"Dang it... Twilight! Fluttershy! Pinkie! Where are you?" yelled out Rainbow Dash as she fumbled around. The sudden flash of light from Twilight's horn had blinded her. When she finally regained her sight, everything was dark once more, save for the faint illumination provided by the moon and stars. While her night-vision had not fully recovered, she could still make out the stumbling forms of griffins, all of them behaving like they're still blinded. Although a few looked like they got their senses back, judging by the way they're growling at her.
"Still wanna play, huh?" Rainbow Dash growled back before the griffins attacked her once more. She caught one of them mid-pounce with her clawed wings, and using its momentum against it, flipped it over and slammed the monster into the ground. With her other claws, she sliced into the monster's exposed belly, sending blood and guts pouring out to the ground.
No far from her, Applejack was dealing with her own group of griffins. In the enclosed space of the cave, the griffins didn't have much room to maneuver, which made them easy target for Applejack's blade-like horns. Their number dwindled quickly as the earth pony slice through them like scythe through hays.
"Applejack!" called out Rainbow Dash while her claws remain focused on the task of separating a griffin's head from its body. Said griffin had tried to tore out the back of her neck with its beak, which was interrupted by two sets of claw in its own neck. It didn't took her long to tear its head from the rest of its body. "Where are they?"
"Ah saw them went after dat boulder!" answered back Applejack. "Ah think Fluttershy was stuck on it!"
"What? They're out there?" Rainbow Dash looked out out the cave and noted a depression in the ground leading away from them. Worries plagued her when she noticed that she couldn't see the light Twilight's horn normally cast when she uses magic. "We need to go help them!"
"Just give me a sec!" she turned back to see what's holding up Applejack. One of the griffin managed to latch onto Applejack's back, where her horn couldn't reach. However, the earth pony was far from helpless. She reared back and slammed the griffin into the wall. The impact sent chunks of rock falling from the wall and caused the griffin to lose its grip. Before it could even hit the ground, Applejack bucked out and crushed its head against the wall. "Let's go!"
The two galloped out the cave, leaving behind griffins who was just starting to recover from their daze. They followed down the depression, keeping their eyes out for their three pony friends. Their hooves trampling over the crushed and mangled corpses of the griffins, each rose fresh worries as to the fate of Fluttershy. As they got closer to the boulder, Rainbow Dash felt a twinge of panic when she saw no sign of any of them.
"Twilight! Pinkie! Fluttershy!" called out Rainbow Dash as she reached the boulder. She did a quick trot around the boulder and met up with Applejack on the other side of the resting rock. "You see them?"
Applejack shook her head.
"Rainbow?" came a muffled voice that Rainbow Dash instantly recognized as Fluttershy's. "Is that you?"
"Fluttershy! Where are you?" Rainbow Dash looked around her trying to figure out where the voice came from.
"...down here..." Rainbow Dash jumped a bit when the boulder shifted a bit. "... I'm stuck... help... if it's not too much trouble..."
"Ah got it!" Applejack butted her head against the boulder. With effortless ease, she tossed the boulder away, revealing Fluttershy lying in a pony-shaped indentation with her legs spread out and her snout and face buried in the ground. Rainbow Dash took Fluttershy's tail between her teeth and pulled her out of the ground.
"You alright?" asked Rainbow Dash as Fluttershy gathered her hooves beneath her and pushed herself up. Fluttershy winced when her body made a series of crackles and pops. Her wings, crooked in places, straightened out almost instantly.
"I'm... fine..." mumbled Fluttershy. Her ears shot up as her eyes met Rainbow's in a panic. "The girls! They..."
"Ah! Hayseed!" cursed Applejack, wearing a scowl on her face while her back arched in a fighting stance. "Here they come!"
Rainbow Dash followed suit. Swarm of griffins had took to the air, leaving the cave they were just attacking, and were flying straight toward them. Rainbow Dash readied her wings, its deadly claws locked and ready to bury itself into any attacker. The swarm approached rapidly, their unnatural screeches blended into a cacophony of hair-raising noise. Soon, the swarm was on top of them...
... and past them.
"What the hay?" exclaimed Applejack as she watched the dozens strong griffins flew off toward the horizon. They didn't seems to have noticed them, or if they had, didn't even try to attack.
"Looks like we kicked their flank so hard they don't want round two." said Rainbow Dash with a grin.
"Ah don't know... something is... off..." commented Applejack.
"GAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Rarity's scream cut through the air, causing the three ponies to snap their attention back to the cave. "BACK YOU... BEAST!"
"Buck it! Forgot about Rarity!" swore Rainbow Dash as she galloped back to the cave with Applejack and Fluttershy close behind her. A fluctuating, pale blue light emanated from the dark depth of the cave, casting moving shadows along the cave walls. Sound of scuffling and the griffin's screech echoed from the cave.
"UNHOOF ME YOU MONSTER! GET... AH! HELP!"
"I got you Rarity! I got... WHOA!" came Spike's voice. The light grew brighter rapidly until its source came into view. Rarity flew through the air being carried by a griffin. Its claws held firm to the squirming unicorn even while being assaulted by a floating cloth iron. Right behind her was Spike, who was hanging on to Rarity's tail. "Rainbow! Help us!"
"Hang on you two!" shouted Rainbow Dash. She felt the familiar sensation of tension building up in her legs as her eyes locked on the griffins flying through the cave toward them. Then, right at the moment the griffin was about to exit the cave, she launched herself into the air. Using her wings, Rainbow Dash adjusted her glide through the air. The griffin, who was apparently distracted by the screaming and squirming unicorn in its claws, didn't notice the pegasus moving to intercept it.
It did notice when Rainbow Dash landed on its back, and its reaction was instantaneous. It pulled itself into a steep climb, sending Rainbow Dash tumbling. She managed to on by biting down on some hair on the griffin's back. Wind buffeted against her hair as they soared higher and higher into the night sky. She glanced down and found the ground receding away rapidly. Whoa... this thing is fast!
"Rainbow! Is that you?" shouted Rarity in a terrified screech. "Do something!"
"AH'M TWYING!" yelled back Rainbow Dash through gritted teeth. At this altitude, she couldn't kill the griffin, at least not without turning Rarity and Spike into two bloody smears on the ground. Even with her trying to slow them down, their combined weight would mean that the impact would still be hard enough to kill her friends.
That left her one option: get the griffin to fly lower.
Still holding onto the griffin with her teeth, Rainbow Dash maneuvered herself so that her back was toward the griffin.
"Get dawn!" growled Rainbow Dash as she started kicking the griffin in the head. The griffin screeched, whether from pain or annoyance, Rainbow Dash didn't know, nor did she care. "Jus... get... dawn!"
The kicking had an effect, but not one that Rainbow Dash was hoping for. The griffin started to twist and turn in the air, trying to throw off the offensive pegasus on its back. But no matter how much it threw Rainbow Dash around, her bite on the griffin's hair held firm.
Said griffin's hair, however, didn't. To Rainbow Dash shock, the hair ripped away from the griffin. Acting on pure instinct, Rainbow Dash used her wing claws and stabbed into the griffin's back and stopped herself from falling off. That's when the corner of her eye caught a brown shape zooming past her and she noticed that they're losing altitude... fast. One look at the griffin told her why.
In her desperate attempt to hold on with her claws, she had sliced off the griffin's right wing.
Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! CRAP! What do I do?! What do I do?!
"We're falling!" yelled out Spike.
"RAINBOW!" came Rarity's terrified cry.
Think... think... think! all the while, the griffin was screeching like a banshee. "Shut... UP!"
Rainbow Dash drove her wing claw into the neck of the griffin and silenced the griffin. Tendril shot out from her, disassembling and pulling the griffin into her. In a few seconds, only Rarity and Spike were in her sight. The dragon and unicorn looked at her, then at each other, before the two clung together and screamed.
Without wasting another second, Rainbow Dash grabbed Rarity just under her elbow and flapped her wings as hard as possible. She shut her eyes as the ground rose up rapidly to meet them, not wanting to see what happen when they hit the ground. All the while, Rarity and Spike kept on screaming.
Then a strange sensation came over Rainbow Dash. She felt her wings started catching more air as the familiar feeling flight wash through her. The wind blew against her face, instead of under her. Rarity's and Spike's scream had died away, leaving only the howling wind in her ear.
"Whoa..." sounded Spike. With great trepidation, Rainbow Dash cracked open one of her eyes, before opening both wide when she saw what happened.
She's flying. It wasn't a glide, but an actual flight. The stubborn hold of gravity on her for the past few days were gone. She was free, free to take to the sky as she had before.
Rainbow Dash looked to her side and found the answer to her freedom. Her wings had grown to a majestic size, easily three to four times longer and wider than a pegasus wing. In fact, Rainbow Dash could swear that her wings were about the same size as Princess Celestia, perhaps even larger. More importantly, they felt... powerful. She gave them a light flap, which was all that's needed to send her soaring high into the sky.
"Woo-hoo!" yelled Rainbow Dash at the top of her lung as she pulled into several somersaults. "I'm flying!"
That was when she noticed the screaming. Screams that sounded like Rarity and Spike. Rainbow Dash quickly leveled off. She glanced down and found two pair of eyes staring back: a fearful pair belonging to a dragon, and an enraged pair belonging to a unicorn.
"Put... us... down..." growled Rarity.
"Eh... heh... sorry..." said Rainbow Dash, feeling somewhat sheepish. She looked around and found Applejack waving at them with Fluttershy hopping up and down beside her. She turned in a wide arch and flew toward them. Once she got close, Rainbow Dash slowed to a hover, her wing beats sending up cloud of dust around her. She lowered Rarity and Spike to the ground, who were a bit slow at releasing each other, before landing herself.
"Rarity! Spike!" Fluttershy quickly trotted toward them. "Are you two alright?"
"Yeah... I'm fine." answered Spike.
"I'm... okay. Just... had a bit of a scare" Rarity turned to Rainbow Dash. "You saved my life... again!"
"Well, I hope that makes up for ditching you at Dodge Junction." replied Rainbow Dash with a grin. "That and getting hit by a sewing machine."
"Oh it certainly did! And more! I don't know what to say other than... thank you." said Rarity, who looked a bit guilty. "And... um... sorry about the sewing machine. I wasn't myself last night... after the... um..."
"Hey, don't sweat it. Didn't hurt me any." said Rainbow Dash.
"Ah must say. Dat's some huge wings you got there." commented Applejack, who had spent the last few moments staring at her wings.
"Yeah, pretty sweet huh?" said Rainbow Dash as she gave her wings a short flap, which sent dust and rock flying into Applejack's face. "Oops! Sorry!"
"Might wanna keep it tucked away before ya hurt some pony." said Applejack, who was trying to spit the dirt from her mouth. "... come to think about it, how do you fold that away?"
Rainbow Dash stared at her own wings for a while before she tried to just fold it. Under the ponies fascinated stares, black and red tendrils covered her wings as it shrunk back down to a more normal size as she folded them against her side. She spread them out again, and they grew back into the enormous wings that granted her flight.
"I guess like that!" Rainbow Dash repeated the motion a few more times before leaving it folded against her. "This will so come in hoofy for tornado day! Mare... think about how much wing power I can generate!"
"Wait, where's Twilight?" asked Spike, his head turning this way and that. "And Pinkie Pie? Where are they?"
"Oh my goodness! I almost forgot!" gasped Fluttershy. "I saw those scary griffin took them!"
"What?" Fluttershy's shrunk back a bit at the sudden outburst from her friends.
"I only had a few quick look while I was... rolling on the boulder. But I'm pretty sure that those monster grabbed them and flew away."
"Horse apples! Let's go! We need to catch them!" Rainbow Dash turned around to take off. However, a sharp tug on her tail quickly stopped her. She looked back and saw that Applejack had pinned the pegasus' tail under her hoof.
"Just where do ya think yer going?"
"I'm going to find Twilight and Pinkie! Now let go!" Rainbow Dash gave her tail an annoyed tug, but the earth's pony hoofing was solid.
"And how do ya think yer going to do that?" asked Applejack. "Do ya even know where to start?"
"Well... no." Rainbow Dash stopped trying to free her tail from Applejack and sat down.
"Thought so." Applejack, seeing that Rainbow Dash wasn't going to take off any time soon, took her hoof off the pegasus' tail. "We can't just charge around and hope we bump into them. Those monster could have taken them anywhere. Beside, we don't even know the land that well, it will be like finding a nail in a haystack."
"Needle, Applejack, it's needle in a haystack." correct Rarity. "But Applejack is right. As much as I... we worry about Twilight and Pinkie, we can't lose our head and run around willy-nilly. We need a plan."
"Okay. What's the plan then?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Ah say we do what we planned last night." said Applejack. "Head for the griffin villages, see what we can find out."
Rainbow Dash thought it over. At least it's better than flying around randomly.
"Let's do that." Rainbow Dash got back up and spread-out her wings, which grew back to the immense size that could support her in flight. "I'll scout ahead."
"Alright, Spike, get on." Spike nodded and quickly scrambled on Applejack's back. "Fluttershy, you take Rarity."
Rarity looked fearfully at the thought of riding on them again.
"Come on Rarity, we don't have all day!" shouted Rainbow Dash. With some trepidation, Rarity climbed onto Fluttershy's back and circled her hooves around her neck and flank. With the unicorn finally settled in, the group left for the setting moon.
====================================================================
"Ugh..." Pinkie Pie groaned as she opened her eyes and blinked away the drowsiness. She stared at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom, trying to see if the mild headache that was bothering her would go away.
Wow... that was a strange dream...
After she confirmed that the headache won't go away on its own, she rolled out of her bed and hit the ground on all four. Pinkie Pie slide her front hooves out, arching her back and sighed happily as the tension in them disappeared with a few pops. She felt even happier when she felt an itch running up her back.
Hey! Itchy back! It's going to be my lucky day! Pinkie Pie bounced twice before her headache got to her. Ugh... first, coffee, then lucky. Ooh, that rhymes! Coffee... Lucky... Coffee... Lucky... cof... ugh... pain... coffee... now.
Pinkie Pie dragged herself down the stairs to the shop floor. The familiar scent of cake baking wafted into her nose. She took a deep breath, breathing in the aroma, before letting it out with her second happy sigh of the day.
Hm... chocolate? No... strawberry? No... cherry? No... Hm... a new flavor? thought Pinkie Pie as she pushed open the swing door into the kitchen. "Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Ca... huh?"
The Cake couple was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen. Instead, on one side of the kitchen was Fluttershy, who was tending to the coffee machine. On the other side was... another Pinkie Pie, sporting straight manes and tail, watching over the oven.
"Good morning Pinkie Pie!" the two said in a chorus. Pinkie Pie trotted into the kitchen, staring at her other self with interest.
"Wait a minute... you are me!" commented Pinkie Pie. "Weird! I thought you only appear in my imagine spot."
"Of course I do! You're still dreaming." answered the other Pinkie Pie.
"Coffee?" asked Fluttershy, holding a steaming mug of coffee in her hooves.
"I am? Oh, thanks Fluttershy." Pinkie Pie took the mug and chugged it down in one go. She placed the now empty mug on the table, which was quickly taken away by Fluttershy. "Cool! I never got to talk to you before. I mean, I was always singing when I imagined you, so I never did imagine you talk, Pink... wait, is your name Pinkie Pie? Or did I give you some other name?"
"Pinkamena." answered the pink pony. Her eyes never left the oven.
"Hey, that's my name when I was little! So, are you like..."
*DING*
"Cupcakes are ready." said Pinkamena, who grabbed a mouth mitten before she opened the oven and pulled out a tray of cupcakes. Pinkamena kicked the oven door close with her hind-leg and carried the tray to the counter before depositing it there. "Have some."
"For me?" asked Pinkie Pie. "You never baked me cupcakes before."
"Fluttershy helped. Actually, she did most of the work." replied Pinkamena. Pinkie Pie turned to Fluttershy in surprise.
"You did? I know you cook, but I never knew you do baking too!"
"Um... I still don't know much about baking, so I'm sorry if they taste bad... but I put a lot of heart into those cupcakes." said Fluttershy.
"Yes, she really did." added Pinkamena.
"Aw thank you Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie drew Fluttershy into a big hug before turning to the tray. The cupcakes looked like one of those red-velvet cupcakes, with chunks of cherries in them. "They look delicious! I'm going to try one!"
She took a bite out of one of the cupcakes. Fluttershy was right, she probably have never baked before. She could tell that Fluttershy probably added way more salt than just a pinch. Plus, as far as she could tell, Fluttershy forgot to add something sweet, but nor did it taste sour. Yet, it didn't taste bad, instead it was more of a very unique flavor, one that she couldn't quite put her hooves on.
"Shay Floo..." Pinkie Pie swallowed the cupcake. "Say Fluttershy, what did you put in the cupcake?"
"Oh, like I said, I..."
"Oops! Looks like it's time for you to wake up!" Pinkamena spun Pinkie Pie around and started pushing her out the kitchen. "Let's go, your friend need you."
"But wait! I want to know what's in those..." with a hard shove from Pinkamena, Pinkie Pie found herself floating in an foggy expanse of swirling red and black pattern. Behind her was the kitchen door she came from, seemingly floating in midair. She saw Pinkamena waving goodbye seconds before she started falling. "AHHHhhhh...!"
Pinkamena watched as her more bubbly personality plummeted into the fog before turning to the yellow pegasus beside her. "Okay, now, just how did you get in?"
====================================================================
On any other days, this would have been nice run. The salty breeze blew in Applejack's face as she galloped over a terrain sparsely populated by vegetation. To her left, an endless expanse of blue extended from the cliff edge all the way to the horizon. Sound of crashing wave and churning sea provided the only other sound beside the rustling of their hooves against the short, sturdy grass that survived the cold climate. The early morning sun warmed her back and drove away the chilliness in the air. All in all, it was a perfect day for a good run, if any of them had the mood to enjoy it.
Of course, none of them were in the mood to do so. Fluttershy galloped beside her and held an expression of constant worry. The same expression shared by her passenger, Rarity. Spike, on the other hoof, had been quite vocal about his worry, speculating progressive more horrifying fate for Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie until he hyperventilated, which required them to stop to calm him down. Since then, he had been relatively silent for the remaining trip.
Far ahead of them and high in the sky was Rainbow Dash, who flew in a wide circle on her massive wings as she surveyed the terrain ahead. Occasionally she would fly back to check up on them, but otherwise she just kept watch from her vantage point.
Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped and hovered. A few seconds later, she flew toward them.
"What did ya see?" asked Applejack as Rainbow Dash flew alongside them.
"Village ahead." answer Rainbow Dash with a note of uncertainty in her voice.
"And?"
"It doesn't look good..."
====================================================================
"Oh Celestia..." commented Fluttershy as they trotted into the griffin village, or what's left of one. Silence permeated the village, broken only by the sound their hooves crunching against the charred grass. Blackened stone houses scattered along the the road. A few lucky ones looked intact and retained the charred wooden frames for its thatched roof, but the rest were completely burnt down, with many just piles of broken stone where the walls once were.
The worst part, however, was the bodies. Burnt so badly that Applejack thought they were just logs, at least until she noticed that said log have beaks.
"What... just what in Celestia's name happened here?" asked Rarity, who made a point to avoid the burnt "logs" as she followed them.
"Fire." answered Applejack, earning her an annoyed look from Rarity. She knew that the answer wasn't helpful, but her mind was preoccupied at trying to figure out what happened here.
Did they set the fire themselves, trying to flee from the monsters? Or were they all... killed, and the fire burned out of control?... or...
The sound of beating wing drew Applejack's attention to the sky, where Rainbow Dash was coming in for a landing.
"Find anything?" asked Applejack. Rainbow Dash answered by shaking her head.
"No." she said. "It looks like it was like this for a while."
Applejack looked around some more and decided that Rainbow Dash was right. Among the charred landscape, fresh shoots of grass had started to grow. Of course, this only mystified her more as to what happened to the village.
"I don't think we'll find anything useful here." said Applejack. "Let's keep moving."
====================================================================
"Ah!" Pinkie Pie kept on screaming as she fell through the impenetrable fog of swirling black and red. After what seemed like an eternity, Pinkie Pie stopped out of boredom and exhaustion.
"Wow... just how far am I supposed to fall before I wake up?"
Her answer came quickly, in the form of her tail being yanked upward abruptly and she found herself dangling upside down.
Hey! What's going on? the world grew dark around her and she started to hear other voices.
"... so... what do I do with this one?" a deep, gruff voice reached her ears.
Who are they? Pinkie Pie cracked open one of her eyes just small enough to see out of them. Judging by how the blood was rushing to her head, and how everything was upside down, Pinkie Pie guessed that someone was grabbing her by the tail. From her inverted vantage point, Pinkie Pie guessed that they were in some sort of laboratory, with designs that looked straight out of horror movies. In the center, illuminated by a harsh lamp, was a single bed covered with restraining straps made from animal skins. Dried bloodstains streaked down the bed legs onto the floor, forming pools of dark-red splotches around the base. All along the walls were shelves, upon which jars upon jars of dark-red fluid rested, many with random organs stuffed in them.
She glanced to her side, and had to forced down a gasp that almost escaped her throat. Right beside her was the unconscious form of Twilight Sparkle, who, like her, was dangling upside down by her tail.
"Just throw her in the cage." said a lab-coat wearing griffin. His eyes were obscured by goggles and his claws were covered in rubber gloves. Gray feathers covered his head and neck. Down his body, the feather gave way to olive green hair. "Bring the unicorn here."
Oh no! They're going to cut up Twilight! horrifying thoughts ran through Pinkie mind as the griffin holding her headed for the entrance and past the griffin who had Twilight. Without thinking too much about it, Pinkie Pie twisted her body and snapped her teeth around the griffin's tail.
"GAH! IT GOT ME! IT GOT ME!" the griffin dropped Twilight head first to the floor as he started running around. Pinkie Pie kept her teeth sunk into the screaming griffin's tail, not letting up even as her captor tried to pull her away by her tail. The tug of war lasted mere seconds when her teeth suddenly snapped together. She flew backward before her back slammed into something soft, accompanied by a strangled cry of a griffin behind her.
"My tail! My tail!" Pinkie Pie got to her hooves, although unsteady from the residual effect of whatever drug those griffon gave. She was surprised to find that her teeth was still latched onto the griffin's tail, one that's no longer connected to any griffin. Pinkie Pie spat out the dismembered tail when she noticed that Twilight Sparkle was stirring on the ground.
"Ptoo..." Pinkie Pie spat out the dismembered tail when she noticed that Twilight Sparkle was stirring on the ground. "Twilight! Wake up!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "Wake..."
Pinkie Pie suddenly felt an impact on her cheek that sent her flying again. This time there wasn't anything soft to stop her from slamming into the hard stone wall. Stars swam in her eyes as she crumbled to a heap on the ground.
"Why you little!" the griffin with the missing tail walked up to her. His claw grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up before pinning her to the wall. His eyes glared at her with murderous rage as he raised his other claw, getting ready to strike at her.
"Pinkie... Pie?" Pinkie Pie looked over the griffin and saw Twilight's eyes flitted open. The unicorn looked confused at the situation she woke up in, but the confusion soon faded when she saw Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie Pie!"
Before Twilight Sparkle could get up, one of the other griffins tackled her to the ground. Twilight Sparkle writhed on the ground, trying to free herself from the griffin. More griffins piled on, trying to stop the struggling unicorn from moving. As she was slowly pinned down, her desperate eyes met Pinkie Pie's, and turned into ones of rage.
"Let... her... GO!" Twilight's voice dropped an octave on the last word as her eyes glowed a bright white. Purple aura erupted around her, blasting the griffins on her into the surrounding walls and shelves. Sounds of shattered glass filled the room as the impact sent jars crashing to the floor, spilling their crimson content all over the floor. The tail-less griffin released his hold on her, dropping her to the blood-soaked floor as his claws shielded his eyes from the light. Arcs of raw magic shot out from the hovering unicorn, exploding glass jars and collapsing shelves. Griffins ducked for cover as broken shards of glass and timber spiraled around the room, propelled by the whirlwind formed by Twilight Sparkle's magic.
Then, just like some pony hitting the light switch, the bright light disappeared, leaving behind a confused unicorn seconds before she dropped to the floor on all four. A familiar dart with a tuft of red hair was stuck in her side.
"Pinkie..." was all Twilight Sparkle managed before she collapsed to the ground.
"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie scrambled back up, ignoring the pain and dizziness in her head. With great difficulty owing to the wet slippery stone floor, she galloped toward the unconscious unicorn.
Okay... get Twilight! And... her thought was interrupted when she was tackled to the side.
"Get off me!" shouted Pinkie Pie as she twisted and bucked against the griffin. A sharp pain in her flank, however, told her that her struggle was to be in vain.
Oh no! Not again! Pinkie Pie fought against the wave of drowsiness that overtook her. She tried to keep her eyes opened, but it felt like they were made out of lead. As her vision fade, she felt a claw seized her by the neck and started to choke out her breath.
"I'm going to gut you like a fish!" said a voice that Pinkie Pie remembered belonging to the griffin who lost his tail. A shiver ran down Pinkie's spine when she felt a claw running along her stomach.
"NO!" another voice called out. "Lord Seth wants them alive. Both of them. He will have our hides if something happened to them!"
"But..."
"Talk to him if you have a problem with it! Otherwise shut your trap and take her to the cage! Damn... I hope they're not contaminated..."
"... ARGH!" Pinkie Pie felt herself dropped to the floor unceremoniously. Shortly thereafter, she found herself upside down once more as she was picked up by her tail again.
"What do we do with the unicorn?" asked a different voice, one that was growing faint and distance as she lost her fight to remain conscious.
"Take her..." was the last words she heard before sleep forcefully claimed her.
====================================================================
Please be okay... please be okay... thought Rainbow Dash as she flew up, having informed Applejack of another village ahead of them. According to Twilight's map, the village was called Featherhorn, home to the Whitetail griffins. They had passed two more villages not an hour ago, and both were just like the first, utterly destroyed and razed to the ground.
That's why she felt some relief when she noted that, at the distance, the village looked unscathed. It was built on top of a narrow peninsula that jutted up and out to the sea, surrounded by sheer vertical cliffs along the coast. In her opinion, it looked like a giant unicorn horn had lifted the earth from below. A massive and long stone building dominated the tip of the landmass, its gabled roof gave off a golden glow from the morning light. From there, a prominent path followed the slope down the peninsula, flanked on both side by smaller houses until it flatten out near the base. Even more impressive, she could see more wooden structures braced against the cliff wall itself.
What gave her mood a lift, was the griffins. Normal looking ones walked and flew around the village, going about their businesses.
"Hey guys!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she flew down to the rest of her friends. "Good news! There are griffins in this one!"
"Normal griffins?" asked Applejack. Rainbow Dash nodded in response. "Great! Looks like we'll finally get some answers."
The group made their way to the village. Some of the griffins turned to watch as they approached, but all soon returned to whatever they was keeping them busy. In fact, Rainbow Dash observed, every griffin in the village were either hurrying somewhere or hard at work. A great contrast when compared to Ponyville's more relaxed atmosphere.
"Oh my, they sure are a busy lot." commented Rarity. Rainbow Dash looked around, and stepped in front of a griffin carrying a large basket of fish on his back.
"Hey! Outta my way!" grunted the griffin. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"I'm sorry, But we need to ask you something." said Rarity.
"Sorry, no time. If you wanna talk, talk to the lady." he replied.
"Okay, where can we find her?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Mead hall, up the hill." he replied. "Now outta the way."
Rainbow Dash stepped to the side and let the hurried griffin pass.
"How rude!" said Rarity.
"Well, at least he told us where to go, come on." said Rainbow Dash as they weaved their way through the busy village toward the large building at the top of the slope. As they went, Rainbow Dash noted that the village, despite all the activity, were quite empty. Most of the griffins were near the base of the peninsula, which was mostly occupied by workshops of various kind. While on the slope, where stores and houses were located, there was few griffins around outside of the occasional young griffins staring at the passing ponies. By the time they reached the great building, there was no griffins they could see around them.
"So... should we knock?" asked Applejack. Rainbow Dash stared at the building in front of her. Up close, the building's size was truly impressive, easily larger than any single building in Ponyville. Its thatched roof was, as Rainbow suspected, made out of dried hay. The wall itself was made out of stone blocks, reinforced by wooden beams. The pair of doors that guarded the entrance was as impressive as the building itself and covered in elaborate runes.
Twilight could probably translate that... thought Rainbow Dash. She raised her hoof and gave the roof a few raps.
"Give me a sec!" The door swung open, and a griffin backed her way out. Her head feather was white with a hint of gray at the tip of the feather and her eye-shadow. Her coat was a pale gray color, which matched the color of her tail except for the tuft of hair on the end, which was dyed white. Around her neck was a necklace, or more precisely a chain, from which a clipboard, quills, and a watch hung. A pair of glasses rested precariously on her slender beak, making her eyes looked larger than normal.
Whoa... egghead vibe... thought Rainbow Dash as the griffin turned around, wearing a smile on her face.
"Welcome back Lady Amelia, I'm sorry I didn't know you need help with the d... door..." the look of happiness quickly turned to one of disappointment, followed by one of uncertainty. "Who are you?"
"Hi! I'm Rainbow Dash. This is Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike. Yes, he's a dragon, but don't worry, he doesn't bite." added Rainbow Dash upon seeing a flash a terror on the griffin's face. "So... who are you?"
"Hi... I'm Galena... what are you ponies... and dragon, doing here?" she asked.
"We wish to talk to this lady Amelia." asked Rarity. "Is she not here?"
"I'm sorry ma'am, she's not here." said Galena.
"Where is she?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Fishing." answered Galena.
"Fishing?" repeated Rainbow Dash.
"Yes, you know, for food?" added Galena. She suddenly looked agitated and started flipping through the papers in her clipboard. "Do you have an appointment?"
"Er... no?" replied Rainbow Dash. "It's sort of an emergency... is that a problem?"
"YES!" shouted Galena with enough volume to force Rainbow Dash to step back. "There's no room left in my schedule!"
"So she's busy the rest of the day?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"No, she will be free after four." answered Galena, her eyes never leaving the clipboard. "Okay... maybe I can move the inventorying for cured fish..."
"Er... then what's wrong with the schedule?"
"I'm not free at that time!" said Galena, getting more agitated by the second.
"And?" Galena blinked at Rainbow Dash, as if surprised that the pegasus didn't know... whatever it was that the pegasus should know.
"I'm her record keeper!" said Galena, earning her a stare from the clueless ponies. "One of my job is to keep a record of every meeting. But I don't have room in my schedule to attend the meeting and... who are you?"
"Er... I'm Rainbow Dash. This is..."
"No no no no no... what's your official capacity?"
"O-fish... wha?" asked Applejack. Rainbow Dash shrugged, and Fluttershy looked a bit confused at the exchange.
"I think she means what we're doing here." said Rarity.
"Oh wait!" Spike rummaged through the saddle bag that belonged to Twilight Sparkle and pulled out a scroll bearing Princess Celestia's seal. "Does this help?"
Galena took the scroll from the young dragon and unrolled it. Her eyes went wide seconds later.
"YOU'RE SPECIAL ENVOYS FROM THE PRINCESS OF THE SUN!?" the griffin started to hyperventilate. "And you have been standing outside! I'm so sorry! Please come in! Where are my manner!? Welcome to Featherhorn, home of the Whitetail tribe..."
The ponies entered, or a better description was pushed into, the door by the babbling griffin.
"Oh... my..." voiced Rarity as she saw what's inside. The interior was a single massive dining room, occupied primarily by two long tables running along the entire room. A shorter table at the end joined the two long ones, creating a shape that resembles an elongated horseshoe. Bales of hay lined the tables for seating, with the ones at the far end looked like they're covered in... animal skin.
Ugh... I hope Fluttershy don't see that... thought Rainbow Dash. Oil lamps hung at regular intervals along the wall, all were extinguished at the moment. Instead, sections of thatched roofs were anchored open at regular spacing to let in natural light. Brilliant tapestries lined the wall, many depicted griffins battling some sort of monster or another. Fluttershy let out a small meep when she saw one showing a griffin fighting off a dragon in mid-air.
"... you want anything? Juice, fish soup... oh wait, ponies don't eat fish... you eat hay, right? We have hays on our roof... I can take a few bundles down and..."
"Er, don't worry, we brought our own food." said Applejack.
"Oh... okay..." the griffin stared at them for a while, her mind churning away trying to work out what to do next. She took a quick glance at her watch before she started panicking again. "Oh no! I'm going to be so behind on the inventorying. I have to go! Please, make yourself comfortable. I'll tell Amelia that you want to see her once she get back. Please don't go anywhere."
Before anyone could get in another word edgewise, Galena had slammed the door shut. After a long period of silence, Rainbow Dash opened her mouth again.
"Is it just me, or did we just meet a griffin version of Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Ain't just you, pardner." answered Applejack. The sound of a stomach growling echoed through the dining hall, causing all the other ponies and dragons to turn to Rarity.
"I'm starving..." said Rarity, her face red with embarrassment.
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Hours later...
"So... bored..." groaned Rainbow Dash as she straddled the beam supporting the ceiling, her legs dangling lazily off the sides. Her eyes stared out of the skylight toward the distant ocean with longing. "How much longer do we have to wait?"
"Be patient Rainbow. She said Lady Amelia will be back at four." said Rarity, her eyes scanning at the five poker cards floating in front of her. "I never met a griffin lady before, I wonder what she'll be like... Fluttershy, do you have any nines by chance?"
"Um... go fish?... sorry..." replied Fluttershy, who was glanced up from the three cards in front of her apologetically.
"Like we keep saying Fluttershy, it's part of the game, you don't have to apologize all the time." Rarity looked at the pile of cards between them before levitating one up. A disappointed look on her face when she saw that it was not one she wanted. "Ugh, bad luck... your turn Fluttershy."
"Um... okay... Applejack... could I have your princesses..."
"Hey guys! Check it out!" shouted Rainbow Dash, causing Fluttershy to shot her wings out in surprise, creating a gust of wind that scattered the cards all over place.
"I'm sorry!" cried out Fluttershy as she trotted around trying to gather the cards back up.
"Don't worry about it darling, I'll take care of it." said Rarity. The scattered cards glowed a light blue as they arranged themselves back into a stack.
"Rainbow! Just what the hay was that about?" Applejack shouted back.
"Just come check it out!" Rainbow Dash had stuck her head out of the sky-light. Using her recently discovered ability, Applejack ran up the wall and poked her head through a skylight next to Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow! What are you yelling about?" Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof out to sea and Applejack turned to followed it. "Whoa."
Against a backdrop of clear blue sky and sea, were griffins, hundreds of them. All skimmed close to the ocean waves as they flew back to their home. Applejack was quick to discover that there was a reason for them to fly so low to the sea. Behind each pair of griffins was a canoe, which carved out a frothy white wake in the water as they were towed by the griffins with two length of ropes. A single, triangular sail was anchored to the front of the canoe, controlled by a third griffin riding near the back of the canoe with more ropes. Between the griffin and the sail, were a mountain of fish, filling the canoe to the point that Applejack wondered why the canoe hasn't sunk yet.
That's a lot of fish... thought Applejack as the fleet of canoes approached the beach, where more griffins were waiting. Like a well-oiled machine, the instant a canoe touched the shore, two more griffins joined the three canoe pilots and helped them drag the canoes under one of the crane that lined the cliff . They latched the hooks, two on each side, onto the canoe and reeled it up. Up on the cliff, griffins unhooked and dragged the canoe away to unload its cargo of fish.
"I think that's her!" called out Rainbow Dash, pointing down the main road. Applejack looked down, a pair of griffins were coming up the road. One of them she recognized was Galena, who was talking to the griffin next to her at a mile a minute. The other griffin was new. Female, by the look of it. Her coat was light brown, almost yellow in color. And like the rest of the village, the tuft of her tail was painted white.
I'm guessing that's Lady Amelia As they drew near, Applejack and Rainbow Dash ducked back in.
"They're coming." said Rainbow Dash. The ponies and dragon quickly sat down at one of the side table and waited.
"... in summary, at the current rate of production, we should have enough to meet the quota." came Galena voice as the door opened.
"I wish it was that easy, our fishing ground is starting to deplete..." the griffin with the pale brown coat walked in. "... and if..." she froze when she saw the four ponies plus dragons in the room. "Galena, who are they?"
Galena, who had just entered door, turned her attention to the ponies. Her expression turned from confusion, to surprise, then finally to sheer terror.
"I FORGOT!" cried out Galena, "... how could I forget... how did I..." she flipped through her clipboard, finding the letter from Princess Luna before shoving it in front of the griffin beside her. "Lady Amelia, these are the special envoys from the solar princess..." The words came out of her mouth in a rapid-fire. "... envoys, this is Lady Amelia... oh, did I screw that up?..."
The griffin called Amelia scanned through the letter while Galena rambled on. After a while, she looked up at them and put her claw on Galena's shoulder.
"Galena." said Amelia. Galena stopped talking immediately and turned to Amelia.
"Yes my lady?" Galena's voice came out in a higher pitch than Applejack remember.
"It's okay, I got this. Go ahead and return to your work." said Amelia with a smile.
"Oh... okay..." Galena took another glance at them before backing herself out. Amelia waited until she no longer hear the flapping of the griffin's wing before turning back to them.
"I apologize, Galena tends to be a bit... excitable." she said.
"You're telling me..." Applejack heard Rainbow Dash muttered.
"I hope she did not cause you much trouble." continued Amelia.
"Oh, certainly not, your ladyship." answered Rarity.
"Good to hear, now, where are my manners." Amelia let out a chuckles. "I'm Lady Amelia, leader of the Whitetail tribe. And as belated as it may seem, welcome to Featherhorn."
"Ah, I'm Applejack, pleasure to meet you ma'am."
"I'm Rarity, it's an honor to meet you."
"Spike."
"I'm Rainbow Dash."
"... Fluttershy..."
"It is good to meet you all, and..." Amelia frowned and turned her attention to Rainbow Dash. "... you're Rainbow Dash?"
"Ah... yes?" the pegasus answered. In that instant, the griffin's look darkened.
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Rainbow Dash gulped as the griffin walked toward her, piercing her with an icy glare.
"Tell me... Rainbow Dash... did you befriend any griffin before?" asked Amelia, her tone was unnaturally level and cold.
"Um... yes?" replied Rainbow Dash, starting to slowly back away from the advancing griffin. "... a few..."
"Any from... Junior Speedster Flight Camp?" Rainbow Dash suddenly felt like the air just got colder around her. She only managed a nod.
"Name?" Amelia narrowed her eyes at her.
"Er... Gilda..." replied Rainbow Dash. Sweat beads starting to form on her head. "Is she..."
"I see..." the pegasus suddenly find herself butting head with the griffin, their eyes mere inch from each other. Next thing she knew, the griffin exploded. "SO YOU ARE THE ONE!"
"I'm the one what?" replied Rainbow Dash as she tried to back away faster. However, Amelia kept up with the pegasus' scrambling.
"YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HURT GILDA!" Rainbow could see fire burning in Amelia's eyes. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH PAIN YOU CAUSED HER?"
"What? How?" babbled Rainbow Dash. With her back pinned against the wall, she had nowhere else to retreat. Instead, her eyes darted toward her friends for help. However, the stunned look on them told her that help wasn't coming.
"For weeks, she locked herself in her room and refused to come out. She barely ate. She won't talk to us, and the only thing she..."
"WHAT DID I DO?!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
"YOU DUMPED HER!" Amelia roared.
"I..." stammered Rainbow Dash before she realized what the griffin said. "WHAT?"
"Oh my... Rainbow, I did not know you're into... that kind of thing." uttered Rarity with her hoof to her mouth.
"Why ya never told us about this?" asked Applejack.
"Um... what's going on?" asked Fluttershy in a whisper. Sitting beside her, Spike simply went slack-jawed.
"NO!" cried out Rainbow Dash. "I'm... was never that way with Gilda!"
"Well! My DAUGHTER certainly didn't think so!" Amelia snarled. Her whole form heaved from heavy breathing as her eyes bore into Rainbow Dash.
"Your... daughter? Gilda... is your daughter?" asked Rainbow Dash, suddenly very worried for her own safety. While she had survived injuries far worse than she believed was survivable for anything alive, but against a mother who believed you hurt her child? Well... "... Please just let me talk to her... It's all a big misunder..."
Her friends gasped, and Rainbow Dash cringed when the enraged griffin lifted her claws to the air with a growl. But the strike never came, instead, Amelia merely held her claw in place, glaring at the terrified pegasus beneath her. Seconds later, the griffin's breathing started to slow as the rage in her eyes faded into weariness.
"... wouldn't have changed anything..." she mumbled, lowering her claws back to the ground and walked away with a slump. Amelia made her way to one of the leather covered haystack and sat down on it. Rainbow Dash took the chance to peel herself off the wall. The pegasus made her way back to her friends, still a bit shaky from a confrontation with an angry mother.
Gilda fancied me... that way? the confusing thought ran through Rainbow Dash as she stared at the deflated griffin. It was impossible for her to imagine Gilda, a griffin that prided so much on being cool, to suffer like that when Rainbow broke of her friendship with her. Even if she was being a jerk to all her other friend, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel sorry for her former friend. When no pony spoke a word, Rainbow Dash hesitantly opened her mouth.
"Um... where's Gilda?" Rainbow asked. Amelia flicked up toward her, a short flare of anger within them that quickly faded.
"Not here." she said with a hint of sadness before returning to stare at the ground.
"What happened... AW!" Applejack gave her a painful jab to the side, giving her a look that told Rainbow Dash to stop talking. No words were exchanged for a while, until Amelia gave a loud sniff and looked up.
"My apology, envoys, for that outburst." said Amelia. "The past few weeks had been quite stressful."
"And we're sorry for intruding on ya at this time... of course, if there's anything we can help." said Applejack. Amelia simply shook her head.
"No, it's just some politics amongst griffin tribes. It does not concern you." said Amelia, ending it in a tone that said they should not pursue it any further. "I will aide you in whatever way we're capable of. After that, please leave."
"Okay... well, ya see, two of our friends were..."
At that moment the door slammed open and Galena came tumbling in.
"My lady! It's them!" she shouted.
"Argh! Why now?" growled Amelia before she got up and trotted to the door. "Stay here, all of you."
With that, Amelia followed Galena out and close the door. The ponies looked at each other in confusion.
"What... just happened?" asked Rarity.
"Don't know." Rainbow Dash looked around and noted one of the sky-lights was above the main entrance, which should give her a good view of the village itself. "I'll go take a look."
"Wait for me." called out Applejack, the two quickly scaled the wall until they can peek out the window.
====================================================================
"Whoa... those griffins are huge..." commented Rainbow Dash. Beside her Applejack had to agree. There, in the middle of the village, were three new griffins standing side by side. By the look of their beak, two males and one female, each with a distinct shade of black on the tip of their wing feathers. Beneath those wings, Applejack could see that each of them was carrying a crossbow, along with two satchels with what looked like more weapons. Their claws were reinforced with metal talons. What's more striking, however, was their size. Towering over their host, Amelia, these griffins were easily two or three times the size of any griffins.
Despite the distance, Applejack found that she could still make out what they're saying if she concentrated toward them.
"What do you want Damian?" demanded Amelia. "Your weekly 'ransom' isn't due for another two days."
Ransom? Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash, who looked back and shrugged.
"My my..." the one in the middle strode out and started to circle the smaller griffin like a predator circling a prey. "Still as feisty as ever."
"I asked, what do you want?" repeated Amelia, sounding more wearied this time. "I don't have time to play with your game."
"Aw, but I like games." said Damian in a mock child-like voice. When Amelia didn't respond to it, he snorted out of annoyance and dropped the tone. "Fine. Down to business. We're looking for some ponies."
"And you come here because?" responded Amelia in a bored tone.
"I have it on good authority that they were here... am I right Lilith?" Damian turned to one of the other two griffins.
"Ya," she answered absentmindedly. "I saw them entering the village."
"And what do you want with them?" said Amelia.
"What WE want with them is none of your concern!" snapped Damian. "Now! Where are they?"
"I'm warning you, Damian, those ponies are special envoys from the solar princess, if anything..." in a flash, Amelia was on her back, pinned to the ground by a set of talons.
"Listen here you pony-loving peasant." Damian growled. "I don't care who or what these ponies are. Nor do I care that some fruity princess sent them. I do care about where they are, right now. And in case you have forgotten, we have your husband and daughter. So for yours and their sake, you better start telling me where those ponies are!"
"Rainbow! Did ya hear what..." Applejack felt a gust of wind to her side. The next thing she knew, a rainbow blur was streaking through the air toward the griffins.
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Rainbow Dash did not like bullies. In truth, she disliked bullies even more than she disliked losing. But these griffins were beyond being bullies, they were something else, something that Rainbow Dash discovered she despised even more. These griffins were thugs, and she was going to teach them a good lesson.
"GET YOUR CLAWS OFF HER!" Rainbow Dash shouted. Damian looked up in surprise at the shape barreling toward her. With a quick flap of his wings, he managed to get out of the pegasus' path. Rainbow Dash slammed into the ground where Damian once was, and skidded a few feet before coming to a stop, leaving behind four trenches trailing behind each of her hooves.
"Ah... I guess you're in luck Amelia." said Damian smugly, recovering quickly from the initial shock of the sudden appearance of Rainbow Dash. "... looks like our quarry decides to turn herself in."
"Envoy! What are you doing?" Amelia hissed from behind. However, Rainbow Dash didn't respond, her attention focused on the three griffins in front of her.
"Rainbow!" came Applejack's distant cry as she gallop down the path toward her. Right behind her was Fluttershy and Rarity, the latter of which having a lot of trouble keeping up with the others.
"Ah, so there's the rest... wait... Rainbow... Rainbow... You're Rainbow Dash?" asked Damian with a note of disbelief.
"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash glowered at the griffin.
How does he know my name? Rainbow Dash watched with unease when the side of Damian's beak twisted to a manic grin.
"Tell me Lilith..." said Damian. "... there's another pegasus right?"
"Ya..." the female griffin squinted toward the slope where Applejack and the rest of her friends were. "Yep, a yellow one."
"Good!" said Damian. "Go get them! Make sure take the yellow one alive."
"Hey!" shouted Rainbow Dash as Lilith and her other companion took off. "Don't you touch my friends!"
She turned around to give chase, but was unable to when her hind-leg was immobilized with a dull pain. Looking back, Rainbow Dash found a three hooves long metal bolt in her leg, pinning her to the ground.
"Oh no no no no no..." chortled Damian, holding a crossbow in his claw. "... YOU are staying here! I'm going to enjoy killing you! Slowly..." he said as he pulled back the string and clicked another bolt in place.
"Fat chance!" retorted Rainbow Dash. With a sharp tug, Rainbow Dash tore her immobilized leg free. The wound quickly closed up in a mass of black and red tendrils. Her wings warped into claws, which had grown to be the same size as her flight wings. Rainbow Dash grin in an odd satisfaction as she noted the look of shock on Damian's face. His response was almost automatic. He pointed the crossbow at the pegasus and fired again. It proved to be ineffective, as Rainbow Dash simply gave her clawed wings a quick swipe and knocked the bolt to the ground.
"Surprise! Jerk!" shouted Rainbow Dash before she pounced.