Griffonia, the Kingdom of the Griffons, how does one begin to describe such a place? The kingdom itself rivaled Canterlot in size and majesty, but there was a distinct difference, its style. Where Canterlot was a shining marvel of a city, the Griffons settled for a more traditional look. It was composed of stone, brick, and the occasional straw roof, truly a marvel to behold in terms of work and ingenuity. At the moment, a group of six mares and one armored stallion were on a boat bound for the kingdom in question. They would’ve taken the train but a journey that far was not only long, but it cost more. Baen tilted his head as the docks came into view, just like during his time; it was both a dock and a wharf for fish mongers. The massive hub of ships was composed of the heaviest duty of wood. The ponies stared in awe at the flying and walking shapes of griffons, Minotaurs, ponies, even the occasional zebra.

“Hm,” Baen mused.

Twilight was at his side, “What is it?”

“It hasn’t changed much,” he pursed his lips, “though granted, they’ve added a few additions.”

Rainbow glanced around, “This is so cool! I’ve never actually been here, OH! You think we can see the sports stadium?”

Twilight glanced at Rainbow, “Rainbow Dash, we’re not here to see the sights remember?”

Rainbow crossed her front legs and pouted as she recalled the previous morning’s event.

*
The Previous Morning

Twilight unfurled the scroll and read it to all present in her throne room. Baen was seated in the corner sharpening his axe while the girls sat in their thrones.

“Princess Twilight,” she began, “I am sending this letter under the gravest of circumstances. I am Lord Hyperion of the Kingdom of Griffonia, and I am in need of your aid.”

Rarity gawked, “Lord Hyperion? As in, Hyperion the Silver Eagle?”

Twilight slowly nodded, “Yes,” she continued, “My kingdom experienced an odd quake a few days ago. I sent a contingent of guards to the center of the quake to investigate its possible cause. Upon their return, a strange illness befell them and has slowly begun to infect my subjects. We have quarantined the infected area. But the situation is getting dire; our best alchemists cannot brew a cure and I fear this sickness this, ‘Yellow Tear Fever’, will continue to spread. This is why I turn to you, I have sent for Princess Luna and she recommended you and your friends joining us here for a summit to discuss our next course of action.”

Baen was already on his hooves, “This is no sickness.”

The girls glanced at Baen as Applejack nodded slowly, “Does this mean one of those Harbinger fellas is coming?”

“It’s a sign, yes,” Baen pondered on this revelation, “whenever a Harbinger awakens, a catastrophe follows them. For Rath’Gor, it was a heated conflict, this sign….”

Twilight thought on it, “A great sickness.”

Baen’s eyes widened and he produced Yew’s book quickly flipping through it, he stopped on one entry.

“The Great Plague, The Miasma Breather, Herald of Sickness, the Yellow Demon….,” he turned to Twilight, “I’m going with you.”

She nodded with a firm stare.

*

Present Day

Baen and the girls disembarked the ship and got a closer look at everything. From the boat it had seemed that there were more subjects active around the dock, but in actuality, there were very few.

Pinkie gazed around at the somber expressions, “Why’s everypony so down?”

Twilight noticed a griffon wearing a surgical mask, “Most likely it’s the threat of infection.”

Rarity shook her head, “Is the sickness really that bad?”

Baen nodded toward an approaching escort, “I suppose we’ll find out in a moment.”

The escort lead them through the streets, the guard-griffons were clad in bronze armor with helms that had T shaped visors making them look like warriors of old. As they were lead through the streets, the ponies noted the skeptical glances they received as well as homes sealed and barred. But then they crossed through an intersection and saw it, the Quarantine District. Originally it had been the Trade District of the city, but after the majority of the sickness sprouted up within said district, that’s where the quarantine zone was erected. Any visitor or citizens that displayed signs of the sickness were immediately placed within the barrier that had been erected. The barrier itself was a triple layered barrier of the strongest magic the king could afford.

Twilight examined the barrier, “Impressive. This enchantment prevents outward air flow,” she tapped it; “Whatever is in here is not getting out.”

“I’d think not, the unicorn I hired came highly recommended.”

Everypony turned and beheld the owner of the voice. The griffon that was approaching was built quite well in terms of figure. Judging by the scars on his body, this lord had seen many battles. His feathers were dark ebony with lighter brown streaks in them, his fur was a much darker brown and his eyes were flawless silver. Atop his head was a gold circlet and he wore a suit of royal gold armor.

“Lord Hyperion,” Twilight and the ponies bowed.

Hyperion nodded as the ponies rose, “It’s good that you came though…..,” his eyes fell on Baen, “I am quite surprised you brought the infamous barbarian pony with you.”

Baen nodded toward the king, “Rest assured your highness, I’m here to offer some insight on this matter.”

“Sir Baen speaks the truth Lord Hyperion,” Princess Luna alighted upon the ground as her wings snapped shut, “Good afternoon my friends.”

The ponies nodded at their monarch as Hyperion led them to the barrier. He nodded to the Princess as her horn glowed. The barrier became transparent to reveal a horrifying sight. Within were griffons, Minotaurs, zebras, ponies of all races and genders, as well as griffons. But the horrible part was that they were shambling around slowly like zombies. Everypony gasped in horror as a griffon turned to gaze at them. The griffon’s eyes were completely yellow, a sickly yellow. Permanent yellow tears streaked her face as she gawked wordlessly at the observers. It pointed its talon at them as a black mist trickled from her beak. Luna’s horn lit up as the barrier solidified.

“It’s been this way ever since they quake,” Hyperion explained, “whenever a being is infected, their thought process shuts down and they become mindless.”

Luna nodded, “It seems the virus is sentient to the point that it forces the host to spread more of it around.”

Baen nodded grimly, “I thought as much.”

Hyperion looked to Baen, “Come to the palace barbarian, if you indeed have something that could help in this time of crisis,” he gazed at the barrier, “anything at this point is welcome.”

*

Within the Quarantine Zone, something dark was occurring. Near the edge of the district that led into a forest was a park. Sitting in the center of the park was a creature that would indeed cause any to tremble in fear. The being’s body was lanky and like his brother, his skin was a shell like armor. The armor however was vastly different, it had a liquid like sheen to it and it was a dark sickly yellow. Vein-like cracks adorned the armor’s surface and were outlined with acidic green flesh. It had no eyes, merely gaping holes with the same green flesh streaking out like tears. A crack ran along its angular and sharp face, but the way it ran made it look as though the being had a sinister thin smile. A purple miasma curled up from the crack as it reached up and scratched one of its two black horns. The horns themselves resembled large sinister roots that curled to the sky. The being, unlike its brother, was as tall as a three floor building. A scream caught its attention, glancing over; it noticed a unicorn mare magically dragging a griffon child before it.

The small griffon girl whimpered as the dark holes of the demon stared into its very soul. The demon reached down, its fingers like thin blades, and plucked the chick from the ground like a fly from the air.

“P-please,” the griffon whimpered, “don’t hurt me.”

The creature stared in silence…then blew a big gust of the miasma in the chicks face. The girl started gurgling and then her eyes started to yellow and her feathers drooped as she cried yellow tears.

The creature trembled in bliss at the gurgling, the very sound sending it into a nirvana.

“Keh heh heh heh…”

It’s laugh was like the rasping air of one that was suffocating.

Author's Notes:

Now we know the face of our second boss. And yes this is the format, two filler chapters, then boss fight. But Yol'Gin will be a tough opponent indeed, how can you fight a foe who you can't get close to. Also, would be cool if I got someone to draw pics of the Harbingers, would be sweeeet. Also, sorry about short chapter, though as I've said before, lengths vary with me.

SO yeah, that blog post about a break, it's moot :3