After a whole day’s touring around Griffonstone, the group managed to settle themselves back in the inn.
“Whew!” sighed Bloodthirst. “That was one tiring day.”
“Couldn’t have been better,” said Thunder Clash. “These scones sure are tasty, too bad Pizza Frenzy didn’t come. He could’ve savored them as well.”
“Worry about yourself for the moment. You’ve eaten too many scones and your throat’s gonna be sore,” said Beryl indignantly. “But wait, maybe you’re right. I can’t help to think if Pizza Frenzy followed us.”
“You’re too caring on my brother, aren’t you?” asked Greenie Hats jokingly. “C’mon, just give him some freedom.”
“You siblings…” remarked a very annoyed Beryl. “You guys really need some conscience.”
“It’s okay, Beryl,” said Bloodthirst. “At least they won’t be doing anything silly.”
“Silly…?”
“He’s got a point,” said Chaos Control. “When Thunder Clash’s always with Pizza Frenzy they usually pull silly pranks, but not in a way to harm anyone else.”
“Ah well, I can’t help it,” admitted Rainbow Dash. “He’s got my traits, after all.”
Beryl glared at them. “Whatever,” she said at last. “I have to sleep now. You know we got some hiking to do tomorrow. Just don’t talk too loud.” She got off to return to her room.
“I guess we need to get ourselves tucked as well,” said Chaos conclusively. “Come on, Chaos. Back to our room.”
“Alright, then. Good night, everypony.”
“Nights to you, too, Bloodthirst,” said Greenie.
It was soon late into midnight. Everyone was in their snores.
Bloodthirst was half-conscious in his sleep when he heard something roaring.
“Wh-what was that?” he asked.
The roaring seemed to get louder and louder every second. He got up and walked towards the window. There was nothing in sight.
He was busy looking at the outside to see Chaos being woke up by the noise, too.
“Goodness gracious, what was that?” he yawned. Then he saw Bloodthirst. “Bloodthirst?”
“It’s… it’s coming from somewhere…” he replied.
Chaos joined with him, and they all looked out of the window. A few seconds later, the roaring noise faded away.
“What do you think was that…?” asked Bloodthirst.
“I have no idea,” Chaos answered. “It doesn’t sound like a proper beast’s roar.”
“I thought so, too.”
Still feeling unsure and uneasy, both went back to sleep.
The next morning, as Chrissa and her brothers gathered Rainbow Dash and the group, they saw Chaos and Bloodthirst looking gloomy.
“What’s wrong with you two? It looks like you haven’t been sleeping,” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Too excited, huh?” asked Thunder Clash.
“It’s not that,” said Bloodthirst. “It’s-”
“We heard a strange roaring noise in the middle of the night,” said Chaos. “Haven’t you guys heard it, too?”
Everyone pondered for a moment.
“Yeah, me, too,” said Beryl.
“I thought it was a storm coming,” said Greenie.
“Actually, it’s been like this for a year,” explained Chrissa.
“What’s that?” asked Rainbow.
“Rumors say that there’s a golem living from afar from Griffonstone. It’s believed that the golem was possessed by the mad scientist Grakken who is living far away from Griffonstone, who even claims that he did so because he was doing an extraordinary experiment.”
“Any back story about Grakken?” asked Chaos.
“He’s an infamous scientist,” she continued to explain. “He used to make a lot of silly experiments here. One day he suddenly disappeared, and when these roaring sounds came, they believed he went there to perform a loud experiment.”
“Is that… so?” asked Thunder Clash. “Pah, who cares? At least he’s not targeting us today.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” snapped Beryl. “You won’t know if that golem he’s supposedly controlling might attack suddenly.”
“She’s right,” agreed Gibson. “If you’re in trouble suddenly then you can’t guarantee yourself.”
“Well anyway,” resumed Chrissa. “We’d better get started. I hope you’ve got enough supplies all the way.”
“Yes, we do,” complied Beryl.
“Then let’s go.”
Shortly after lunch the group began their mountain road trek, led by Chrissa, Gibson and Gilbert. All the way up to the observation hut at the peak, the journey was smooth. When they reached the observation hut, they were amazed at the scenery.
“It’s so… grand,” gasped Bloodthirst.
“Like you can view almost the entire of Equestria from here,” added Beryl.
“So breathtaking,” said Greenie Hats.
They stayed there for about an hour. Then they began to descend.
Then there was trouble.
“What!?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash as a loud roar was heard, and the whole place shook.
“Oh, no!” cried Chrissa. “The golem! It’s roaring!”
“But I thought it’s supposed to roar at night!” wailed Beryl.
“I didn’t expect that!” replied Gilbert.
The roar came again.
“We’ll make a run for it! Back to Griffonstone!” ordered Chrissa.
The group quickly ran, with roars still being heard booming along the way. Worse still, cracks began to appear along the narrow, twisty path.
Just as another roar boomed, a massive crack appeared on the path, and Gilbert’s hind leg was unfortunately stuck between the crack.
“Ahh, help!” he cried. “I’m stuck!”
“Gilbert!” cried Thunder Clash. He went to help him.
“Don’t panic!” Bloodthirst joined.
They tried to lift him out, but his leg was stuck deep.
Before they could do anything else, a rock hit Thunder Clash’s wing.
“Ouch! What’s that?”
Unknown to them, a giant boulder, triggered by the roar was rolling down towards them. Only Chaos saw it.
“Look out! A boulder’s rolling towards us!”
“Nrgh!”
Another roar sounded. This time, more cracks formed, and the area where Bloodthirst, Thunder Clash and Gilbert stood gave way and they couldn’t react in time.
“Bloodthirst, no!” yelled Chaos.
“Thunder Clash!” cried Greenie Hats.
“Gilbert!” exclaimed Gibson.
The boulder rolled past them, and a loud crash followed a few seconds later.
Chaos rushed towards the edge. Below, he could see a river flowing, with the fallen boulder in pieces. Thunder Clash, holding Gilbert, was struggling to stay afloat. It was windy below.
“G-go and get some h-help!” he shouted.
“Where’s Bloodthirst?” asked Chaos.
“I’ll… go… get him. Uh, ahh!” he screamed as he swayed uncontrollably. Instantly he banged the side and rolled down.
The others joined and watched both of them tumble and fall.
“Are they gonna be alright?” asked Beryl.
“They should be,” replied Chaos. “If there are no further hazards below there.”
“I hadn’t even taught Bloodthirst how to recover from a fall,” said Greenie.
“Now what can I do…?” asked Gibson, feeling hysterical. “With my brother in a state like this…”
“Calm down,” consoled Rainbow Dash. “We need to report this to your mother. Then we can get a search and rescue team.”
“She’s right,” agreed Chrissa. “Just standing here mourning won’t do any good. We need to take action seriously, and if we’re lucky enough, we can get them back alive.”
Gibson pondered for a moment. “Fine.”
“There’s no time to lose. Back to Griffonstone immediately!” declared Chaos, and they rushed back.
Meanwhile, Bloodthirst who survived the fall as he fell into the river and avoided the crashing boulder climbed out of the water. He shook the water off his body and found Thunder Clash and Gilbert, who survived the fall lying at a corner.
“You two alright?” he asked them.
“I’m… fine,” groaned Thunder Clash, struggling to get up. “I only got bruises, from falling.”
“I don’t think I am,” moaned Gilbert. “I’ve sprained my leg.”
Bloodthirst examined it, and when he touched it, Gilbert let out a cry.
“It must be serious,” said Thunder.
“We must find some place safe,” declared Bloodthirst. “I don’t know if the golem will find us here!”
“I don’t think we can fly all the way out,” said Thunder, pointing upwards. The wind was howling fiercely.
“So do I thought,” agreed Bloodthirst. “I can’t even fly in such extreme conditions. Plus, Gilbert’s leg…”
“Can we find some place safe here, like a cave or something?” asked Gilbert.
“We’ll give it a shot,” said Thunder.
The three walked along the river flow, with Thunder supporting Chaos. Sure enough, after some distance, they spotted a cave ahead.
“That looks nice. We’ll go for it!” said Thunder Clash.
But when they reached the entrance, the cave inside was pitch dark.
“I’ll lead,” said Bloodthirst. “I have night vision. I can see through the darkness. You won’t know what you’ll encounter in there.”
“I guess… so,” complied Thunder.
They ventured inside, and stopped to rest at a place not far from the entrance.
“Here, I guess this is safe.”
“Good grief,” sighed Gilbert as he lay down. “I wish there was something around to treat my leg now.”
“We’ll try. Right now I bet the others are rushing back for help,” said Bloodthirst.
“They should be. I called that when I was trying to stay afloat. Man, that wind was fierce,” said Thunder. “Which reminds me, you said that you have night vision…”
“Yeah, that’s a trait we vampire ponies have,” he replied. ‘’My father used to tell me, our night vision enables us to help see prey clearly in the dark. That’s what helped me to locate Platinum Royale’s house when I escaped to Ponyville.”
“Does that mean you have a good sense of hearing, too?”
“Of course! While you’re talking, I can hear their hoofsteps, as well as their discussion about us.”
“Wh-what were they saying?”
“Just figuring out how to rescue us, and how difficult it would be. You know, Grakken’s loud experiment was probably miles away from Griffonstone. Even though, I could still hear his loud noise, which grew louder and louder until Chaos woke up.”
“That’s amazing…”
“In spite of all these, I still have vague idea on my clan’s past,” Bloodthirst sighed. “My parents died when I was just a colt. Therefore I never had the chance to know more about my clan.”
“You have… a history?” asked Gilbert.
“A very long history, dating back to the early years after the banishment of Nightmare Moon.”
“Man, that’s cool. I wish I could research it.”
“You’re not allowed to go out of Griffonstone?” inquired Thunder Clash.
“It’s not the case. I’m actually interested in pony stuff, and I would do research and study about it. The other griffons laugh at me when I told them about it. They say I’m wasting my life studying things that aren’t my kind!”
“Does your family support you?”
“Good thing they did. Well, my mom knows your mom some long time back, she said.”
“I kinda support your view,” said Bloodthirst. “You know, there are still a lot of things I need to learn about pony nature.”
“We’re your friends,” said Thunder Clash. “There’s no way we can stop you from learning about us.”
“I wish I can come to Ponyville someday,” continued Gilbert. “I haven’t been outside of Griffonstone before. My mom’s the one leaving Griffonstone so far in my family, sometimes for visiting your mother.”
“You can come. You know, Ponyville is all about friendship. It’s pretty practical to make friends and break the ice. That’s all I know about it,” said Bloodthirst.
The three talked and talked until it was evening.
“It’s getting dark,” said Gilbert. “But there has been no sign of the rescue team?”
“I have no idea what they’re doing,” replied Thunder Clash. “What’s taking them so long?”
“I don’t know, too,” added Bloodthirst. “Anyway, I’ll have to keep an eye everywhere. We have to survive the night, somehow.”
“Yeah,” agreed Thunder. “I wish I was back at Griffonstone now. Mom and Big Sissey should be worrying about me now. They would think I wouldn’t have survived.”
“Chaos Control should be worrying me, too. But if anything happens I’ll have to put my training skills to the test, even if it’s the riskiest to me.”
Bloodthirst walked towards the cave entrance and glanced outside. Everywhere was quiet. The sun was setting, and it was getting darker.
“We should be safe now for the moment,” he said quietly.
Then the unthinkable happened.
“What the…?” Bloodthirst could feel tremors thundering the ground, and it grew heavier and heavier. “An earthquake? It can’t be!” he thought to himself.
“What’s going on?” asked Thunder Clash who rushed outside.
Before Bloodthirst could answer, a huge, terrifying figure appeared a few hundred feet away from them.
“Th-the golem!” exclaimed Thunder.
The mud-colored golem stood several hundred feet tall, just a hundred feet short of the walking path above.
Above the golem was a griffon-like figure, sitting on it, and it was appearing to control the golem.
“It’s Grakken!”
“Wonderful, you know my name!” Grakken began. “Now basically, this golem is my latest and greatest masterpiece I’ve been working for a year, and I’ve longed to show off how it works, before I’m gonna present this to the whole of Griffonstone!”
“Seriously!??” blurted Thunder Clash.
“I don’t think you can. Your golem has been causing a disturbance to everyone in Griffonstone. Besides, its roar nearly killed me and my friends!” protested Bloodthirst.
“Really?” he asked, not scared by this threats. “Then why don’t you have a bit of fun with my creation for a start?” He raised his right claw, and the golem roared loudly.
“Wh-what can w-we do?” stammered Thunder Clash.
“Get inside the cave and guard Gilbert,” Bloodthirst instructed. “I’ll face him.”
“W-will you do it?”
“I’ll be fine. Now go!”
As Thunder raced back in, Bloodthirst growled to face his mega-enemy.
“You’re mine!” he snarled.
“Let’s see what you got there, kid,” sniggered Grakken, as he made the golem growl. He made it punch the ground. Bloodthirst escaped. He raced and tried biting the golem’s leg, but as he sank his fangs in, it kicked him off, sending him crashing onto the wall. Despite being hurt, he managed to recover.
“Nice try, kid,” said Grakken, amazed at his ability.
“I’m not holding back!” Bloodthirst grunted, and fired lasers from his eyes towards its legs. But just as the section got blasted, it immediately recovered back.
From the cave, Thunder Clash watched the entire battle with anxiety.
“How is he doing?” Gilbert asked nervously.
“He’s doing… well, at least, for the moment,” Thunder replied. “If nopony comes to help at this rate he won’t take it anymore.”
The battle raged on for a long time. As hard as Bloodthirst attacked, the golem seemed undefeatable, and regenerative. Grakken had full control on the golem.
“What do you think of my creation now, little boy?” he asked.
Bloodthirst only glared at the golem, panting and saying nothing.
“Very well,” Grakken said at last. “I’ll put an end to your pathetic suffering!” He raised the golem’s hand, ready to flatten Bloodthirst.
“Darn it…!” Bloodthirst stared at the oncoming hand. He knew he couldn’t defeat this huge structure.
Just as Bloodthirst shut his eyes and turned his muzzle to the ground, a huge crash sounded above him.
“Huh?”
A huge figure, more than twice his size hovered above him. It was Chaos Control, who had transformed into his beastly form. He had smashed the hand into smithereens, saving Bloodthirst.
“Chaos?”
“Not too late, I suppose?” Chaos turned to him.
“How did you even get here?”
“Over here!” Beryl’s voice called. From afar, he could see her with some of the rescue team members, including the ones from Ponyville.
“How did you know where we are?” Bloodthirst asked Chaos.
“We heard all those booms from afar,” Chaos explained. “We suspect that it was the golem coming to attack you so we rushed to the spot just as the search and rescue team from Ponyville arrived.”
“Well, you know,” said Bloodthirst, looking at the golem which was now reconstructing itself. “I’m going to take down Grakken using my own bare hooves!”
“It’s impossible to defeat the golem totally,” remarked Chaos. “Now then, notice that Grakken has a ring on his right?”
“Um, yeah.”
“If we can get him to remove that ring, the golem can surely be destroyed! Right now, listen to what I say. I have a plan…”
Just as the golem’s hand recovered, Chaos soared into the air, with Bloodthirst riding on his back.
“Backup, eh?” Grakken smirked. He then launched attacks on Chaos, but he avoided them. The attacks struck the cliff edge.
“Retreat!” ordered Beryl, fearing that the place they were on might give way suddenly.
“Hold on tight,” said Chaos. “When we get to head level just take him down!”
“Got it!”
It was hard work trying to get to the top of the golem. Grakken kept retaliating, but Chaos wouldn’t give up. Slowly but surely, they were nearly head level with the golem.
“Bloodthirst, on the count of three, jump!”
“Okay,” said Bloodthirst, preparing.
Once Chaos counted to three, Grakken aimed straight at Chaos. Just as Chaos blocked the attack, which created a thick patch of dust, Bloodthirst pounced straight towards him!
“What!?”
“I got you!” he called, and knocked him off as he came in contact with him. Both of them tumbled to the ground. As both of them hit the ground upon impact, the ring which Grakken was wearing shattered. As it did, the golem began to disintegrate from the head, and all the rocks from it fell into a pile.
“No, NOOOOOOO!!!” cried Grakken as the rocks fell and piled. He turned to Bloodthirst, now furious. “You, you’ll pay for that! That was my hard work for over a year! Ruined, RUINED!”
“At least, I saved Griffonstone…”
“Saved? You’re-” Before Grakken could finish the rest of his sentence, he suddenly fell to the ground and went out cold. Behind him, Chaos approached, back to his normal form.
“I put him to sleep for the moment,” said Chaos. “He won’t be awake for the next ten hours.”
“At least, well,” replied Bloodthirst. “We prevented him from causing rampage at Griffonstone.”
“Really?”
“Hello? Everything fine out there?” Thunder Clash’s voice called from afar.
“Shoot, I nearly forgot about them,” murmured Chaos. He called to them. “It’s safe out here now!”
“Chaos! Is everything fine?” Beryl called from above. “The rescue team is coming down right now!”
“They’re alright!” Chaos turned back to Bloodthirst. “We’re going back to Griffonstone right now, then you can tell them everything.”
“Right!”
“Take care of his leg,” Thunder Clash told the rescuers as they touched down. “It’s badly sprained.”
The rescue team managed to carry Bloodthirst, Thunder and Gilbert to safety, with the sleeping Grakken along. When they arrived back at Griffonstone, they were sent to the hospital. Gilda and the others were waiting, and Bloodthirst told them everything that happened.
“So that’s how it happened,” remarked Rainbow Dash.
“Man, so he has an evil intention!” said Gilda. “He shall be punished according to the rules!”
“What are you going to do with him?” Beryl asked.
“Hmmm, let me see, ten years’ imprisonment for threatening a village? I’ll contact the authorities in Canterlot. Before this, I’ll be questioning him when he wakes up. Then, he has to clear the golem’s remains at that place.”
“You know, Bloodthirst,” said Gilbert. “I was amazed at your battling. You were splendid.”
“Actually, I should thank Chaos for that,” he replied. “He’s the one who trained me.”
“You need more practice, buddy,” said Chaos. “You have to know your right enemy.”
“And you should practice yourself more on flying,” added Greenie Hats. “So you can handle dangerous situations like that one just now.”
“You were actually amazing,” commented Chrissa. “To survive at a situation like that.”
“That was impressive. Thank you for saving my brother,” said Gibson. “I think this should change the griffon’s views on Gilbert’s study now.”
“Hopefully. You were a great help in arresting a villain for us, Bloodthirst. I didn’t know how to thank you much,” said Gilda. “Maybe I should come to Ponyville again some day, I should tell Princess Twilight how splendid you guys are.”
“Do come!” said Chaos. “We’ll speak to hear about that and she’ll probably arrange it for you.”
“Well then, let’s have a break tonight. Then we’ll head back to Ponyville tomorrow,” said Rainbow Dash.
That night, Bloodthirst slept peacefully, thinking about his heroic deed, and his determination to train better…