Dr. Audubon smiled as he watched his henchgriffons don their spray weapons and line up to have their tanks filled with his sinister concoction. "Excellent," he crowed. "Once we're through here, we shall fly to Equestria and offer a little demonstration of my Magic Eraser. Capturing a few coastal settlements will be more than enough to strike fear in the hearts of our little pony friends, and inspire the rest of the Griffon Empire to rise up and join in our revolution!"
From her vantage point outside the lab door, Blossomforth rolled her eyes at the doctor's bluster. "This dude's delusional," she told Peppermint. "He thinks the whole Griffon Empire's going to join him? They just renewed their peace treaty with Princess Celestia, like, six months ago."
"What do we do?" Peppermint asked. "There's so many of them."
"Yeah, but how many does Dr. Dummy think he needs to beat a pathetic little pegasus?" Blossomforth replied. "I'm going to go in there and challenge him to a fight, pony-to-pinhead, and see how his brain stacks up against my kung fu."
"But what if he sics all his helpers on you?" Peppermint asked.
"Pshaw." Blossomforth dismissed the concern with a wave of her hoof. "I can deal with a few pencil-necked griffon lackeys. What are they going to do, get rid of my magic?"
"But what about him?" Peppermint pointed at the buffalo standing next to the Magic Eraser tank.
"He could be a problem," Blossomforth said, "so I'm counting on you to hold him off with your magic."
"Me?" Peppermint gave Blossomforth a horrified look as the pegasus burst through the lab doors. "But... But... But he's so big!"
"Hold it right there, featherbrain!" Blossomforth shouted as she dashed up to Dr. Audubon, "I'm afraid your flight's just been canceled!"
"Fleximare?" Dr. Audubon scowled at Blossomforth. "What are you doing here? Didn't I kill you?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, Doc," Blossomforth said with a smug smirk, "but it'll take more than a silly saw to cut me down!"
Dr. Audubon smacked his forehead with his talon. "This is what I get for contracting my death trap out to the lowest bidder."
"Enough talk!" Blossomforth raised her front hooves and assumed a boxer's pose. "Put 'em up! If you think griffons are so much better than ponies, it's time to put your bits where your beak is!"
"I don't have time for this! We are already behind schedule!" Dr. Audubon gestured to his fellow griffons. "Destroy this pony!"
"So you want to do this the hard way, huh?" Blossomforth shrugged as the griffon scientists charged towards her. "Fine then. Have it your way!"
As the first few griffons arrived, Blossomforth did a quick backflip in mid-air, striking two griffons in the face and sending them toppling back into several others. Another griffon came at Blossomforth from the left, but she sidestepped the blow with ease, causing the griffon to smack another griffon attacking from the right. She then spun and unleashed a roundhouse kick that struck three griffons coming up behind her. "Come on, is that the best you can do?" she taunted.
The griffons kept coming, but Blossomforth kept firing, dodging and countering her foes with grace and precision. "You fools!" Dr. Audubon scolded his lackeys. "How can you all be beaten by a mouthy little—yikes!" He ducked underneath a griffon that Blossomforth had flung in his direction. "Do something!" he yelled down to his buffalo assistant.
The buffalo did not have the wings necessary to join the fight, so he did the next best thing: He grabbed whatever he could lay his hooves on—boxes, sprayers, even a few griffon scientists—and flung it all in Blossomforth's direction. "Be careful! Those are expensive!" Dr Audubon chided the buffalo. "The sprayers, I mean, not my minions."
"Whoa!" Blossomforth swung her head back just in time for a box to whiz over her and smash into another griffon. "Hey Peppermint, a little help here?" she asked.
Peppermint took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and fired up her magic, creating a yellow aura around her horn. A matching yellow aura appeared around the buffalo, but it didn't even slow him down, and he continued his barrage on Blossomforth. "Give it more power!" Blossomforth shouted.
"I don't have more power!" Peppermint shouted back.
"Holy altostratus!" Blossomforth spotted a loaded Magic Eraser sprayer coming at her, and she grabbed a nearby griffon and spun him into the sprayer's path. The griffon's face absorbed most of the ensuing impact, but the blow shattered the sprayer tank, splattering both griffon and pony with the icky green substance.
"Ewwwww!" Blossomforth sputtered. "I've been slimed! And it smells like rotten—huh?" She stopped as she felt her wings go numb, and she looked back to see them hanging limply at her sides. "Uh oh..." was all she could say as she dropped like a rock and landed hard on the lab floor.
"Well now!" Dr. Audubon said as he watched Blossomforth splatter. "How very interesting. It seems that my Magic Eraser is a flight eraser as well!" He unleashed his most evil laugh. "Without magic or flight, conquering Equestria will be a cakewalk!"
"Uhhhh...." Blossomforth picked her head up just in time to see her buffalo nemesis baring down on her at full speed. "This might hurt," she said as she closed her eyes and braced for impact.
Suddenly, Blossomforth felt herself getting yanked back into the air, and opened her eyes just in time to see the buffalo pass harmlessly underneath her and smash face-first into a large metal crate, knocking himself unconscious. "Don't worry, Fleximare!" she heard Peppermint shout. "You're much easier to move than that buffalo!"
Blossomforth watched nervously as her limbs were pulled into a fighting stance. "What are you doing?" she asked Peppermint as a pack of griffons surrounded her.
"Don't worry! This'll be just like playing with my old Stretchy McAwesome doll!" Peppermint assured Blossomforth. "Hi ya!"
"Ahhhh!" Blossomforth screamed as she was flung headfirst into the griffons and her limbs were slammed into every beak they could reach. What the approach lacked in technique, it made up for in sheer reckless abandon, and she mowed down her attackers even faster than before.
"Take that! And that! And that!" Peppermint narrated from the ground. "You're all going down!"
"Ow! Oof! Ouch! For crying out loud, girl, take it easy!" Blosomforth pleaded. "This is the only head I've got!"
Dr. Audubon could only frown as he watched the scene unfold. "I grow tired of this charade!" he declared. He swooped around the battle and landed right behind Peppermint, and then wrapped an arm tightly around the unicorn's neck. "Stop this madness at once!" he commanded.
The surprise attack broke Peppermint's concentration, and Blossomforth once again fell onto the floor. "I hope you've enjoyed your little game," Dr. Audubon growled as he squeezed Peppermint's neck, "because playtime is over."
"No! Wait!" Blossomforth said. "Don't hurt her!"
"You two have caused me immeasurable grief tonight," Dr. Audubon said as he tightened his grip. "Ergo, I need a constructive outlet for my rage, and I believe this will work quite nicely."
As Peppermint's face turned blue, Blossomforth racked her brain frantically for a new plan. "Let her go!" she demanded. "I'll... I'll... I'll make a deal with you!"
"Oh really?" Dr. Audubon arched an eyebrow at the proposal. "And what sort of deal do you have in mind?"
"Well, um, I was, er..." Blossomforth fumbled for the right words for a few moments before inspiration struck. "I have top-secret documents with information regarding the inner workings of the Ponyville Special Forces Division!" she revealed. "Let her go, and I'll turn over everything I have!"
"Hmmm... Top secret information, you say?" Dr. Audubon's hold on Peppermint loosened a bit as he pondered the offer. "It would be nice to know if the ponies have any aces up their sleeves."
"I know, right?" Blossomforth reached down, unzipped her fanny pack, and pulled out the envelope she had received during her initial mission briefing. Her pulse quickened as she felt the bulge of the small, yet-to-be-armed explosive device inside the envelope. "Everything's right here. Just let Peppermint go, and it's all yours."
Dr. Audubon smiled as he read the words 'TOP SECRET' stamped on the envelope. "Very well," he said, dropping Peppermint on the ground. "I accept your terms."
"Great!" Blossomforth stuck her hoof in the envelope to pull out her initial letter, making sure to press the big red button on the explosive device as she did so. "You can start with my orders about this mission."
Dr. Audubon stepped up and snatched the packet away from Blossomforth before she could pull out the letter. "Let us see what plans those pathetic ponies had for us," he cackled.
Blossomforth waited for a second as the other griffons gathered around Dr. Audubon, and then dashed over to Peppermint. "We should go. Like, right now," she whispered.
The two ponies tiptoed out of the lab, and then made a mad dash towards the building's front entrance, covering the distance in just over a minute. "Phew!" Blossomforth said as the pair ran outside. "We made it, and not a moment too soon!"
Peppermint turned and wrapped Blossomforth in another hug. "Thank you, Fleximare!" she gushed. "That crazy griffon was going to kill me, but you sacrificed your secrets and saved my life again!"
"All in a night's work, ma'am." Blossomforth tried to suppress a chuckle, but failed. "Besides, those idiots will get a real bang out of those files I gave them!"
"What do you mean?"
"Probably nothing," Blossomforth admitted. "After all, that little thing wasn't big enough to—"
BOOM! The building suddenly exploded in a massive ball of fire, sending the ponies flying a good two hundred feet through the air and depositing them in a large snowbank. The pair quickly pulled themselves out of the snow, and watched for a moment as singed griffons sailed across the sky, all leaving smoke trails as if they were fireworks. "Er, I guess I stand corrected," Blossomforth said.
"Excellent work, Fleximare." The sound of a voice behind the two ponies caused them both to leap up in shock, and they turned to see a purple stallion stick his head out of the snow.
"What are you doing here?" Blossomforth asked.
"First things first." The stallion pulled a small spray can out of the snowbank and sprayed Peppermint in the face.
"Yuck! What was... That..." Peppermint lost consciousness and collapsed into the snow.
"Now then," the stallion continued, "you've done a fine job tonight, Miss Forth. You destroyed Dr. Audubon's hideout, thwarted his evil plans, and saved Miss Mint's life."
"I was also punched out by a buffalo, nearly cut in half by a giant saw, and will now probably have to walk home." Blossomforth looked back at her limp wings and shook her head. "You know," she admitted, "I'm really not sure I'm cut out for this superhero stuff."
"The state of both Dr. Aubudon's hideout and Miss Mint's health says otherwise," the stallion replied. "Not just anypony could do what you did, Miss Forth, and even fewer would dare try. The world is a better place with Fleximare in it."
"I guess." Blossomforth sighed. "But just so you know, if I'm going to get tossed into more world-saving jobs like this, I'm going to need more money."
"We'll see what our budget looks like next month."
"One more thing," Blossomforth said before the stallion could sink back into the snow. "You, uh, wouldn't mind giving us a lift home, would you?"