"The Other Side" Chapter 16- Intruders

(There... Uh... might be some unsavory stuff in this here chapter, but please trust uncle Chuckles; I'm lookin' out for you guys.)

Apple Bloom was shaking. Her legs could barely hold herself up and her knees felt completely numb. She heard her sister scream, the sound of glass breaking, and a low, hissing voice yelling in anger. Something was horribly wrong.

She slowly crept towards the door of her bedroom on trembling hooves. The floorboards seemed to creak and groan as if they themselves wanted her to be found by whatever was out there. She trembled as she crouched low and pressed up against the door, putting her eye up to the keyhole.

The hallway was dark except for a small sliver of moonlight that crept in through a window. It was completely black. For a moment, it seemed as though nothing was there. But as soon as Apple Bloom was about to open the door, two yellow eyes seemed to materialize out of nothing. A shape emerged from the black along with the eyes; a six-foot tall mass on two legs. It held a heavy-looking crossbow in its clawed hands, and it was loaded. Apple Bloom started to scream, but she stopped herself. The shape twitched and looked at the door, bringing its weapon to bear. The griffon -it was clear what it was, now that it was fully covered in the moonlight- walked slowly towards the door, raising its clawed hand towards the knob. Apple Bloom was now quaking in fear and backing away from the door with tears in her eyes. She knew it would find her. She knew it would hurt her.

Suddenly, Applejack screamed again. It sounded muffled somehow, as if a hand had been placed on her lips. Three words -with the force to make one's chest reverberate with their power- exploded from Applejack's bedroom: "WHERE. ISSS. GILDA?!" The griffon in the hallway stopped and turned his head to look back towards Applejack's room, then slowly turned back to the door. Another burst of noise echoed throughout the house as the front door slammed open. The griffon spun this time, searching for the source of the noise. Apple Bloom heard the hissing voice again. "KILL HER." There was the sound of multiple screeches, followed by the sound of Applejack's distraught voice. "TWILIGHT, RUN!"

There was the sound of two screams, a crash, and a yelp from one of the griffons. Apple Bloom slowly moved to the door and opened it. She noticed two wickedly taloned feet on the floor in front of the door. The young earth pony looked up with horror at the pair of yellow avian eyes staring at her with surprise. The griffon was looking down the sights of his crossbow at her, but when he saw who had just wandered into the hall, he lowered his weapon and grinned. A twisted and hungry light seemed to twinkle in his two yellow and black spheres. His beak opened in a pleased smile, his tongue sliding slowly out from between it, licking at its tip with a sick appetite.

"Well, what do we we have here? A little pony? Don't worry, little filly, I ain't gonna hurt'cha."

Apple Bloom shrieked and fell flat on her tiny rump, her eyes filling with fear. She backpedaled and tried to push herself away from the griffon advancing towards her with a lusty look on his face. He slung his crossbow and crouched low, reaching out his hand to touch the small, grayish olive filly. Apple Bloom scooted back another foot, avoiding the griffon's touch like it was deadly. "S-stay b-b-back, y' hear!" She blurted this with a nervous energy that only seemed to make the griffon move closer. "I ain't gonna do nothin' bad to ya, little filly. I just wanna touch ya." He continued to step closer towards the young pony, his eyes locked on her with an intense focus. Apple Bloom screamed again as his hand brushed her slightly; she didn't give him the chance to do anything else. She ran to her window, threw it open, and jumped out.

Apple Bloom rolled down her house's angled roof, knocking a few shingles loose. The sound of the shingles shattering against the ground was heard by a soft thud as Apple Bloom landed on her hooves atop the small shed (The same one that... uh... you know...). The shed made a hollow cracking noise as some of the weakening boards on the shed's roof split. Apple Bloom hopped of the top of the shed and stumbled as she hit the muddy ground. She wasted no time. She began to run as fast as she could towards the barn, which was among one of the most secure structures on the farm; more so than the house as it was still full of angry, armed griffons.

Apple Bloom heard the flap of wings behind her, followed by the splash of the griffon landing behind her. She was just inside the barn when taloned hands wrapped around her body firmly, preventing her escape. Her squeal was cut off by a hand clasping over her mouth. "Na-a-ah. Morrg wants ta' be alone. We wouldn' wan' no one walkin' in on us, would we, little filly?" The griffon grinned to himself and lifted the now-squirming Apple Bloom over to a pile of freshly cut hay. "Looks nice' n' cozy, don't it missy?" He chuckled to himself as she continued to try to wriggle free of his grip. He licked his beak again and looked at the green eyes of the small pony. "Yer' a feisty one, aren't ya'? Morrg likes it when you're fiesty."

Apple Bloom tried to scream again, but Morrg clamped his fingers around her mouth, grinning down at the filly with sickening glee. His other hand was busily unhooking the hardened leather codpiece that he wore attached to his leather armor. His fingers looped around the straps and tugged, pulling the whole thing off in one smooth motion. He tossed it aside with another lick of his lips. He straddled Apple Bloom now, pressing his knees together to keep her pinned down in the warm yet damp hay. He smiled as his pride slid out of its hiding place deep between his hips, coming into view with a terrified look from Apple Bloom. "S' all right, darlin'; it ain't gonna hurt ya'... much. Now let's have some f- AAARGH!!!"

Morrg's scream was one of pain; Apple Bloom had just chomped down on his fingers with all of her might. The sound of cracking bones and popping cartilage sounded out into the rainy night air. She had broken at least two of his fingers, which looked mangled and bloody. A number of tiny, square bite marks seeped richly dark blood from Morrg's scaly, taloned fingers. "YA FUCKIN' DEVIL CHILD! MORRG'LL GUT YA FER' THAT!" Morrg pulled a long, single-edged knife from his belt and proceeded to raise it above his head. Apple Bloom squealed and brought her hoof upwards into the Morrg's fully exposed groin. There was a howling scream in the air then as Morrg fell over sideways, thudding down into the dirt. Apple Bloom shot up, trying to get to the door, but Morrg still stood in the way. She darted into the next stall over in the barn, squeezing between the posts and gates with ease.

Morrg pulled himself up from the ground, body-wracking pain shooting up from one area directly between his legs. It was as if there was a fiery explosion spreading from that one small spot and through his entire nervous system. He growled and glanced around, holding the knife in his white-knuckled hand. He spoke again, but his voice was a croak due to the tremendous amount of pain he was feeling. "C'mere... L-little filly, M-Morrg didn't... really mean that. C'mon out. I'm just a little... AGH... Frustrated..." Apple Bloom had accidentally cornered herself, which the griffon noticed very quickly. "So there ya' are. Come ta' Morrg, now." He stepped forwards, his tongue once again darting out and licking the edge of his beak. "That's it, stay still... Morrg ain't gonna hurt-" Apple Bloom flung the heavy rock that she had been hiding right at the griffon. With a crack, it slammed right into his open beak. It hit it with such force that it cracked it nearly in two. Shards of it fell to the ground, small black pieces scattering through the hay-strewn floor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHK!!! MH BHKKK! YA LIDDL FFHKN BITCH!"

Morrg rushed forwards, knocking Apple Bloom to the ground with a hard kick. He pulled the knife back to stab her through the chest, his yellow eyes aflame with anger. "Ah dunt' need yahs' alive fer' this!" Blood sprayed from the griffon's ruined beak and onto Apple Bloom, the specks of red spattering all over her grey-olive fur. Morrg didn't notice the enormous shadow directly behind him in the barn. He did notice the low growl that came from it, however. The growl was followed by a bellowing roar, which seemed to shake through the entire barn. The sickly sound of metal plunging into flesh followed after the roar. Morrg stared down in horror at the four metal points that had just exploded forth from his guts; they were completely coated in his own blood. Morrg screamed as the points were yanked brutally from his intestines, allowing putrid smelling gas to seep from his opened insides. Feces and blood gushed out of the gaping holes in Morrg's belly. He spun and charged his attacker, heavy on his feet. Morrg's knife sliced into something fleshy, and it came back red with blood.

The large shape looming in the darkness moved suddenly, kicking the wounded griffon backwards towards the barn wall. The kick broke ribs, sending even more pain arcing through Morrg's body. The dark figure lunged forwards, driving the bloodied four-pointed pitchfork through the griffon and into the wooden wall. Morrg screamed again and pushed on the pitchfork embedded in his insides; it wouldn't budge. He couldn't reach his attacker with his knife, so he tried to draw his crossbow. The pitchfork had caught the crossbow's strap between one of its points and pinned it to the wall, and Morrg couldn't pry it free. He cut the strap with his knife and brought the crossbow upwards to aim at the large shape. Before he could send the bolt hurtling into his enemy's chest, his weapon was slapped out of the way; It clattered uselessly to the ground. The figure bent down and picked it up. It backed up a few steps before raising it. Moonlight from the barn door streamed in, illuminating the figure. The first color that was seen was red. Two green eyes glared at Morrg with murderous anger and unforgiving hatred. Big Macintosh raised the crossbow to aim at the griffon's head, grinning as he did. Morrg's eyes widened as he stared down the bolt. "Not yet." Big Macintosh growled, his voice taking on a bestial tone. He moved the crossbow downwards slightly, bringing the sights to aim lower... much lower. There was no mercy in the work pony's eyes as he fired the crossbow. The bolt made a disgusting stomach-churning splattering sound as it punched through Morrg's exposed crotch. Morrg shrieked as various kinds of his bodily fluids sprayed all over the straw-strewn ground.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

It was obvious now that Morrg's comrades had heard the scream, but the fight wasn't over. Morrg screeched in anger and pulled an axe from his belt. He hurled it at Big Macintosh with pain-induced fury. It whipped past Big Mac's skull by mere inches; he had moved his head slightly to one side. "Now it's time." The red stallion dropped the spent crossbow and picked up a shovel that was resting on the barn floor. He hefted it in anticipation as he walked towards the griffon he had speared to the wall. Morrg screamed again, hopelessly trying to pull the pitchfork from the wooden boards so that he could escape. He knew he wouldn't make it. In one last final act of defiance, he slashed out at Big Mac with his knife. The farmer caught the blow with the shovel's handle, squinting slightly as splinters flew at his face from where Morrg's knife had cut. He pulled his weapon back to swing, then slammed the shovel's edge into the front of Morrg's face with an angry roar. He literally split the griffon's face in two, splattering brain and blood across the wall and all over his face. He pulled the gore-drenched shovel from the corpse's skull, then paused to flick the brain matter and bits of skull from its blade. Morrg's face dripped its grisly fluids down to the ground below. The whole sight was terrifying; a skewered body hanging limply like a ragdoll, a crossbow bolt lodged in its groin, its lower half drenched in feces and blood, it's beak smashed, and it's face split nearly in two.

Apple Bloom vomited in the back of the barn, spewing her stomach contents into a puddle of water. The puddle was brown, but the brown wasn't all mud. There were splotches of red in the water as well. Apple Bloom's regurgitated chunks of apples and hay mixed in with the disgusting water. Staring down at the water made her puke again. Big Macintosh walked towards the small filly, caring concern in his eyes. A ragged rent in his forehead was pouring blood down the front of his face. "Sis?...... You okay?" Apple Bloom swallowed back the retchings she was just about to release and looked up at her brother. She nodded slowly, her eyes full of revulsion, surprise, and thankfulness. "Y-yes... Mac, t-they've g-g-got Apple- Look out!" She was too late; the barbed arrow slammed into her brother with a sickening thuck.

"Mac! No!!!"

Apple Bloom broke into tears as her brother shook and fell to the ground. He caught himself on one knee, bracing himself up with one hand while the other kept its grip on the shovel. He turned and looked out the barn door as blood ran into his eyes from the cut on his forehead. He could see the griffon standing in the doorway, holding a bow in his talons. He reached behind his back and pulled an arrow from his quiver. He nocked the arrow on the string as his expression became one of satisfaction. Big Mac stood with a groan and began limping towards the griffon, hefting his shovel. The griffon smiled and pulled back the string on the bow, listening to the creaking of the wood with satisfaction.

Big Mac knew he would die. He didn't care. He would die protecting his family, and that was all he cared about. He didn't make a single noise as the second arrow buried itself in his shoulder. He stumbled back a step and almost fell over, but he steadied himself defiantly, blinking through the haze of red falling down over his gaze like a final curtain. He knew that he wouldn't survive the next arrow. He continued to plod forward, gritting his teeth in anger at the bastards that dared to hurt his family. "No!" Applebloom screamed, her voice full of sorrow. The griffon smiled as he retrieved another arrow from his quiver. He readied his shot with murderous glee in his eyes, the barbed metal tip of the arrow glinting in the eerie moonlight. Big Mac walked forward; he knew these last steps would be his death. The griffon saw the death lurking in Big Macintosh's eyes, and he relished the moment. His fingers loosened on the string, preparing to send his enemy to whatever afterlife he was destined for. They loosened even more as the griffon's head slid from his shoulders with a wet chopping noise. Blood sprayed from his severed neck, fountaining into the air in a beautiful and morbid display. The arrow soared narrowly past Big Macintosh's head, slicing through his mane like a cool breeze. It passed so close to his face, he could have seen each individual scratch and dent on the arrow's tip. The griffon's headless body toppled backwards, the bow slipping from its lifeless claws. The body collapsed into the dirt, followed by its head. A dark figure stood beside the corpse, his blade forward, as he had just struck a killing blow; it was obvious by the blood on his blade, which glowed crimson in the ghostly light. The figure breathed, letting forth a sound like a growl. His breath condensed in the cold and rainy air, billowing outwards like smoke. His head turned to Big Macintosh, who had now collapsed into his knees and was staring with open jaws at the dark figure. "They're after Applejack. Keep your sister safe. Stay here; you're wounded. I can handle this." Big Macintosh spoke with awe and surprise, but there was a hint of gratefulness in his words as well. "Ya'... Sure do know when t' show up, pardner." Dylan simply nodded and began running towards the house.

***

The griffons had all heard Morrg's scream. They turned as one towards the sound. Turvehk's single eye darted towards the barn, his beak trembling as he spoke. "That was Morrg! What the fuck?!" Another of the griffons spoke up; it was the one Twilight had injured, Rurakar. "Shit! What in the living fuck is going on over there?!" One of the other griffons, named Roric, jumped out the shattered window and glided down to the ground. He ran to the barn and proceeded to fire two arrows into it. As he fired a third, a coat-wearing figure sliced his head right from his shoulders. The figure turned to the barn for a few moments, then proceeded to run straight for the house. Everyone in the room saw this, including Applejack. She let forth a muffled cry as she saw him running towards the house, trying to warn her friend of the danger. Tanning noted this with grim satisfaction. "Ah, ssso you know him, eh? Well, get ready to sssay goodbye." Applejack screamed, finally getting her mouth free so that she could speak again. "Dylan, just run! Leave me!" Tanning smiled, laughing cruelly as he waved his men forward. The griffons who had bows or crossbows took positions at the windows of the house. There were sounds of glass shattering as they proceeded to break any intact windows that would block their shots. "How noble... Kill him." The sounds of twanging bowstrings and the clunk of crossbows firing filled the air, along with numerous deadly projectiles.

*** At the sound of Applejack's warning, Dylan ran faster, pounding the wet ground with his feet. His heart was thumping at least two times per second. Adrenaline sent him into a frenzy, filling him with an angry energy. At the sound of shattering glass, he knew what was coming next, yet he ran towards it anyways. He could see the glint of steel in the windows, and he grinned like a madman as he saw the griffons unleash their volley of fire upon him. He dodged between every last bolt and arrow, moving so fast that he was almost a blur. The sound of surprised shouting came from the house as the griffons saw that they hadn't hit their target. "Reload! Fuck, it's still coming!" A few seconds passed as they fired again with the same result. The griffons frantically tried to fire for a third time. There was a mocking laugh from one of the other griffons, followed by the creak of a bow. One last arrow shot from the house towards Dylan. It was so fast that he could hardly see it. The arrow hit him dead center in the chest, where his heart should've been. The griffon laughed as Dylan slowed to a stop some thirty feet from the house. Dylan looked down at the arrow, then back at the one-eyed griffon watching from the window. "You're dead." The griffon's words felt like knives to Applejack, who wailed in misery. Dylan looked at the griffon with his ocean blue eyes, and the griffon watched as the blue became red. Dylan chuckled at first, then the chuckling became a laughing, and finally the laughter became a bellowing cackle. The griffon stared at Dylan in horror as he leaped, still howling like a madman. He flew the thirty feet through the air to the window, his coat whipping in the air behind him. He landed at the window's edge with the sound of cracking wood. His laughing stopped for a second as he spoke, his face maniacally twisted in an expression of insane intent. "You're dead." Turvehk didn't have time to scream; the blade being slammed brutally through his heart left him breathless. Dylan smiled at the one-eyed griffon with fire in his eyes, then pulled his sword from the limp body of the archer.

Turvehk's eye locked its sight on his killer. In his last moments of life, he saw something that his fellows did not... He saw something horrible... something hellish; there seemed to be something hanging over the human. It was a twisted and feral creature. It was canine, and fire came off it in waves. Its eyes poured forth an otherworldly red light; the light of a thousand dying suns glowing the color of blood. The creature's mouth was full of massive teeth, all capable of tearing flesh and bone asunder with ease. It turned to look at him and let forth a roar that only he could hear. It shook his blackened soul to the core, and the light from its eyes burned at his flesh. He was dead, yet the thing still stared at him, and he at it. It lunged towards him and began to tear him apart. His screams were the screams of a soul, not of a body; his comrades heard nothing but his dying breath. His screams continued as a fiery rift appeared in the floor and the thing howled and dragged him into the darkness and flames.

The whole of the room exploded with activity; all of the griffons threw down their bows and their crossbows, drawing their swords and other weapons. Dylan spun around and slashed at a griffon who was in the process of pulling a flanged mace from his belt. The strike cut his torso open from hip to armpit; blood coated the floor underneath him, along with his intestines, which fell out of him like a swarm of viscera-drenched snakes. Dylan's second strike lopped off his head, which spun in the air for a moment before it thudded messily to the ground. The whole of the griffons began to yell curses and Tanning hissed, pulling Applejack out into the hallway. Bregan followed after his captain, covering his leader's retreat. Devinn -the griffons' money counter- ran out the door right after Bregan. The rest of the griffons in the room charged the frenzying human. Rurakar missed with his first swing, his hammer passing uselessly over his enemy. Dylan had ducked under the blow, pulling his sword back in a ready position. He used the momentum of his movement to stab the point of his sword through the underside of the griffon's chin. The sword exploded out of the top of his skull, sickly pink with the contents of the griffon's head. With one smooth motion, Dylan slid the sword back out of the griffon's head and chopped off the arm of another that had just began to swing a gladius at him. The arm flopped to the floor, still clutching the sword in its taloned hand. The griffon shrieked in pain, but he ceased his wailing when Dylan slammed his sword's pommel into the griffon's temple with a sound not unlike that of an egg breaking. Both bodies fell to the floor lifelessly, blood point out of both of them. Applejack's bedroom was a mess of broken glass, intestines, blood and dead bodies; not normally how she liked to decorate.

Applejack kicked and screamed as Tanning dragged her down the stairs by her mane. She tried desperately to hold onto the stairs' handrail, but was pulled along anyways. Tanning literally shoved her down the last few steps, hissing a curse.

"VHARKAINA (Whore of maggots)! WHERE IN THE NAME OF THE GODS DID THAT THING FUCKING COME FROM!?"

Tanning heard more screaming coming from Applejack's bedroom, followed by a wet crunch. The other two griffons behind him kept moving as fast as they could down the stairs. A few of the other griffons came out out the room adjacent to Applejack's, forming a line of shields and spears in front of the stairs. There was a shout from one of the griffons at the bottom of the stairs as a black fire poker's spike was swung into his back. The crunch of bone sounded out as the fire poker swung a second time, splattering the griffon's brains all over the wooden floor. Granny Smith stood at the bottom of the stairs, then charged as she saw Tanning holding her screaming granddaughter. She swung the heavy piece of iron with all of her might at the griffon captain's skull. There was a flash of movement as Tanning parried the blow and thrust the falchion's blade through Granny Smith's ribs. "NOOOO!!!!" Applejack screamed as her grandmother stared down at the blade for a moment, her eyes glazing over. Tanning hissed and pulled the blade from the aging pony's chest, then shoved her roughly to the floor. She lay there for a few moments, her eyes on Applejack as she spoke. "I... It's... Alright, dear... I.... I-" Her eyes rolled back into her head and she let forth a shaking breath before going limp.

Tanning stepped over the body, pulling Applejack, who was weeping and screaming behind him, still staring at the body of her grandmother. The griffon heard something other than the yells of battle and the clash of weapons coming from the stairs; he heard a low growling. He barely had time to react as Winona leaped into the air and chomped down on his face. He yelled out in pain, slamming his fist into the dog as it chewed and ripped at his head with its meat-tearing teeth. "AAAARGH! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF!" Bregan swung the haft of his morningstar at the dog, which connected with the back of its head sharply. Winona whined and released her jaws, falling backwards to the floor. She lay there motionless as Bregan raised the morningstar above his head. He was about to crush Winona under the weapon's spiked head, but something hard smashed into his jawbone. Applejack's kick knocked the giant griffon sideways into a desk piled high with framed photographs and pictures. They scattered as Bregan yelled out in pain and fell against the desk, clutching at his face. "YOU BITCH!" Tanning roared as he slammed his fist into Applejack over and over again, growling with each strike. She whimpered and cringed, trying desperately to block the blows.

There was a roar from upstairs as a griffon flew limply down the stairs, slamming into Tanning's back like a missile. He staggered forwards and released his grip on Applejack. The griffon had been kicked down the stairs, and his neck was twisted in an unnatural angle, his spine snapped like it was nothing. As Applejack whimpered and screamed, there was a roar from the top of the stairs, followed by the sound of meat being chopped. Another one of the griffins collapsed and rolled down the stairs with a series of thuds. His torso was split from his right shoulder down to his left hip. There was another roar of fury from upstairs, and six words spat like daggers from Dylan's lips. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL, YOU BASTARDS!" There were only three more griffons upstairs fighting Dylan, hiding behind their shields and thrusting their weapons toward Dylan.

There had been only a dozen of the griffons, but Tanning had sent for more of his warriors. He hadn't known there would have been this much resistance; a dozen of the soldiers under his command were dead, most at the hands of this new monster. He wished he had brought more; their new enemy seemed to kill his warriors as easily as if they were inexperienced recruits. Each of the soldiers under his command was a veteran of the arts of war, and they should have been able to kill the unarmored creature with ease. He had even seen Turvehk put an arrow right through the thing's heart, and yet it still lived. Turvehk had been Tanning's best scout, and he had been known to hit a moving target right between the eyes at three hundred yards. The loss was crippling to say the least, but Tanning felt no emotional injury at his soldier's death; Turvehk and the rest of the griffons under his command all knew what they had put on the line when they joined him.

Dylan deflected a spear thrust that would have gored him like a wild boar on a spit. He knocked the blow aside with his sword and slammed the shield that he had just picked up into the griffon's own. The spear-griffon flew back a few feet and slammed into the handrail with a crunching noise. He was about to try and stab at Dylan again when the human's blade chopped the top of his skull clean off; it was not that much unlike opening a coconut, except this coconut sprayed blood and cranial fluids. One of the other griffons on the stairs holding a gladius swung the short blade into Dylan's side, cutting a ragged trench of red just above his hip. Dylan screamed and used the momentum of his previous chop to cut a sizable chunk out of the griffon's wooden shield. The griffon ducked and thrust the point of his gladius at the raging Celt, hoping to drive the blade deep into the human's ribs. Dylan saw this coming and sidestepped, avoiding the blow. He twitched as he saw the other griffon swing the blade of his halberd at his head. He brought his shield up, stopping the heavy-handed blow with his own show of brute strength. The halberdier staggered back as Dylan's shield impacted with his weapon; the force that he had put into the blow put him off balance. Dylan saw the gladius-wielding griffon to his right prepare to swing again, but Dylan used the griffon's shield as a target for his bone-shattering kick. The kick was more of a forward stomp than anything else; it crushed the shield entirely under its superhuman force. The shield's holder didn't fare well either; the warrior that had been behind it had flown clear into the other side of the stairs, slamming against the opposite guardrail, crashing through it, and flying into a window. He screamed as he plummeted to the rocky ground outside of the house with a noise line a bushel of twigs snapping. The halberdier's eyes went wide as Dylan ran him through with his blade. Dylan pulled the blade and stabbed twice more in rapid succession before the griffon slid to the floor. He looked down the stairs and barely had time to bring his shield up in front of him as a three-foot javelin sailed through the air and hot the leather-padded shield instead of his vital organs. Bregan reached into the quiver at his back for another, but Applejack slammed into the gargantuan warrior with her shoulder. The eight-foot griffon stumbled into the nearby kitchen wall as the four and a half-foot tall pony rammed into his side.

"Grab the bitch! Get h-" Devinn screamed before Applejack punched him in the face with her hoof. He howled in pain; the blow had broken his jaw. Tanning yelled and threw Applejack against the floor with a screech. He wrapped his stone talons around her body and threw her over his shoulder. The griffon captain barked an order over Applejack's angry screaming. "WE LEAVE! NOW!" Bregan looked at the human making his way down the stairs. "Leave nothing behind..." Tanning's words had a sinister tone to them, one which Bregan knew all too well. He grabbed a nearby oil lamp, lit it, and threw it to the floor. The lamp shattered in a ball of fire and glass, lighting most of the bottom of the stairs aflame. Devinn backed away, but flinched when he saw Winona pounce towards him with her bloody teeth bared like knives. The small dog tore and bit at the smaller griffon's calves, inciting a scream of pain from the money counter. The pain was worsened by his broken jaw, which sent agonizing torment shooting through his face like an electric current. He tried to shake the dog loose from his leg, flailing and kicking wildly. He stumbled out the front door and flung the dog against the side of the house. Winona whimpered and fell to the ground, her high-pitched whining louder than the sound of the inferno inside. Dylan ran through the flames like they were nothing, slapping out the fires that had settled on his coat. He watched as the Tanning, Bregan and Devinn took flight with Applejack slung over Tanning's shoulder. Dylan snarled and gritted his teeth, breathing a furious statement between his bared teeth. "Come back here, you fucking coward." Dylan stuck his sword into the ground and looked at the griffons. The smallest one was nearest to him. Dylan whirled, holding the shield in both hands. He spun and released the shield from his hands, watching it hurtle towards his target. It slammed into Devinn like a missile, knocking him from the sky. He plummeted towards the earth, slamming into the branches of an apple tree before falling to the rain-drenched earth.

Lightning continued to flash in the sky, eerily lighting everything in a phantom blue light. Dylan pulled his sword from the ground, picked up Winona, and began to sprint towards the fallen griffon. He swore as he looked at the two griffons still flying, carrying his friend off into the night. He was so angry that all coherent words escaped him.

Dylan reached the site where he had seen the griffon fall and set Winona down. She whined in pain and tried to stand, but collapsed into the mud. Dylan heard the sounds of labored breathing and splashing coming from around the row of trees he was behind. He walked towards it and narrowly dodged the stone that flew past his head. The stone had been propelled by Devinn's sling, which he was trying to load with another stone. Dylan snarled and tackled the griffon, slamming him to the ground mercilessly. He ripped the sling from his hand and pressed the blade of his sword to Devinn's throat.

"TELL ME WHERE THEY'RE TAKING HER, OR I SWEAR I'LL CUT YOU GODDAMN THROAT OPEN AND WATCH YOU BLEED TO DEATH!!!"