The air is warm, yet the sky has become a cool gray, and a roaring and screeching coming from behind a high walled, concrete and metal paddock has frozen Fluttershy's blood, as well as the blood of the rest of the group. They cannot see anything past the walls, and the crane lifting a bloodied tattered tarp and broken bars while a group of griffins stand watch on an elevated walkway has injected another dose of dread into them. One of the griffins is actually Guillermo, and when the tarp is high enough he makes a circle in the air with his talon, bringing warning bells to sound off followed by metallic grinding as an angled roof of metal bars and mesh slide and lock into place.

“Ah, they just finished feeding them,” says Test Tube. “Good thing you missed it. It is a hard thing to watch for those not accustomed to them. Unfortunately the lawyer my investors sent me didn't have a heart attack when we showed him that.”

Applejack cautiously walks up to the paddock wall and tilts her head back, not entirely being sure what she is looking for, but is still impressed with what she is seeing. The large walls, like many of the structures of Dino-Park, have fragments of ampelosites built into them, giving the wall a visual of green cracks running from the surrounding gravel to the metal barrier up top.

“Twenty foot concrete wall. I see some angled fencing up there. Ya sure that'll keep them things in?” asks Applejack.

“Yes. It is more that capable of doing so,” says Test Tube.

“If it were up to me they would all be killed!” says Guillermo, taking flight off the walkway and purposefully landing next to Twilight and Tempest when Applejack and Rarity smile at him.

“Guillermo is just overreacting,” says Test Tube. “The raptors are perfectly quarantined.”

Fluttershy walks up to Guillermo. “Um, excuse me. I have a few questions.”

“Go on,” says Guillermo.

“How fast do the raptors mature? And have you managed to measure their intelligence? Also, what's their health like? Do they hunt? Do you feed them? How do you feed them? What do you feed them?”

Guillermo holds up a talon, bringing Fluttershy to quiet herself.

“These raptors are fully grown and lethal in six months,” says Guillermo. “They are also very smart. Smarter than certain griffins are giving them credit for.”

Guillermo finishes with a condemning glare focused on Test Tube, but the older griffin dismisses the statement with a wave of his hand.

“Smart or not, the cage is electrified. They will not be getting out,” claims Test Tube. “I can assure you, Ms. Butterfly, that you have nothing to fear.”

“It's... It's Fluttershy,” says Fluttershy timidly.

“In fact, if it would make all of you feel better you can meet the Raptor Supervisor. Guillermo, if you'll please check on the other attractions.”

Guillermo grunts and flies off, and Test Tube leads the girls up a flight of exterior metal stairs that lead to the top of a tower overlooking the pen. The door leading to its interior is a thick metal door with a simple red button next to it and a lever for a handle. Test Tube pushes the button, activating a buzzing noise, and a few seconds later the door opens to reveal a male griffin with bronze colored feathers and brown fur with bright yellow eyes. He is wearing a lab coat with a badge clipped to the collar, and when he sees them he smiles and opens the door for them to enter.

“Come on in. I was wondering when I was going to meet all of you up close,” says the griffin.

The girls all say their greetings and do a quick scan of his area. His control panel is a mess of old cartons, empty bottles, notebooks, crumbles paper and worn books, as well as action figures of dinosaurs, griffins and ponies in fighting poses. There is also a Wonderbolts poster tacked to the wall to go with the posters giving safety tips and the rights of the worker.

“Girls, this is Gate Keeper. He is in charge of the raptor paddock,” says Test Tube.

Rainbow Dash snickers. “What a geeky name.”

Gate Keeper shrugs. “My parents are 'O and O' fans.” He turns and points out the observational window with both of his hands open. “But this is way better than make-believe. They sat around playing that stupid game while I actually studied and now look at me. I'm watching raptors instead of pretending to be somebody else. And please don't touch those.”

It takes a group a second to realize that Tempest has used her magic to beat together an armored unicorn action figure and a raptor counterpart like they are fighting. She doesn't say anything to Gate Keeper, but her demeanor is soured when she puts them back.

After this, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash go next to the pen master and peek out the window. It has an excellent view of the whole pen, which is populated with thick, large leafed flora. They cannot even see the dirt past all the foliage.

“How do you keep them in?” asks Twilight.

“The paddock has an electrified barrier covering the top,” says Gate Keeper. “It only opens just enough to drop off food.”

“Told you. Perfectly safe,” says Test Tube.

“But there is also this gem.” Gate Keeper taps a panel with four red buttons. “Each button controls four turrets of highly pressurized liquid nitrogen. Raptors are cold blooded so this hurts them a lot more than it does us. One in particular is a gluten for punishment since she likes to claw up the wall.” He points to the corner of the the pen. “Actually, if you look right there you can see her.”

The group looks to where Gate Keeper is pointing and even with Twilight's alicorn sight and the pegasi's natural long distance sight they can barely see a pair of blood red, slit eyes staring back at them. The eyes blink, the plants rustle, and the last any of them see is a long, slender tail with a faint red stripe disappearing into the large leafs.

“I call her Red Gala,” says Gate Keeper. “Then there is Flare, Sea Shine, Dawn, Banana Creme, Mocha, Crystal, Tracker, and Pudding. Pudding is a real sweetheart. She never causes trouble. And Tracker is the fastest one. Its pretty funny watching her run along edges of the pen.”

He rapidly makes a circle on the desk with his talon while making vroom noises, finishing with a chuckle that only Pinkie Pie shares.

“How fast can she go?” asks Rainbow Dash.

“We clocked her at 70 miles. The rest could barely breach 60,” says Dr. Rack. “One of the attractions we have set up will show off her speed, much like a dog race, but instead of a fake rabbit it will be a slab of meat.”

The group grimaces.

“That's cruel,” says Fluttershy. “And so is keeping them locked in here. This paddock is not nearly big enough for all of them. This quarantine and close proximity will drive them insane!”

“They're animals. They don't have sanity.”

“That is not true,” counters Fluttershy sharply. “Each animal has its own personality, and a healthier environment will make them more... cooperative. Or, as cooperative as a tainted as a raptor can be.”

“...Right, well,” Test Tube claps his hands together. “Who's hungry?”

Next Chapter: 07 Estimated time remaining: 49 Minutes