"I can't believe I let her talk me into doing thiiiiiiiis!?" Midnight shouted as he ran from a large Hydra in Froggy Bottom Bog, leading it away from its nest and several miles away. Slowing down just enough to let it believe that it was going to catch him and have him for lunch.

"God I feel so stupid for doing this." Midnight growled as they finally reach a large, open field. The Hydra following closely behind him and roaring loudly as it kept running. After another minute of running the hydra roared out in annoyance, finally giving up as it let Midnight continue to run away. It turned about on the spot only to stop as it was placed into a seize spell. Midnight came to in front of it, hovering in front of its faces as he gave a smirk.

"Sorry to do this big guy, but you are about to save an entire nation with that big ass of yours. Or should I say, heads." He spoke as he pulled one of the head and necks back over the creatures back, then using his magic to chop the other thre off at the base of their necks. The heads and necks fell to the ground with a wet plop as blood began to pour from them. Midnight continued to watch the stumps that were left slowly grow back. Two heads and necks replacing each spot that had been chopped off. "Thank you Greek mythology for being right!" Midnight smirked as he continued lopping off the heads at the base of their necks as soon as they had reformed.

After only about twenty minutes, Midnight had cut the heads off a total of sevens times from three of the four heads. Once the seventh time had come around the creature could no longer stand up as there were almost 200 heads total coming from it. Midnight watched as the creature suffocated itself from the amount of heads that were attached to its body. It died shortly after the final heads grew into place. Laying around him were countless heads and necks of the beast he had slain. Although he didn't like having to kill the beast, he felt better knowing that this one creature would feed a nation for all of the winter. Hell maybe even the summer if they know how to keep the meat prepared and preserved for long periods of time. If that would fail, they could always turn it into beef jerky.

Midnight flew around in a large circle around the completely filled field. Blood and gore in every corner. His horn lit up as he began to place every piece of meat into his stash portal so that it would keep until he could get to the griffon nation to help them. After about three hours of loading the dead carcase into the portal he had finally finished before closing it. He left a couple of the heads and necks on either side of the field as he knew the smell of blood would attract some of the local predators that did not hibernate during this time of the year.

After finishing up and using his magic to clean himself thoroughly of the stench of blood, he teleported back to the castle with haste. He arrive just in time to see his son bounding playfully around the throne room while Celestia was speaking with her sister nearby.

"Heya squirt." Midnight spoke up catching his sons attention.

"DADDY!!!!!" He yelled as he bounded over, flapping his little wings rapidly to let him slightly glide across the room.

"Well now, it seems that my little colt is trying to fly." He chuckled as he watched him bound over to him and jump up and onto his back before trotting over to Celestia and Luna.

"Ladies, the job is complete, and I am proud to say that it only took a single hydra. I have over 400 tons of meat ready to be given to the griffon kingdom." He smiled to them as they gave a slightly disgusted look back.

"I am sorry to say that although it is pleasing to hear that the griffon kingdom can now thrive once again, I am still disheartened to hear that a life has been taken within Equestria." Celestia sighed, but smiled as Starlight bound from his fathers back and onto her own.

"I am going to travel to the griffon kingdom in a guise and invisible as well. It will take a few days to travel across the lands to the various stores and such to give out this their food. I should return within three days if not sooner. If I need you or vice versa, I still have that bracelet you gave me some time ago for emergencies." Midnight said as he gave his son one last nuzzle, then Celestia as he turned away. "I'll be back before you know it." He smiled as his horn began to glow brightly, his form shifting to that of a griffon. He stopped however as Starlight shouted.

"CHICKEN!"

Celestia, Luna and Midnight erupted in laughter at the foals comment. Midnight even going as far as clucking and walking around while bobbing his head back and forth. This causing the two princess' to cry from laughing so hard. Then to finally take it one final step further, he puffed out all of his feathers and giving the biggest puppy eyes he could muster.

"Stop! Please stop! You are killing us haaaaaaaaaahahahahaaa." Luna continued to laugh while Celestia was still attempting to breathe. Little Starlight on her back giggling like mad.

"Ok you three, I guess that's enough for now. I'll see you later." He smiled as he slowly faded from sight as his invisibility spell had been cast.

Midnight had teleported the full distance into the land of Griffonia. He knew that the griffon nation would not accept any aid from Equestria so he only had one viable option available in order to feed the nation. Go to every single butcher in each town, as well as cart food into the lower class areas to donate food to those with little or no money to pay for food.

His first stop was the butcher closest to the capital. Only a few blocks away and down a shady looking street. Upon making his way down the alley, he passed several individuals, two of which were holding out their talons, begging for some money or even food. He gave a sigh as he passed them by and toward the butcher shop. Once he arrived he gazed through the window to see only meat hooks hanging in a enclosed window. As he stepped inside, the bell above the door rang signalling his entrance. A voice shouted from the back room in a husky tone.

"Sorry, we're sold out right now, No new shipments will arrive until next week."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not here to make a purchase." Midnight spoke up as silence spread throughout the room for a few seconds. Talons hitting the tiled floor could be heard before a large griffon pressed his way through a swinging door into the front. He wore a butcher apron that was rather bloody and smelled just as bad. Midnight would have wrinkled his nose in disgust had he not currently had a beak instead of his muzzle.

"So ya ain't her teh buy, then what the hell do ya want?" The large griffon squawked.

"I am here to make a delivery on behalf of an anonymous third party. May we go into the meat locker so that I can unload the cargo?" Midnight spoke in a suave and smooth tone.

The large griffon cocked a brow at Midnight giving him a questioning gaze before speaking. "I don't see no package, much less any meat for the locker. What are you up to?" He asked as he rounded the counter while flaring his wings.

"I can only unload my cargo within a meat locker, as I have been enchanted by the third party to only allow a portal to open in order to deliver food. Free of charge of course." He smiled a little seeing the butchers eyes widen before he beamed, tucking his wings to his sides happily from hearing the mention of free food.

"Very well then my friend, please follow me." He said as he rounded the counter and went through the swinging door, Midnight close behind as they entered into the kitchen. Midnight looked around to see several small animals already cleaned and ready to be cooked while there was still a few smaller ones that was still resting on a couple of meat hooks above the butchers table nearby.

The griffon stepped onto a platform and turned to Midnight as he motioned for him to join him. Once Midnight was on the platform, the butcher pressed a button and the platform began to slowly lower down. After a couple of minutes and around twenty foot decent. The air felt cold and slightly damp. Midnight's breath as well as the butchers formed into visible vapors upon reaching the bottom floor.

"Alright now, let's see whatcha got." The butcher smirked, but stopped as a portal opened revealing the entire stash of meat.

The butcher gawked silently at the huge amount of meat within the portal, taking in a deep breath to digest how fresh the kill was. His eyes shot open wide in realizing that this kill was less than a few hours old. Looking to Midnight he laughed.

"So tell me, how much of this is free for me to put into my shop. I realize its a hydra from the stench, but in these hard times, any griffon out there would eat any meat just to survive. This meat falls under the middle class of best meats, so it should sell pretty quick." He chuckled.

"The party who donated this stated that I should go to each and every butcher that I can find and let them fill their lockers to the brim. Should I begin unloading them?" Midnight asked seeing the look of happiness on the griffons face.

"Be my guest." He smiled, waving a talon about the empty locker room.

Midnight stepped forward, placing a single talon into the portal causing one of the heads and necks to float out in a magical field, he pointed to the far wall and it floated over to it, resting onto the floor with a soft squishing thud. This continued until the room was completely full. The butcher began to carve up one of the necks as soon as the first one had been placed. Byt the time Midnight had finished, the butcher had filled his shop to the brim with fresh meat. The smell lingering far and wide as he had closed the door to finish carving up the meat to sell for the day. As Midnight finished he headed back to the platform and went upstairs to see the entire front filled with squawking griffons, all asking for different cuts of meat. The butcher was to only one working the shop at the time as he had to let his staff go due to how little meat he could keep in the shop. As soon as Midnight entered through the swinging door the butcher called out to him.

"Hey kid, think you can help me here? I need to carve up some more meat."

"I'd love to but I don't know the prices." He shouted back over the crowd.

"Can ya carve then? I have the carving sheet on the wall for this stuff." He yelled back as he continued to sell the meat to the customers.

"Yea, what do you need?" Midnight shouted back.

"Everything! This stuff is going to fast for me to be picky." He laughed.

"Be right back then. Midnight chuckled as he went into the kitchen to start.

After about thirty seconds he came back through the door carrying a large metal pan stacked high with meat. "Fresh cuts!" He yelled out causing the crowd to roar out in praise. He placed them on the back counter as he helped to pack and label the meat quickly. Midnight giving a contented sigh to actually have hands again. Once it had been packed he made his way into the back once again, a minute passed this time as he came back out with the meat already packaged and ready to sell. The butcher gave a slightly shocked expression but didn't pay any mind. He was to happy to be making a mint from his customers to care.

A few hours passed as the customers started to slow, and the crowd growing ever smaller. After five hours, noone was left to serve but the store front was still completely full of meat. The butcher turned the open sign around, locked the door and went back into the kitchen to see Midnight sitting idly carving some meat and packaging it.

"Hey kid, thanks fer yer help, ya save my hide tehday." He laughed, giving Midnight a rough pat on the back.

"Not a problem my friend, I took the liberty to refill your freezer with meat after be swarmed by customers. I was surprised to see that about half of the freezer was gone. before restocking it. You guys really were bad off weren't you?" Midnight asked seeing the butcher give a sheepish grin.

"Yea, had it not been for you, I would have had to shut down mah business. Ah don't think the missus would have liked that idea. She woulda took my hatchling's and left had I told her. OH! That reminds me, think you could help me carry some of this meat home? Even as a butcher I don't often get such a large meal in these times ya know?" He sighed.

"Sounds good to me. Let's grab what I have already carved up." Midnight smirked as he nodded to the large pile on the far counter.

The two gathered up as much as they could carry and headed out of the back door of the shop, taking flight into the evening sky, after a couple of minutes flying they had arrived at their location with fresh meat in talon. The butcher Made his way inside his home, holding the door to let Midnight follow him in as well.

"Glade, Buzz, Gilda, I'm home, we also have a guest and a surprise for everyone!" The butcher shouted just before Midnight closed the door. The two walking into the kitchen as he began to pull out a few skillets to start super. "Hey kid, I never got your name, Mines Bane." He said while nodding to Midnight.

"Night Wing. Just call me Night though." Midnight smirked as the butcher skillfully flipped a couple of skillets onto the stove with an audible clang.

"Honey? Did I hear you correctly? Do we have a...... well hello there." Glade smiled to Night as she entered the kitchen to see the two males preparing the food. "My goodness, where did all of this come from?" Glade beamed as she took a deep breath of the carved hydra that was being opened and dumped into the skillets and pans.

"You have this'n teh thank for the grub hun. He was sent on a mission teh feed all of Griffonia. His employer decided teh do what I had told the council teh do years ago." Bane chuckled

"And what would that be dad?" Gilda asked as she strode proudly into the kitchen giving a cocky smirk. That was, until she saw Night helping her father place the meat into the stove and onto the range as it began to cook.

"To grab a hydra and keep lopping of its heads. It's an endless source of food. But did they listen, noooooooooooooo, noone listens to the butcher." He snarled as he flipped a large steak over in the frying pan.

"So, whose the dweeb?" Gilda chuckled only to get a smirk in response from Midnight.

"Hmmm, what was that? I could hear you from the yawn you just caused me from the lame comment." He laughed only to see Gilda puff up at the insult. Bane just laughed loudly seeing his daughter so flustered.

"This'n is the one who is helping to fill our bellies for tonight and many more to come my dear. So watch that tongue'o yers. Don't need teh be offending such a good fella." He laughed as he tossed a medium rare steak onto a large plate and began to cook another.

"Huh, he don't seem so tough. He's got a mouth on'im though, Kinda cute the way he talks back to me." She purred.

Midnight grinned giving her a wink as he began to place much more of the meat into the fridge. After closing the fridge he turned back to stop as Gilda was right up in his face, their beaks almost touching.

"Well well well, Red eyes. That's an uncommon trait for a griffon." She smirked. "Most griffons have either green, yellow, black, or on occasion, brown eyes. Only a few have been seen with red eyes like yours. The last one that was seen was about ten years ago, right dad?" Gilda chuckled as he handed her a plate with a big juicy steak on it.

"I smell food!" Buzz yelled as he burst into the kitchen onto to tumble through the air and land upside down, skidding across the tiled floor and into the garbage can. "Ow."

"Easy there killer. Plenty to go around, and good cuts for all as well." Bane piped up as he tossed a plate onto the table then flipped the steak he was cooking through the air, letting it land perfectly onto it.

"Nice shot dad!" Buzz smiled as he scrambled up to the table, pulling the plate to him and began to eat.

"Hey Night, how do you like your steak?" Bane asked as he began to cook one.

"Well done please." Night replied only to make them all stop. "What, I like a challenge when I eat." He chuckled causing Bane to laugh.

"Yer something else kid." He laughed again as he continued to cook the large teak. All the time Midnight was thinking of the steak to come.

'Oh crap, I haven't had a steak since I arrived in Equestria. What the hell am I going to do? After all this time without meat can I stomach it? Dammit, being a pony has really made me soft in this area. No wonder I've been having a hard time coming to terms with killing that hydra. Ah well, better suck up my pride and brace myself." He sighed inwardly as he sat down at the table. Gilda setting down a beer in front of him as she cracked one open for herself.

"Now Gilda, what have I said about drinking my beers." Bane said giving a firm tone.

"I know dad, but isn't this a 'special occasion' since we are going to stuff ourselves tonight." She chuckled.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt." He smirked.

"Can I have one too?" Buzz piped up flaring out his little wings. He was pretty small, if Midnight had to take a guess, Buzz should be around the same age as the crusaders.

"Sorry my boy, you are still to young for these drinks. Tell ya what though, one of the local shops carries a non-alcoholic beer, I'll get you one of those tomorrow, then you'll know what they taste like." Bane smirked seeing his son beam.

"Here ya go Night, Nice and tough, but not burnt." Bane smiled as he tossed a plate to Night then sent the steak flying through the air, which was quickly caught by Night on his plate. "Nice catch, most guests usually miss cause they aren't expecting it." He laughed as he came over to the table with his own plate.

Midnight sat there for a moment seeing the griffons eating with their talons. Gilda even using her claws to cut her meat in a single flick of the talon. He smirked as he made a few quick slicing maneuvers with his talon to see the meat fall apart in perfect little squares.

"Nice one, but cant you do this?" Gilda smirked as she tossed a large piece of her steak into the air and made a lightning fast swipe several times at it. The steak now falling to her plate into tiny bite size bits.

"That was sweet, but sorry to say, I'm not that cool." He smirked only to see Gilda give a slight blush.

"Awwwww, is this a budding romance or what." Bane laughed loudly seeing his daughters face explode into a large poof of feathers from embarrassment.

"DAAaaaaaad." She groan giving a facepalm.

"Ha!" Buzz laughed only to get scooped up into a headlock as Gilda began to give him a noogie.

"You little dweeb, what're you laughing at?!" She chuckled.

"It's just so cute when siblings fight like that." Midnight grinned only to make Gilda freeze as her feather began to poof out again.

"One more compliment like that and she may moult Night, better be careful." Glade giggled seeing her daughter so flusttered.

As the evening went on, Midnight had another steak and two more beers. They weren't as potent as hard apple cider but the still made him feel a little lighter on his feet. As he headed out the door he gave a shiver at how cold it was, his own feathers fluffing out to show his discomfort.

"Hey Night, yer welcome to stay the night if you want. It's only proper that I offer you a place to sleep for helping me out earlier." Bane smiled as he hugged his wife close.

"I'd love to take you up on your offer my friend, but I have many other butchers to see across your country in the three days I'll be here. Then I have to head out." Midnight smiled to them as he spread his wings.

"Head out to where?" Gilda asked.

"Back to Dragonia. Momma dragons get rather upset when their young stay away to long." He smirked giving her a wink as he took off into the sky. The griffon family gawking at what they had just heard.