Bite Down, Don't let Go

Chapter Two: Clash of  Feathers,Fur, and Scorpion tails

Gilda hated today of all days. She'd forever remember today as the day she lost her best friend to a bunch of stupid sissy ponies, cried from being placed in a position to be eaten, fainted and then proceeded to be molested in and out of consciousness by this... Thing, Hyena "Obe" who just stood across from her shit eating grin over his face like that pink witch Pinkie Pie!

Thoughts of the mare that ruined the friendship she had with Dash ruffled her feathers, her face reddining like an overload of shiny silver factory pipes over heating. Not to mention barely five minutes prior to this stand off he had her pinned on the rough clay colored, green grassed splotched dirt threatening to eat her. Not to mention he had so intimately Nuzzled her, Nuzzled HER! Who did this weirdo think he was?

           And yet here he stood calmly sizing her up. A Pinkie Pie smirk plastered across his face like a Manehatten billboard. Glancing down she noticed a silver bracelet covered in strange markings barely dangling from his right wrist. She also noticed something on the inner most lining but his paw shuffled back his left stood closer, the right farther back. Shifting her gaze back to his face.

Gilda almost recoiled when she noticed the once cheerful face was replaced with a sterner one. This face seemed visible annoyed. His eyes that almost  just seconds ago were round and full of concern and care, replaced themselves with hard stony orbs of  emerald and amethyst. His face relaxed enough to appear a least placid.

   "So-" Gilda stopped a second placing a fisted claw in front of her beak and gave a testing cough. " what are you doing in the  Everfree Forest?" She question getting back on all fours her wings tucked neatly back to her sides.

" I could ask you the same thing, your kinda in my hunting ground." Obe replies curtly a crooked smile gracing his face. Gilda gave an indignant huff. Getting up into his face forcing her body into his personal. He didn't flinch or back up.

"  since you asked so NICELY-"  she spat out  ' nicely' like hot phlegm " I was just looking for some time alone." She stood on her hind legs leaning against a charcoal colored tree. Turning her head away from him showing  that he wasn't important enough to look at him. The hyena snorted, Then pushing off his fore legs became bipedal. Walking over to a tree diagonal to Gilda crossed his ' arms' leaning against his own tree.

" That YOU interrupted" Shrieking Gilda went into a threatening pose chest puffed up , wings spread out to make her look bigger. All this caused was eliciting a chortle from what gilda could surmise a deranged male. "And what do you mean by hunting ground?"

"I'm sorry to have interrupted your shedding of liquid pride, but my hunting ground is where I go to eat duh." joked Obe, Gilda diflated from her pose remembering that not only did she cry just as  he arrived but also lost her cool and balled her eyes out like a new hatchling when he pinned her. Then fainted after he Nuzzled her. It almost made her cry again.

" I was only just passing through."  he stated backing down to his fours,moving with a steady gait leaving the clearing. From the way he wasn't looking back he had closed the conversation without giving more detail.

"You eat sentient beings?" She question.

"Well yay I find that other sentients give the best reaction when about to die like fainting its quite fine you should try it some time." Gilda in an all new hipe of anger started making angry strides to the other side of the clearing, leaving impressions of bird talons and lion paws in the dirt.

" You might want to choose another direction" Obe called still moving further away, Gilda stopped for a moment, craning her neck and from the corner of her eye, still noticing he was walking away.

" why's that?" She started to  yell the volume of her voice raising.

" there's a  rather horny manticore back that way, and your at least smell of what it wants" those were his last words on the matter. Gilda felt a long pregnant pause enter her space as she stopped, turned around and saw that the hyena Obe, was gone. Why would a manticore go after her, they usually don't mess with griffons. So why had he warned her of something that wouldn't even dare Touch her.

Gilda decide not to think about it continuing on her way through the forest not noticing the mismatched eyes that Jude her form still considering eating her or not as thoughts of blood floated around his head.

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some time later near the castle of the two sisters

           As our irate avian continued her hike into the dark forest ( preferring to walk than fly she was in no hurry what so ever) she made a not so startling discovery.

Maybe moving deeper into the Everfree Forest wasn't the best idea. Gilda felt the way the air around her slithered and coiled around her with a cozy blanket of fog. Coming into contact with poison oak, an angry python, and a cranky old squierll that kept tossing its nuts at her. She shook violently ruffling her feathers trying to shake off the horrible feeling that permeated to the marrow of her bones.  With astounding agility  the anger prone griffon glid over the old bridge, only her tail brushing the rotting lumber of the aged bridge. Staring up to the  Withered cobblestone castle she pawed forward ,  claws scratching the wooden door as the kinetic force of her push creaked the door open slowly and eerily.

          Turning her neck she noticed over her shoulder that the sun was beginning to set. This Gilda thought was the shitish day she had ever had to deal with; losing her friend , being embarrassed at a party by her friend and lastly being caught crying in the middle of the Everfree by some.... Hyena then being pinned, forced to cry, then Nuzzled by said hyena. Worst. Day. EVER!

          Looking around the grounds she took notice of the fresh debris from were the puny ponies Dash's friend's ( Gilda wanted to gag) fought Nightmare Moon.

In the middle of the castle was a strange stone device that sort of reminded her of a planatary model. Each planet had a groove wear something once fit but was now missing. She eyed them critically wondering why ancient artifacts were just left in this run down dump.

Moving past the orbs she noticed the crumbled thrones in the back. Two, one a little more together than the other. Dust covered a torn tapestry of the sun. At some point it was beautiful. She could probably stay here tonight and not worry about much.

Clack

Freezing were she was at Gilda did not move. She narrowed her eyes.Thump. She was not in the mood for this...whatever.

" whoever,whatever is out their, ya better leave I'm having a bad day". Silence greeted Gilda as she smirked to herself about to continue her self tour. Hearing another crash of rubble stopped again

" A bad day you say, what could have happened to make it so grey?" Gilda could feel her neck whip lash to the left...to see the strangest pony she could have ever seen. Then again she really never came into contact with a zebra. With gold hoop earrings, gold rings stacked around her neck, and a Mohawk she was the definition of exotic.

" who are you!?!" Gilda's tone could not betray her thought and feelings any more than she did now. Though the zebra was most courteous as to ignore.

"My name is Zecora I live in the forest, though I'd like to know what makes you so discourteous"? The rhyming was really beginning to grate on Gilda's nerves.

" look my day has not been good..." She took a deep huff  as it seemed this was the best way to get things off her day

" Are you not the you not the young riff Raff that made young fluttershy cry,  then latter this day  told Rainbow Dash Good bye?" Zecora gave an accusing eyebrow, Gilda only groaned .

" look I've had a crap day; first a pink blob got in the way of my time with Dash, then I was pranked at my own party, lost my best friend, then the icing on that cake was being pinned to the ground by a hyena tha-"

"A hyena here?, oh that's worse than I fear!" Zecora actually had a look of shock on her face.

" what's wrong with hyenas?" Gilda seemed generally confused. An eerie beat began to play in the background

'You would think that a laugh like theirs they would enjoy fun and games

But spreading fear is how thy spend there time of day

Gnashing teeth and tearing  claws is how they made castle fall

You'd think like the wolves they're dumb as logs, but there just as clever as diamond dogs

But these beast do not covet Jewel's they enjoy to make blood mix with drool

There evil things believe me as they sooner kill for sickly glee'

As the rhyming ended Gilda could only think back to her encounter with Obe, and how before she closed her eyes looked ready rip her head off.

Rooooooar

both occupants of the ruins looked toward the entrance were blocking both sides of the door way were block by a large golden body about two meters high. A dark red collor of fur wrapped around the neck of the beast upon  its back were bat like wings, the webbed membranes ripped and torn from many battles. What truly caused worry was the last two appendages that it showed. The first was  just as long as the rest of the body reddish brown,segmented ending in a sharp curved barb. The second located one the underbelly of the beast showed that Obe's warning had marit.

" Run!!" Was zecoras statement as she began to back up slowly " that manticore is looking to mate, for one such as you its a terrible fate". With another roar the chimera of bat,scorpion and lion leapt forward placing its self between zecora and Gilda. Stomping forward, it licked its blackened lips. Sniffing around it honed in on her.

Gilda began to backpedal inching back, making no sudden movement. She made a dangerous miscalculation as her back ran into a pillar.

           For the third time today she began to cry, how could her day go so wrong?  Just as she felt she was about to be mounted a blur nocked her would be assaulter over. To her greatest surprise it was her early attacker the 'playful'  hyena. Yet

Iike before this was an all new face to see. If the first was psychotic glee, and the second concerned friend, this new one was complete murder. The pupil of his eyes were dialated, hackles standing on end teeth bared to there fullest potential.

The manticore gave a shaking roar raising its tail in a threat of Obe's interference. Gilda wandered at this moment why Obe didn't roar or yell, she got her answer when she listened to the low,slow almost psychotic laughter that escaped his maw. Zacora only looked on in wonder as she was trying to understand what was going on. Was this the hyena the griffon was talking about?

If so why had it save the girl from the manticore from what she understood with her interaction with them they enjoyed that sort of thing so why had this one interfered the assault. She watched the combatants circle each other cackling/growling/snarling at each other threatening the other to make the first move.

Then they stopped.the growling, the cackling, all of it.

"So-" spoke the Hyena shaking with dark laughter. "Ready for round two?" The manticore gave a mighty roar in response.

Then all all Tarterus broke loose.