"How are they doc?" Solar asked as he came down the stairs to Darim's lab.
"Stay back and don't touch anything. We can't risk you making it dirty." Darim replied, investigating the pony with a magnifying glass, just below a wing, identifying them as a Pegasus.
"Sorry." Solar took a step back and waited on the bottom step. "So, how are they?"
Darim used his magic to pick up a pair of tweezers. "Well, she's doing just fine." he plucked out a hair and dropped it into a plastic baggie before sealing it and setting it aside.
"So, they're a mare?"
"Yes."
"OK. Well, hey! I thought you weren't going to take her cloak off!"
Darim rolled his eyes. "It was in her best medical interest to remove it so I could check for injuries. I figured I'd only move it out of my way, keeping her face concealed. It's good enough."
"I, I guess. It just seemed important to her, y'know?"
"Clean your hooves."
"What? Why? I'm staying back here. I can't dirty anything."
"No, I need to show you something."
"Umm, okay." Solar trodded over to the sink and cleaned his hooves as best as he could before going to the doctor and his patient. "What?"
Darim pointed his tweezers towards a scar on her side. "Three large claw marks. This area was caked with dried blood when she got here."
"How? She wasn't bloody when I saw her."
"This is the side she was laying on, you couldn't see it."
"Okay, but what's so special that you wanted me to look?"
"Look back at the injury and tell me what you see."
Solar skeptically looked at the three claw marks. "I see three scars where something large scratched her. What about it?"
"Scars."
"And?"
"These were open injuries when you found her."
"What? No way."
Darim nodded. "That's what I thought. I've never seen-" he went silent at the sound of several pots and pans falling down upstairs.
"What was that?" Solar asked.
"I have no clue. There's no way anything could've fallen. I always make sure to put my stuff on a table if I don't have room in my cupboards."
"So what, you're saying your pots and pans fell by themselves?
Darim shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Then came the sound of claws scraping on Darim's hardwood floor. Tk. Tk. Tk. Tk. It was in a steady beat, slowly moving towards the top of the staircase.
"What the hell?" Darim asked in a hushed tone. "Tell me, you shut the door when you came in right?"
"Yes, front door, storm door, and stairway." Solar replied, keeping his voice low.
"You didn't tell anyone where we were going did you?"
"No."
"Did any pony else see her to your knowledge?"
"No."
"Then who the hell is upstairs?"
The two ponies looked each other in the eye in fear, then looked to the top of the stair case. The door was shut, and everything was silent, save for the gentle hum of a generator outside the house. It remained that way for what felt like the longest 20 seconds of their lives. Then the door suddenly shattered, scattering wood shards all over the laboratory turned operating room. At the top of the stairs, a fully brown griffon screamed at them, sending saliva everywhere.
"WHAT THE HELL?" Darim screamed.
Solar stared in horror at the creature, remembering the pony he saw get taken away.
The griffon launched itself down the stairs into the small room and spread it's wings, letting out another horrifying scream. Darim quickly used his magic to throw a scalpel at the beast, aiming for the throat, but just grazed it, clearing a chunk of feathers out. The griffon immediately snapped towards the doctor, clipping his cheek.
"HELP ME SOLAR!" Darim cried as the griffon slowly backed him into a corner.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Solar shouted, running at the beast and punching it's rear as hard as he could.
The griffon turned around and almost appeared to smile before it lunged at him. It was too close for Solar to dodge, so he just shut his eyes and braced himself. He felt a liquid spray onto him, and he braved a peek. He noticed the mare had gotten up from the examination table, she had her wings spread, and was floating right next to the griffon's head. She quickly fell to the ground and swung her head around. A black sword mimicked her head's movement and appeared to slice the griffon's legs, then throat. The griffon let out a pathetic cry for help before slumping to the ground dead, its blood splattered all over the room. Darim and Solar couldn't help but stare at the mare in front of them, who had easily slain the beast using a strange magic.
"Who the hell are you?" Solar asked. Before she could respond, the pony collapsed once again.