In the cage with wheels, Twilight, Fluttershy, and the sleeping Luffy are being held in the containment while the party of griffons escorted them through the streets. The villagers cheered as they were drawn closer and closer to the podium. The only one able to look up with enough strength was Fluttershy. She gazed upon her fallen friends nearby the stands, lying lifelessly on the pillory. Gilda, Rarity, and Rainbow.
"Wait… Where are the others?" Fluttershy wondered.
"You wanna know?" Vero spoke as he placed his face closely to the cage. "We killed them."
Fluttershy's tears started to shed. Vero chuckled as he placed his talon under her chin. "Don't cry now. You know, for a pony, you look cute. I'll consider letting you go if you'll agree to be my maid."
She stepped away from the laughing Vero. After the cage stopped, the doors opened. The griffons went in to place shackles on the three. Escorting them further while carrying Luffy, they were shoved to the stands. Zerox stood over them with a sinister grin.
"Welcome to your public execution."
The griffon commoners cheered among the defeated group. Rainbow glared at them all, but her eyes widen to see Luffy.
"Luffy!" She scolded. "What the hay are you doing!?"
Zerox looked over to the frustrated Rainbow. The eyes of Twilight and Fluttershy shrunk into pinpricks as the griffon walked over to Rainbow and slapping her.
"Hold your tongue you whelp! This is no time nor place for you horses to speak as you please!" Zerox claimed. "This is the great Griffon Kingdom! One that bests all in technology, skill, and power to rule even the world!"
The crowd was eating it up. Rainbow merely spat on Zerox's face in annoyance. The griffon was beyond angered, and unlocked the pillory to throw Rainbow to the stands.
"You along with Straw Hat will be first." Zerox declared. "I, the mighty Zerox, will have the claw the smites the two highest bounties in the kingdom!"
"As soon as Luffy wakes up, were gonna kick your flank!" Rainbow rebutted.
"I hardly doubt it." He said calmly as he rubbed his talon on his chest. "The sleeping gas was enough to make him sleep for the rest of the day. By the time he should be up is when he is beheaded."
Rainbow was shocked and looked over to Luffy. She attempted to go to him, only to be stopped by the griffons.
"Let go of me you jerks!" Rainbow shouted.
"Lock her and the boy up! They'll be are first victims to show an example to the rebels who dare defy us!" Zerox commanded.
Doing so, Luffy and Rainbow were placed in the pillory. She was struggling to get out as for Luffy snored. Fluttershy and Twilight quickly got up, only to be squished by Vero's talon.
"Do enjoy the show." He told the two.
A griffon was then bringing a blade of execution placed on a regal pillow to Zerox. Making his way, Gilda's tail flicks the blade to the ground.
"Hey!" the deliverer yelled, only to get Gilda whistling as a response.
"Do not make me wait!" Zerox shouted. "Do you want your head to go off too?!"
The griffon jumped and quickly placed the blade back onto the pillow and proceeded with the demonstration. Twilight looked up realizing what it was.
"That's a blade for execution." Twilight informed Fluttershy. "If we can delay the blade's arrival to the stands, we can disrupt the execution!"
"How are we going to do that?" Fluttershy questioned.
Twilight's horn began to lit, and the blade suddenly fell off. Zerox's vein popped as the deliverer quickly placed it back on the pillow. Once more, Twilight tipped the blade making it fall. Zerox hits the deliverer on the head before getting him to pick it back up. The next time however, Vero placed his blade next to Twilight's neck.
"Enough tricks." Vero demanded. "Stop delaying the inevitable. Straw Hat and the Rainbow will die here and now."
Once more, the blade reaches to the stands. Before Zerox can claim it, a hand blooms out of the pillow and throws it away. The griffons scream at the strange entity out of nowhere.
"What the heck is that!?"
"What's going on!?"
"Why aren't they dead yet!?"
"Doce Fluer"
Hands bloomed out of the griffons nearby Gilda and Rarity, and Vero himself.
"Clutch!"
The snapping of bones took out the group. Vero was knocked out, releasing Twilight and Fluttershy. Pinkie and Applejack appeared to release Gilda and Rarity from their hold. Usopp shot a pair of lead bullets to the locks of Rainbow and Luffy's pillory, breaking them and unlocking the two.
"I'm out!" Rainbow realized. Giving a nasty smirk, she punches Zerox in the beak, making him back up.
"Agh! You insolent little foal!" He sneered as he took out his spear.
He swung the weapon repeatedly, missing Rainbow each time. She was fast even though her current state wasn't at best. The others were fighting the mob of griffons running amuck of this mess of a scene.
"I'm so glad you're all alright!" Twilight said to Usopp. "What happened?"
"Well, they had these cannons." Usopp explained before getting a raised eyebrow from Twilight. "No, really! There were cannons and arrows flying all over the place! But I managed to fake an explosion using my exploding star, tricking those pesky griffons! Then I shot down the cannon balls in the air before they could hit the ground!"
"Amazing…" Twilight replied astonished. "Your sniping skills sound superb."
"Thanks! But we couldn't have made it out without Pinkie showing us the way out of there! I swear, without her, we could've been nailed by those arrows!"
"Her Pinkie sense must have helped you…" Twilight deduced.
As havoc rained around the area, Fluttershy was taking cover in the dead center of it all. The battle between Rainbow and Zerox was at an even pace. The griffon was angered, and looked to the simpleton sleeping on the stands. He pushes Rainbow out of the way and goes to Luffy.
"Blade or not, the Straw Hat's execution starts now!" Zerox declared.
The comrades of Luffy looked over to him seeing Zerox about to use the spear to chop off Luffy's head. Rainbow was recovering from the recent blow, too late to do something about it. Robin and Usopp noticed too late as they were focused on the earlier soldiers. No one could reach them in time, not even Fluttershy who was paying attention to the scuffle. Each second was slow as Fluttershy was watching it get closer to his neck.
"No…!"
It draws even closer.
"Stop it…!"
The spear is only a few seconds away. Fluttershy was now having mixed emotions of terror, anger, and sadness. Finally, something happens.
"STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!!"
The loud roar from Fluttershy released a flood of energy. Zerox along with his allies fell to unconsciousness. It wasn't just him, for nearly all of Fluttershy's friends were knocked out as well. Robin, Usopp, Rainbow, and Chopper were able to stay up from the sudden event.
"That was Conqueror's Haki!" Robin revealed to the others.
"I didn't know she could do it too!" Chopper stated as he held onto his head.
"Man, that feels weird!" Usopp whined.
"Whoa!" Rainbow echoed. "That was awesome…"
Fluttershy blushed before she noticed Vero behind her with a blade.
"I can't have you live with that power!"
She squealed and braced for impact before a loud clang was made. Looking up, she saw Zoro blocking the attack.
"Are you really scared of a little horse?" He questioned.
Zoro pushed Vero to the side. They eyed each other while Zerox was recovering quickly from what happened. As Zoro and Vero was getting the others attentions, he took the chance to stab Fluttershy from behind. Rushing up with the spear moving forward, he makes his way.
"How dare you make a fool of me you coward!"
Fluttershy looked around and screamed until Luffy appeared in front of her, punching the spear thus redirecting it to the ground.
"Hey, it's not her fault I taught her how to use it." He stated.
"Luffy!" Fluttershy cried.
"So you made an apprentice?" Zerox thought. "She must have a lot of potential."
"I actually thought she was pretty weak." Luffy admitted. He turned to her and grinned as he said, "But I guess she's a lot tougher than I thought! I like her!"
Luffy laughed as she blushed immensely and began to get dizzy. "Y-You like me!? O-Oh my…!!"
Zerox interrupted the conversation as he gave a try to cut off Luffy's head. He simply caught it however and refused to let go.
"This time, I'm gonna kick your ass!" Luffy declared.
Zoro was up against Vero while Luffy was up against Zerox. Robin looked around to see the others in a state of peril.
"Usopp, let's get the ponies and leave Luffy and Zoro to handle this." Robin suggested.
"Huh? Oh! Uh, alright!" Usopp agreed.
Using her abilities, Robin created entities of her feet to bloom from the bottom of the unconscious ponies and bring them to safety. Usopp gathered Chopper and Fluttershy to follow him. He ran to Rainbow to do the same.
"What!? What do you mean we gotta go!?" She argued.
"We have to help the others! Let's leave Luffy and Zoro with them for now!" Usopp reasoned.
"No way! I'm not abandoning them!" Rainbow claimed. "We can't just leave them!"
"They'll be fine! Do you really think Luffy and Zoro are gonna lose to them?"
Rainbow paused for a moment before sighing. "No…"
"Exactly! And right now, the others need help! We're the only ones who can keep them safe from whatever's out there!"
"Okay, I got it! Geez!" Rainbow groaned. "But if they don't win, I'm gonna strangle you!"
"How loyal…" Usopp retorted.
Luffy was returning hit after hit whenever Zerox swung his spear. The two were at an even pace. Zerox signaled Vero to go in for the opening kill. Nodding, Vero made his way for a back stab, but was immediately intercepted by Zoro.
"Don't bother my captain." Zoro warned him. "I'm your opponent this time."
Vero gritted his teeth as he pulled out his blade. The potion's effect was still going, and he was pumped full of energy. This swordsman doesn't stand a chance now that I have taken the Warriors Elixir. Just watch, I'll easily overpower you with my raw power!
Vero circled around his opponent as he just stood there. Grinning, he finds many opens spots to attack. Is he so scared that he can't even move?
Finally, Vero attacks. The dive of the blade goes down to Zoro, but was easily blocked by a swish of the sword. Vero was surprised how quick he was.
"What the!?"
"Really, the more battles I get into with griffons who think they are good with swords or are strong is starting to bore me." Zoro sighed. "When we get to your kingdom or whatever, you better have an army there."
Vero jumped back and retorts, "Oh please! Don't think you're the strongest just because you blocked one attack! And if you're really confident with your abilities, why don't you just use one sword?"
Zoro simply tilts his head with a sigh before putting away two of his swords. He holds one and aims it to Vero.
"I can beat you no matter how many swords we have."
Vero grinned and strikes again. The blades clash again and again. The strong swings barely moves Zoro's still katana, waiting for an even stronger attack. Vero became frustrated and soon took out a surprising gun to shoot him. Zoro manages to block it in time and jump away from Vero.
"I thought you'd do that." Zoro grinned. "So, you really aren't a swordsman."
"Tch, whatever." Vero sneered. "If I only relied on a sword, than there'd be no way to fight up close once a gun's pulled out."
"You really think that?" He gave a sinister grin. He sheathed his katana and aimed it towards Vero. The griffon smiled as he took the shot. However, by the blink of the eye, Vero finds himself thrown up into the air as Zoro passed through him with the blade being exposed.
" Ittoryu Iai: Shi Shishi Sonson " (One Sword Style: Lion Song!)
Vero fell to the ground on the brink of death as Zoro walked away from his fallen foe.
"You need more training." Zoro commented.
A few steps away, and suddenly, the body f Vero starts to rumble. Zoro notices and looks back to see Vero's body becoming misshaped. A few steps back, and Zoro finds the former Vero turning into a mutated griffon.
"What the hell!?" Zoro spoke.
Vero looked at his talons and body. He felt the strange disgusting and sickening touch of his face. He was devastated. "W-W-What did you do to me!?" The distorted voice questioned.
Zoro took out all three of his swords and prepared for the worst. Vero placed his talon on the floor, easily breaking the ground without trying. "You… YOU! You'll pay for this!!"
Zoro quickly dodged the talon as it demolishes the town. Vero screeches throughout the area and quakes the very air. Zoro looked up to the creature with a focused expression. Vero continued to hit the ground, practically making it explode. Buildings crumbles as he passes by, on his way towards the swordsman. Zoro readied one blade and slashes the air, causing a compression to cut through.
"Yakkodori!" (Bird Dance!)
The attack slashes Vero's face, but he continues to rampage through the streets. Zoro ran from the debris being thrown around. Vero reaches out to grab onto Zoro, but gets cut as soon as he draws close.
"Get back here so I can smash you!" Vero demanded.
As the chase went on, Rainbow came in and flew nearby Zoro. She looked at the monster and asked, "Whoa, How'd you make him this mad?"
"Don't know." Zoro replied. "Right now I gotta stop it before it reaches the others."
"You need a lift?" Rainbow offered.
Zoro smiled as he got on Rainbow. The two flew up before Vero can grab them. As they flew up, Zoro stood on her back and got into position. The two katana in hand were behind the sword held by the mouth. Rainbow tilted her wing and got ready to do a 360. At the same time, they both spun and released a hurricane of blades with a spectrum of colors.
"Winged Spectrum Twister!"
The attack slashes the beast again and again before Rainbow dove down with Zoro arcing his blade for a diving cut.
"Sonic Slash!"
Vero was cut and thrown through building to building. Finally landing in the rubble and shrinking down to his normal state. The two loom over the defeated griffon lying motionlessly on the ground. Rainbow noticed the bottle rolling away from him and picks it up. She sniffs it to notice the peculiar smell emanating from it.
"What is this stuff?" Rainbow wondered.
"How are you able to hold that?" Zoro questioned.
Luffy was running around Zerox as he tried to stab the rubbery pony again and again. The griffon was aggravated with the finesse of Luffy outsmarting and outmaneuvering everything Zerox had to offer was constantly being outdone so easily.
"Hold still you foal!" He shouted.
One of the stab attempts gave Luffy the chance for him to stand on the spear. Luffy gave a wide smile as he said, "You're not really that good."
Zerox's vein popped as he released the sleeping gas while Luffy was on the spear. Knowing better this time, Luffy jumped up and inhaled deeply.
"Gomu Gomu no Fusen!" (Gum Gum Balloon!)
Luffy's body became inflated before he spat out all the air to blow away the gas. Zerox covered his face from taking in his own trap. Luffy then kicked downward, stretching both his hind legs to Zerox's face.
"Gomu Gomu no Bucking Stamp!"
He was then shot to the wall of the building while Luffy threw his hind legs up stretching them and down at Zerox.
"Gomu Gomu no Bucking Whip! "
Slamming the griffon to the ground, Luffy then pulled one more attack. He stretched his forelegs to Zerox's beak and sent his full body towards him.
"Gomu Gomu no Missile!"
Pushing Zerox deeper into the rubble, Luffy backs up and stretches. Waiting for the griffon in the debris to make his move. Zerox realizes he is outmatched to this red pony and decides it is time. He takes out the Warriors Elixir and drinks it whole. After that, he throws away the bottle as his muscles start to pump and bulge a bit.
"Straw Hat… You're gonna get it now…"
Zerox rushes in and slashes his claw at Luffy. This was impressively fast as it nearly cuts Luffy. The demonstration however shows the structures nearby being cut by fours. Luffy was stunned of what has just happened as the town gets demolished even further.
"Whoa! How'd he do that?" Luffy wondered. "He wasn't this strong before."
Quickly tilting his head to move away from the incoming spear attack, Luffy steps away from Zerox as he slams his spear down like a hammer. The ground crumbles and creates boulders for him to swing at Luffy. A few manages to hit Luffy, but he regains his balance quickly.
"He got faster too!" Luffy pointed out.
"Just you wait Straw Hat! I'm just getting started!"
Zerox finally lifts his wings and lets them grow. He flaps them on the battlefield, blowing Luffy above the ground. Not being able to move in the air, Luffy was being lifted and open for a hit. Zerox flies by him with his wings smashing him to a wall.
"Wing Basher!"
Luffy fell down to the ground, coughing a bit. He got up and started to throw in fast punches.
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!"
The blows were missing as Zerox started to pass by them easily. As Zerox got close, Luffy attempted to kick him with his hind legs.
"Gomu Gomu no Buck!"
"Wing Slash!"
Zerox dodged the blow and cuts Luffy with his wings. Breathing hardly, he gets up again and this time, evens the match. Throwing his hoof to the side, the blood starts to pump and Luffy's coat started to create steam and shine.
"I shouldn't have held back." Luffy admitted. "I really should have given it my all."
"Do you really think you can match me now?" Zerox scoffed. "I'm much faster than you can ever be now!"
"We'll see about that." Luffy smirked as he places his hoof on the floor.
"Gear second"
Zerox simple yawned before taking up the spear again. Luffy aimed his hoof at Zerox with careful precision.
"Gomu Gomu no…"
"Full of hope, aren't you." Zerox said as he began to disappear. His voice started to go around the area as he dashes everywhere. "Can you hit what you can't see? As you may have noticed, I'm too fast for you to see. There's no way you can-"
"Jet Pistol!"
Luffy hits Zerox on the spot, and sends him hurdling down to the ground. He widens his eyes realizing how easy it was.
"Wah! I should have done it earlier."
Zerox's body started to quiver. His muscles then grew to an incredible size. He wakens with piercing devilish eyes as he looms over Luffy. His height becomes three times taller than the pony.
"Now you've done it!" He shouts before crushing the area. Luffy escapes the attack in time and throws in another punch.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol!"
The attack does no effect. Zerox in fact grabs the hoof and throws it to the wall. Luffy rubs his head in pain before being crushed by Zerox's talon repeatedly.
"Die, Die, Die you insect!" Zerox laughed.
Luffy rolls out of the multiple crushes after receiving three. He gets up and attempts another offensive maneuver.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Bazooka!"
The attack did little effect to Zerox's face, but he still gets flicked away to the building. Luffy coughs before getting up once more. He holds his chin wondering what to do.
"He's gotten way stronger." Luffy deduced. "Maybe this will work…"
Luffy runs away, getting some distance from the bulky griffon. As he does, Zerox begins to laugh.
"Hahaha, I knew it!" He yelled, allowing Luffy to hear. "You do know that I'm strong! Too strong for even you to handle now!"
Luffy reaches the distance of a mile or two. Zerox continues to gloat. "Not even your unicorn companion could handle me! She was no match for even a single bullet!"
Luffy turns around and blows into both his hooves.
"Gear Third!"
The hooves enlarges and then were thrown behind him with another technique.
"Bosu Koka!" (Hardening!)
"After I'm done with you, I'll finish the job this time!" Zerox vowed. "And I'll start with your pegasus protégé!"
Luffy began to rush towards Zerox. He grins as he pulls back his talons to ready the killing blow. Luffy was going at full steam with anger in his mind.
"Don't you dare touch them."
The gigantic hardened hooves comes after Luffy while at the same time Zerox thrusts his talons towards Luffy.
"Gomu Gomu no…!"
"Say goodbye Pony D. Luffy!"
"Grizzly Magnum!"
The killing blow of Zerox collided with Luffy's gigantic hooves. They struggled to keep hold, but Luffy comes out on top. The hooves push forward and threatens Zerox once he notices his talons were being pushed back.
"N-No! I can't be beaten by some rubber colt! AAAGH!"
The impact hits Zerox so hard, he is dug deep into the ground. A hole is made in the place of the gigantic Zerox. After his defeat, he shrinks back to his normal form. Luffy goes back on the ground and walks back to the others.
"Man, I'm starving!" He sighed. "I wonder if they still have the meat?"
Twilight slowly opens her eyes from the sudden headache. She gets up with a strange chill around her body before looking around. She notices a tarp over her, the setting of a crate next to her used as a table holding various medicines. Her hoof was wrapped and treated. Looking to the side, she sees Chopper.
"Thank goodness! You're awake." Chopper said happily. "You've been knocked out the longest compared to everyone else."
"What… happened?" She asked as she held her head.
"Fluttershy's Conquerors Haki finally went on to the next stage. She used it on all of us, which was why you were even knocked out. The only ones manage to stay up was Luffy, Usopp, Robin, me, and Rainbow. Zoro and Luffy took care of Vero and Zerox, so everything is okay now."
"Fluttershy did all this!?" she asked with a surprised expression.
"It was amazing! Like Luffy, she took out all the griffons." Chopper claimed. "I'm not completely sure how she did it in time, but she saved Luffy's life before it was too late."
"Your captain sure knows how to get into trouble." Twilight stated.
Chopper chuckled as he scratched his head. "Yeah, but you get used to it."
"Honestly, I think you're right." Twilight smiled. "By now, it's only been a week or two, but I never thought that Luffy would be… somepony you would care so much about. I can't even imagine things getting better without his help."
The reindeer went to his medicines and mixed them. As he did, he said to Twilight with an expression of blankness. "I know what you mean. Before the time I joined the crew, I thought life would just be the same. We all have something that made us think… this is as good as it gets. We never thought about continuing to pursue our dreams any farther than we were at the moment. Than Luffy came… and that's when our lives were turned around. I think… for the better to be honest."
The simple smile Chopper had made Twilight notice something. Something happened to him a long time ago. Maybe years ago, or maybe right before Luffy came. Whatever it was, it wasn't a nice story.
Luffy came in with his head sticking into the tent. "Hey guys! It's finally time to eat! Come on!"
Chopper and Twilight nodded. Helping the unicorn get up, the doctor leads her to the campfire. The starry skies of the night plague over the sleepy desert. But the large group of friends and comrades are knocking cups yelling cheers! The two were brought right into the fun of dinner by their pink companion. The food was served to the ponies with many treats of pies and salads while the other straw hats and Gilda ate meat and sake. Though Rainbow wanted to try some sake, Applejack refused to wake up with a hangover pegasus. Laughs echoed the tiring dunes, and the party continues until the dinner food was gone, with the help of our rubbery hero.
"He's not a hero!" Pinkie shouts.