyed Applejack. "What in Celestia's name happened to you?" "Well... it's a long story..." Pinkie Pie gasped. "And we don't have much time!" "Pinkie Pie is right, story can wait. Beside, you're okay now, right?" asked Rainbow Dash, to which Pinkie Pie answered with a vigorous nod. "Good. Now we just have to get Twilight first and then..." "Except we don't know where Twilight is." continued Applejack. "I know! I know where Twilight is!" said Pinkie Pie with a few quick hops. "But we have to get Gilda's dad first!" "Why? Won't it be easier if we get Twilight first?" questioned Applejack. "Her magic will help us get the griffins out." "There's no time!" urged Pinkie Pie. "They're going to do terrible stuffs to Gilda's dad!" "What stuff?' asked Rainbow Dash, alarmed. "I don't know! But Bane is really happy about it! And when Bane's happy about something, it's bad!" answered Pinkie Pie. Gilda saw the the ponies exchanged a quick, worried glanced at each other. "We better get Gilda's family first then." said Rainbow Dash. "But how about Twilight?" questioned Applejack. "Without her, I don't think we can escort all the griffins out safely." Rainbow Dash tilted her head in thought before turning to Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie, how fast can you get to Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Hm... thirty minutes." stated Pinkie Pie. "Okay. Here's the plan. Applejack, you go with Pinkie Pie to get Twilight." said Rainbow Dash, pointing her hoof at the two earth ponies in turn. "Okie doki!" was Pinkie's reply before she started hopping back down the corridor they just came from. Applejack quickly followed. "Fluttershy, you're with me." called out Rainbow Dash. "Come on Gilda, let's go save your dad." ===================================================================== "I'm bored." grumbled Blaze. A griffin with a dull gray coat and a similarly toned brown head feathers sat by a pair of metal gates. His head rested on his folded forelegs, which was in turn supported by the butt of a loaded crossbow anchored on the ground. "Geez... what else is new?" replied Hackett, the griffin to his right, in a sarcastic tone. His partner was running the tip of his machete up and down his back as he tried to scratch an itch. "Doesn't make it any less true." said Blaze. "I mean, why are we even here? It's not like they..." Blaze pointed his thumb claw at the steel gate behind them. "... are going to go anywhere... especially at night." "Lord Seth's order." answered Hackett flatly. "Don't ask me why. But if you want to not end up like Skimpy..." Blaze shuddered. If there's one thing Lord Seth was known for, it was his... imaginative ways in making griffins beg for death. He shook his head to clear away the disturbing memories. "At least our shift is almost over." said Blaze before turning to Hackett. "So, what do you have planned after the..." "Hello there." a sultry voice echoed through the corridor, causing the two griffins to jump. Blaze's crossbow toppled to the ground and fired off its bolt. It ricochet off the ground beneath with a sharp ping, missing his... private part by a mere fraction of an inch before embedding itself in the wall behind him. Hackett did an impromptu juggle with his machete before grabbing hold of it and quickly shove it back into its sheath. The two of them turned to their left to find Lilith striding toward them with a flirtatious look. "H... Hi Lilith." forced out Blaze. "Hello to you too... " said Lilith as she brushed her tail under Blaze's beak as she walked past. "... handsome." Warning bells went off in his head. This is Lilith, Damian's chick, even thinking about her could invite Damian's wrath. And at that moment, Blaze was starting to have thoughts about her. Thoughts that could get him brutally murdered by Damian. "What... are you doing here?" asked Hackett, who looked a bit uncomfortable as Lilith stopped in front of him. "Well... Damian had gone to see his father, leaving me all alone." Lilith pouted as she threw her left foreleg over his back and drew circles on Hackett's chest with her right claw. "So..." Blaze swallowed hard as he felt something stirring within him. Shades of red filled Hackett's cheek as he glanced back and forth nervously. "So... what do you... want?" asked Hackett in a slight pant. "Well... before I tell you... I need to know... if we're alone in this place..." asked Lilith seductively, as she walked her talon up Hackett's neck. "Ye... yes. It's just... the two of... us..." answered Hackett, staring at Lilith with a wanton look. "What do..." "That's..." said Lilith as her claws wrapped around Hackett's beak to shut him up. "... just..." her left claws crept up until she was holding the back of his head. Hackett closed his eyes as Lilith pulled his head toward her. "... PERFECT!" A flash of rage flared in Lilith's eyes as she pulled back, prompting Hackett's own eyes to open in shock. With a motion so fast that it was just a blur, Lilith snapped Hackett's head around in a full 180 degrees turn. The sharp crack of the griffin's vertebrae shattering echoed through the tunnel as Hackett collapsed to the ground. "WHAT THE!" exclaimed Blaze as he stumbled backward. His eyes nearly popped out in terror as webs of black, flesh like tendrils shot out and began to pull Hackett's body into Lilith. Out of reflex, he raised his crossbow and took aim, only to notice that it was unloaded. Before he could even let out a panicked swear, a jolt of pain flared up in his side. He slowly turned his head, trying to see what happened, but could only catch a glimpse of rainbow before three sharp claws filled his vision. ===================================================================== "Are you two okay?" came Gilda's voice. Fluttershy opened her eyes and saw the concerned griffin standing there with a worried look. The pain in her head from the in flood of memories faded just as quick as it began, leaving behind a vague sense of disgust and sadness at what she witnessed in those memories. "Yeah...." said Rainbow Dash, still wincing a bit from what was, without a doubt, another trip down nightmarish memories as she took on the form of Blaze. "I'm... oh HAYSEED!" "What's wrong?" asked an alarmed Gilda. "It's your dad! They took him." answered Rainbow Dash in frustration. "He's not here!" "Where is he?" asked Gilda. "I don't..." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and winced a bit. "I... I think I know where they took him." her eyes snapped open. "We have to hurry." Rainbow Dash hurried down the tunnel Gilda close behind. However, Fluttershy remained where she was. "Fluttershy!" called out Rainbow Dash. "Let's go!" "How about those griffins?" asked Fluttershy, pointing toward the steel gate beside her with her disguise's right claw. "We can't leave them." Rainbow Dash tilted her head in thought for a second. "Okay, you stay and get those griffins out." "Got it." answered Fluttershy as she watched Rainbow Dash and Gilda disappeared down the passageway. Turning to the steel gates, Fluttershy reached into the satchel by her side and fished out a set of keys. With the right key in claw, she insert it into steel gate and turned. The gate unlocked with a dull clang and slowly swung open on creaking hinges. When the sound of creaking metal stopped, It became quiet, saved for the sound of barely suppressed whimpers. Fluttershy made her way through the threshold and toward the first cage. As she drew close, the whimpering intensified, in addition to some hushed voices. When Fluttershy got close enough to see what's in the first cage to her right, she found the source whimpering. The cage contained two young griffins, a brother and a sister by the look of it. The brother, the older of the two, saw Fluttershy approaching. Despite the intense fear in his eyes, he shifted his body in front of her younger sister. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." said Fluttershy as she reached out with her talon, only to recoil back when the younger sister started wailing. Behind her, a female griffin launched herself at the bars of her cage. "Please don't hurt them!" she cried, her claws holding on to the bars that separate her from Fluttershy. Desperation and despairs filled her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt them." said Fluttershy. She looked around at the griffins peering at her from behind the bars. The effects of Blackwing's brutal treatment of them were visible. All looked malnourished and barely holding on. Some were covered in horrific injuries, with a few missing one or more of their limbs and wing. What made it worse, however, was the fact that Fluttershy knew how most of them received those injuries. Each new faces brought painful memories flashing through her mind. ... This is... too cruel... thought Fluttershy as she was on the verge of tears as she recalled the memory of one of the griffins forced to kill his own friend. ... now is not the time, Fluttershy... they need your help... with a fresh resolve, Fluttershy pushed the memories back and blinked away the tears. "I'm here to help." called out Fluttershy. Gasps of surprised traveled through the griffins as Fluttershy transformed back into her pegasus form. Her mane twisted itself into a sharp tipped tendril. She turned her attention on the cage that, Fluttershy guessed, contained the two young griffin's mother. "Stay back." The griffin, looking every bit as confused as every other griffins, pushed herself as far away from the cage door as her cage would allow with fear in her eyes. The pegasus' tendril pointed itself directly at the lock on the cage door as mass started build at the base of the sharp tip. Seconds later, the tendril shot out like a crossbow bolt. It whistle through the air at lightning speed before embedding itself in the lock with a metallic crunch. Fluttershy gave her tendril a sharp tug with a quick snap of her head, and accompanied by the sound of wrenching steel, the barred metal gate tore away from its lock and hinges. The female griffin blinked, finding her way out cleared, she stared at Fluttershy with a mixture of fear and confusion. "Who... what are you?" asked the stunned griffin. "I'm... Fluttershy." she answered as she picked up the ring of keys she dropped when she transformed from the ground. "Take dis." The griffin took the keys in her right claw and kept on staring at the pegasus in confusion. "Help get the griffins out of their cage." said Fluttershy, mustering as much of a commanding voice as she could. The griffin nodded silently and set off to the cage holding her children. Fluttershy turned her attention toward another cage nearby as her whip-like mane coiled up once more. ===================================================================== "Pinkie Pie..." said Applejack, still disguised as Skinny, in a hushed voice. She was standing beside an ordinary looking entryway alone with Pinkie Pie, who still looked like Bane. She paused to muster up an innocent smile as another griffin walked by them. The griffin gave her perplexed look, but moved on through the entrance without another word. "... you know where Twilight is, right?" "Yep." said Pinkie Pie with a nod. "So why are we..." Applejack poked her head around the entrance. It was a fairly decent sized room with tables and pelt covered chairs scattered here and there. In the far end of the room was a long table, holding kegs and kettles of varying size and plates of... meat, the source of which Applejack would rather not know. About a dozen griffins were spread out across the room. A few sat alone at the table, nursing their drinks, with the rest milling around and occasionally chatting up with one another. It would've been a relaxing atmosphere, if it wasn't for the fact that Applejack knew the horrifying things most of them did to pony and griffins for fun. "... at the break room?" "They're keeping Twilight behind two super-duper heavy looking doors." answered Pinkie Pie. "Only the guards on the other side can open it." "So what? We can just smash our way through it." stated Applejack. Pinkie Pie shook her head in response. "The doors are super-duperly big and heavy. It will take awhile to smash it." "So how do we get through then?" asked Applejack. "They have this list of griffins they'll let through. I just need to find the right griffin, and then they'll let us through." concluded Pinkie Pie in a chippy tone. "So... find the right griffin, and then..." Applejack shuddered a bit. "... eat them?" Pinkie Pie nodded. "But we need to be sneaky. If they figure out something is wrong, they won't let anyone through." "And how do we do that?" "Just let me do my... thingy. You act natural." chirped Pinkie Pie before trotting straight in. Applejack followed her in, still wondering what's Pinkie Pie's going to do. She found a table near the corner, far away from any griffins, and plop herself down the felt covered seat next to the table. From there, she had a good vantage point of everything that's happening in the room. Her eyes followed Pinkie Pie, who, still disguised as Bane, walked up behind a pale brown griffin in a completely casual manner, glancing left and right as she did so. What happened next made Applejack's jaw drop to the floor. Bane's mouth stretched open to as wide as he was. At the same time a black fleshy appendage shot out from his mouth and wrapped itself around the griffin in front of him. The expression on said griffin didn't even change before he turned into a blur heading straight into Bane's mouth. Black and pink tendrils rippled over Bane's form, which took on the form of the griffin he just... consumed. The whole event took less than a fraction of the second. The newly transformed griffin turned to her, and gave her a small wink. ... did she just... Applejack glanced around in a slight panic as the griffin, or Pinkie Pie, started looking for her next prey. To her relief and considerable surprise, no griffin appeared to have noticed that there's now one less griffin in the room. ... how did she... "Hey I know you!" the feathers stood up behind Applejack's neck at the sudden voice that appeared next to her. "Skinny, right?" "Er... yeah..." answered Applejack who found herself looking at a slightly inebriated female griffin. She wore a white lab-coat stained with splatters of dried blood. "Hi, name's Gallow." the griffin reached out with her right claw for a shake. "Big fan of your shows." "My... show?" replied Applejack in confusion. The moment she said that, flashes of memories ran through her mind. Memories of ponies and griffins being... tortured in various ways. "Are you... okay?" asked Gallow, having noticed Applejack's, or Skinny's, grimace. "Yeah, I'm fine." answered Applejack. She took another quick sweep across the room, noting that there were a few more griffins missing. "So, what brings you here?" asked Gallow, who took the liberty to plop herself down across the table from Applejack. "Well... I..." stuttered Applejack, trying to think of an excuse. "Wait, don't tell me. You're here for the unicorn, right?" said Gallow. "Trying to use a unicorn for your next show?" Did she mean... Twilight? "Uh... yeah... Yeah! That's it!" shouted Applejack. Suddenly every griffins stopped talking and turned to stare at her. Applejack went very quiet, trying her best to look... well, normal. "Sorry..." said Applejack as she scratch the back of her, or Skinny's, head with her talons as she laughed nervously. Pretty soon all the griffins went back to what they were doing, but not before Applejack noticed a griffin in the far corner disappearing and another griffin nearby took his shape. "Well, if you want to get the unicorn... you're shit out of luck." said Gallow. "What do you mean by... shit out of luck?" asked Applejack, trying to keep her voice low and steady to prevent another outburst. "It's Lord Seth. He had some sort of... interest in the unicorn and the earth pony. Only Doctor Oliver is allowed to work on them." said Gallow in a depressed voice. "And to think... she could have been the perfect subject for my experiment..." "Ex... experiment?" Applejack felt a chill crawling up her back. Somehow, she knew that she wasn't going to like the answer. "I work on unicorn magics." said Gallow with barely suppressed pride. "I'm trying to figure out how unicorn magic work, and see if we can replicate it." "Uh huh." voiced Applejack. "And... uh... how do you do that?" "Well, you see, from what I gathered, unicorn cast their magic with their horns. So I've been dissecting a lot of unicorn horns. It's... so fascinating. I can't believe how much nerve structures there are in that tiny little horns." ... wonder how many unicorns died for that... thought Applejack, trying her best to keep her facial expression neutral. "Of course, most of my samples came from unicorns that are dead for a while. It's simply inadequate to study, for all I know, horns that could no longer cast magic on account of its host being, well, dead. So I've been developing a new procedure, and knowing your... hobby, you're going to like this." said Gallow. No, I won't... thought Applejack, still maintaining her neutral look. "You see, I've been working on perfecting a new process on vivisecting a unicorn horn." "... vivisecting?" asked Applejack with a strong feeling of disgust. "Live dissection. I'm working on a process to dissect a unicorn horn while the unicorn is still alive." answered Gallow with a dismissive wave. Applejack's, or Skinny's, eye twitched a bit out of shock and anger. But she remained still and kept her mouth shut while Gallow continued. "You cannot believe how difficult it is to vivisect a unicorn horn. Remember those nerve system in the horn? Apparently some of those nerves are sensory nerves. So it actually hurts when I start slicing their horn into nice little round disk for study. Can you even comprehend how difficult it is to do that when they're all squirming and screaming?" A grinding sound reached Applejack's ear. It took her just a second to realize that she was grinding her beaks together. She quickly stop herself before Gallow could notice. "The screaming was easy enough to deal with." Gallow went on. "A good pair of earplugs then POOF, screaming gone. The squirming took me awhile, but I believe I've perfected a method to keep the damn unicorn still yet fully conscious. Sadly, my last test subject was a bit... old. Died halfway through the procedure from heart-attack." "That's... unfortunate..." said Applejack through gritted beak. She took a glance behind Gallow, and noted that the room was nearly empty. In fact, the only griffins that remained was her, Gallow, and another lab-coat wearing griffin with a spiky mane. "I know right? It's a pity." Gallow kept on talking, oblivious to the griffin that's approaching her from behind. "This unicorn looked pretty healthy, and from what I heard pretty powerful. Think of what we can learn from her if the 'esteemed' doctor Oliver would let me experiment on her." "I don't know what WE will learn from Twilight." said the spiky-mane griffin, prompting Gallow to look around. "But I know what I learned just a while ago." "Doctor Vlad?" Gallow blinked in confusion as she looked around. "Where's everyone? And who's this... Twilight?" "Hey! AJ! Guess what?" the griffin named Vlad looked past Gallow toward Applejack. His talon pointing toward the griffin between them. "She's on the list!" "AJ?" repeated a perplexed Gallow. She turned back, just in time to see Applejack standing on the table in the middle of transforming back to her normal form. The look of confusion in Gallow's eyes slowly turned to one of terror. "Who... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?" The rage filled Applejack answered by tackling the griffin to the ground. Before Gallow could even plea for her life, Applejack smashed her foreleg into the griffin's head. ===================================================================== "Whoa, that just... looks creepy." said Rainbow Dash as she found herself exiting what's apparently a side-tunnel into a wide open cave. It was what she remembered from Damian's memory, and where she guess the Blackwing took Gilda's father. But even Damian's memories failed to convey the enormity of the gate itself, especially with it opened like that. The entryway itself was easily twice as wide and tall as the entrance into the Canterlot castle. The gate itself, which looked like one solid piece of metal, was hanging halfway up the entrance. An amber glow shone through the opening, giving the gateway an ominous glow. ... at least no griffins here... thought Rainbow Dash as she continued her way toward the glowing entrance with Gilda in close behind. "Is it just me, or is it getting warmer?" asked Gilda. Rainbow Dash also noticed the wave of heat from the gate as they got close to it. The why soon revealed itself when they ran into the glowing gateway. "By Celestia!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. It looked like something out of Daring Do's adventure. They were in a massive cavern, a cavern that contained an equally massive lake of lava a couple hundred feet below them. Across from the cavern was an obsidian castle that looked like it was set into the cavern wall. The only way to the castle Rainbow Dash could see was the mason bridge they were traveling on, which ended just before a pair of large and blackened gate. Pillars ran along the side of the bridge, carrying four gigantic set of chains that ran from four holes in the solid rock above the entrance behind them into the castle itself. It appeared that the chains were responsible in keeping the enormous slab of metal behind them raised. "That... just says evil lair all over the place." "HALT! Who goes there?" a shout came from above as Rainbow Dash and Gilda reached the closed gates. A couple hundred feet above them, Rainbow Dash found a griffin looking down at them with his head poking out of a window. "Damian?" "Yep! It's me! Let me in!" shouted Rainbow Dash. The guard, however, made no indication that he's going to open the gate any time soon. "What are you doing here?" he asked in return. "And why's your pet with you?" My... pet!? Rainbow Dash snapped inwardly, but didn't let it show. "I need to see my father!" called back Rainbow Dash. "And what business is it of yours who I bring with me?" The griffin paused for a moment before retreating back behind the wall. Seconds more, he poked his head back out. "I can't let you in!" he called back. "Lord Seth's orders!" "I'm his son!" answered Rainbow Dash in shouts. "Let me in this instant or my father will hear of this!" "I'm sorry! It's your father's order!" answered the griffin. "We're not to let anyone in! Even you!" With that, the griffin withdrew back into the window. "Hey!" shouted Rainbow Dash in indignation. "Show your face! I'm not done talking to you!" However, there was no sign that the griffin was going to have any more conversation with him. "What do we do now?" asked Gilda with a slight hint of panic. Rainbow Dash looked up with gritted beaks and growled in annoyance. "Stay here. I'll take care of this." answered Rainbow Dash. With a single bound, she was running up the side of the castle wall. As she approached the window, she noted that it was too small for a griffin such as Damian. However, it's definitely big enough for a pony. With a grin, Rainbow Dash transformed back into her pegasus form and leaped through the window. She was greeted immediately by four surprised looking griffins. The one closest to her, the same one that just had a shouting match with her, was the first to speak up. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded and started toward her with a threatening look. However, Rainbow Dash didn't answer, at least not verbally. Instead, she made her intention known by morphing her wings into a pair of claws. "What are..." the griffin didn't get to finish his words before Rainbow Dash was on top of him. ===================================================================== *CLANG* Sounds of steel hitting the ground added themselves to the now noisy prison as Fluttershy tore away four more cage doors with her mane-whips. She wasn't alone in freeing the griffin. Despite only having a single set of keys to open the cages with, several griffins had fashioned makeshift crowbars from the cage bars Fluttershy tore out and went to work freeing their fellow griffins. With each newly freed griffin, more and more families were reunited. At the same time, there were griffins still running around, looking for the families they haven't seen for a while. Families that, Fluttershy knew from the memories she acquired, they no longer have. Sadness and grief threatened to overwhelm her, but the memories and knowledge also fanned a different emotion within her. Like throwing oil onto a burning flame, the fire of rage within Fluttershy burned brighter and brighter. An abrupt change in the noise that surrounded her quickly caught her attention. Realizing that it was coming from the prison entrance, Fluttershy made her way towards it, pushing through griffins that were blocking her way. Within seconds, she reached the scene of the commotion and gasped at what she saw. On the ground was a griffin, an adolescent male by Fluttershy's guess. A crossbow bolt sticking out of his left thigh. Rivulets of blood ran down his leg, forming a small puddle on the ground. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." the griffin repeated as another griffin, an older female, cradled his head in her claws. "What happened?" asked Fluttershy to no griffin in particular. "He and a buddy of his went looking for weapons." spoke one of the griffin nearby. "Ran into some guards." "We managed to get one." added another griffin. "But the rest of the guards got away." As if on cue, a distant horn started to blare, growing louder and louder by the second until it's a constant wail. The assembled griffins exploded into shouts and clamors. "They know!" came one griffin's cry. "We're doomed!" came another. Voices bombarded Fluttershy on all side. Some were panicked cries, others were calling for a fight, while several spoke of barricading themselves within the prison. "What are we going to do?" The griffin Fluttershy first freed asked her. Her two children stood next to her with fear. Fluttershy glanced at the doors that lead out of the prison. The same doors that lead to the Blackwings, the cause for all these sufferings. With that thought, Fluttershy's gaze hardened. "Payback." growled Fluttershy.