Plight of the Pegasi

‘Kindling to the fire’

I am still holding onto the head of the Mare. I gain a firmer grip; hooking an arm around her limp neck. I need to make a gap in the griffin onslaught that closes from all angles. I hear a tearing and the gristly snapping of bones as the head succumbs to my persuasion. Blood splatters on the roof tiles and trickles down in to drains that lead down to the streets below. I ponder saying something clever before I throw the head but on reflection it wasn’t a good time. I launch the gross projectile directly at one of the gnashing beaks hanging in the air. The griffin loses rhythm with the formation and falls behind. I seize this opportunity and aim for the break in the ranks. As I near the gap some of the other griffins try to close it. I am far too fast a flier to be bested by these fools. I cut through the curtain of feathers before flying down to street level. I hear the dreaded whirring of the cannons but they do not fire. I can only assume that Celestia didn’t want to harm her precious unicorns. Adrenaline courses sweetly though my veins, I can’t hold back the beast any longer. I turn at a junction in the streets just as a supersonic shockwave rolls at the next beat of my wings. The wake of my immense speed renders small market stands piles of timber. Paint peels to my passing, yet still I am not out of danger. By sheer number the griffins keep a bead on me. They forsake their own safety, thrusting themselves like spears into the ground. I easily bypass the fumbled attempts to ground me and continue on my way. A larger griffin, probably a commander lands purposefully at the end of the road. I see the obstacle and close my wings steadfast. I slide through its cloven legs before anchoring a hoof into the dirt and turning myself around as I emerge from underneath it.  I still possess the gun. I hold it steady but the creature I am nearest to ducks its head out of sight. I choose a different target and take one of the incoming griffins out of the equation. The spear like quality of the animal now helps my cause, the beak rams into the spine of the other griffin. Two birds with one stone.

I carry forward the momentum back into flight. Before I can put any meaningful height into my flight path a set of talons digs into the ground around my wing. Again the bird brain has not even scraped me. It stumbles forward and turns so that its beak is mere millimetres from my face. I skid to a halt, we at least I try to. I am careering towards the bloodied scythe of the reaper. I twist my body around again and deliver a kick to the lower portion of the griffin’s beak. I thank my agility as I turn back to my original heading and use the lowered head of the griffin as a springboard. I fly an increment further before remembering how I had dealt with the griffins before. The steam packs on their backs- A lethal explosive when you know what you are doing. I keep the gun handy and double pack on myself. The creatures think I have just given up; their grins give away their folly on my ruse. I fire a round into the griffin lying dead in the bottleneck and shield my face at the ensuing explosion. I fly above the rooftops just to catch my breath. I see a petrified hoof and then another as a small colt climbs onto the roof. He is an earth pony. No, wait. He has scarring on his back. He lifts a gun holster up above his head and braces himself. Perhaps he fears I will end him. His other hoof raises and he salutes me as I take the holster from him. I glance over my shoulder to say goodbye and then I understand the risk he has taken. Perhaps he did not. A griffin’s foot stamps down heavily where the colt had been. From under the clumsy clog runs the lightly coloured blood of the brave soldier. I stop in my tracks. The griffin has me nearly in his reach. I evade and land on the shoulders of the creep. I lasso its beak with the holster strap and pull back with all my might.

It stops. It battles for control with me but I don’t give an inch. I pull the strap taught till there is not a slither of give and it finally obeys my command. I reach forward to its dumb head and press sharply the muzzle into its temple. The others give me room, despite their allegiance to the corrupt Princess; they do not want their friend to die. A quivering puddle of pony drags itself down the taper of the roof and then I see the glowing machinations in its face. All hope is lost.

“Ah hahahaha” it cruelly laughs. “What a funny trick!”

It is losing purchase on the slippery tiles and falls just as it has time to say.

“It won’t last!”

I squint as the sky becomes much brighter than it was previously. I, along with many others, stare into the sky as a holy stream of light parades downwards before mutilating my ride. I dismount as the once warm body beneath me spirals down in to the mire. The glare of the light sends me to the same depths. I crash into the ground, straight on to my back. I partially get up, what a mess. I look into the molten petulance and see the fibres and sinew of the griffin bind with the ground as it melts also. The inelegant pile of indistinguishable stuff scrapes along the dirt laid lane to meet me. It no longer in any way resembled the brave soul who stood up for what was right and what was just on that rooftop.

“You think I care about this place? I’ll burn this fucking shantytown to the ground again!” Celestia threatens.

She lets the young forgotten Pegasus have some dignity as she lets him move no more. I can see this turn of events has captured the attention of the public. Only the favoured classes spit at my defiance, they rally for blood. A chain is wrapped around one of my back legs. A griffin drags me away from the admiration of my kind and the aggression of the rest. I will not go unto the dark pit again without making a difference. I clutch at patches of grass but they won’t stay rooted for long. I am pulled from the ground and try to fight with just my own wing power but despite my agility, the griffin is far stronger than I. I am helpless, I attempt to reach an overhanging flower basket but give up. I give up. I look up briefly and see that I am only tethered to one of the beast’s ankles. I have dropped my gun, must have dropped it when I fell. I swing on the chain, using my wings in rhythm to create a pendulum motion. The chain is loose enough I can move quite freely. The other griffins return to their posts, they have been ordered as such. But Celestia it seems does not see absolutely everything. It takes a bit more toing and froing before I can confidently reach the loose tile at the edge of the roof. I fail at my first attempt and the buzzard has noticed my misdemeanour. But on the second try I pilfer the plate just as the griffin turns to make me his next meal. He descends and then so must I do the opposite. I fly up above him until I reach the end of the tether before I furl my wings and plummet down upon him. I chose this slate of roof because it was damaged, sheered of at the side. I hold the sharp end down and drive it through.

The griffin kindly cushions my fall. In the impact the chain is broken, some still clings to my leg but I can at least walk. They think I would just lie down and die. Then I am Soarin, he lives on through me.

“If we do nothing, if we turn a deaf ear to this… Then what is it all worth? What is the point of going on? All the suffering and pain… But we can fight them, if you’ll fly with me”

Some Pegasi emerge from the shadows, they use muscles they haven’t used in a while. They smile.

One shy and beaten example approaches me and puts her hoof out.

“I will fly with you” she utters.

A couple of Pegasus stallions see her faith in me and see it as glimmer of hope.

“We will fly with you to” they say.

More and more Pegasi, trodden under hoof, enter the limelight.

“But what can we do?” They ask.

“We’ll reclaim the skies!” I say, feeling a warm sensation take over me.

“Talk is cheap!” A stallion says as he walks up to me.

“You’ve seen what I will do. What I will do to save my race” I rebuke.

“I have, and I know you. We won’t go down hiding…” He says.

“We’ll die in the skies, many of us will. But in the end we will…”

“What?” They demand.

“We will be free again”

An earth pony travels from his shop. He has an axe in his hoof. He swings it down and frees me from the chains. I gather the binding and climb back onto the fallen griffin. It is still just barely alive. I stand up and put a hoof on its head. I throw the chain over its neck and pull it tight.

“Where were you born?!” I bleed at him.

It makes a choking noise so I loosen the chain a little.

“I’ll ask again. Where did you come from?”

“When a mummy griffin and daddy griffin love each other ve…”

I pull the chain taught again.

“Straight answer or you don’t fly again. You’ll live but you will not fly”

“Ahhh yes. The nest, the nest is… The nest i…”

“You flappy floppy fucking Pegasuses will not listen! I control the sun! Everything will be ash!” Celestia speaks through the griffin I have in a chokehold.

I hadn’t even noticed the poor thing was dead. I release my grip and disembark the creature. I then return to my growing army. I address them.

“We have to find this nest. Hunt down more of the griffins. Eventually one has to squawk”

“What are we gonna do about thousands of these things?” One voice in the crowd asks.

“They won’t be fully grown. We’ll kill them when they are young and…”

“That’s horrible” they contest.

“If we’re lucky we’ll catch them as eggs” I explain. As I do another concourse of light scores a hole through the griffin behind me.

“What about us? We can’t fight like you do!”

“Raid the stores, anything can be used as a weapon”

I give them their marching orders before turning to the stallion that stands dutifully by my side.

“Thunder lane…” I motion to him.

“Ha you remember us little ponies then?”

“How d’ya mean?”

“I was there in the first revolution, when the Queen reduced this place to a smoking crater”

“No not the Queen. The Princess” I correct him, touching my hoof to his lips.

“Regardless… How can you send these green wings to a fate worse than death?”

“Coz we all have to play our part Thunder. You of all ponies should understand…”

“Why me? Why should I understand?”

“Because you remember, because you saw the wrath of the Princess”

“And…”

“And? NO! This is our future we are fighting for. If they do not die up in the sky then they will only slowly die down here”

A few of the rebels return with a plunder of weaponry. They’ve gathered chains and bear traps and all manner of gardening tools. A couple more return with cases of steam driven FFI (Flim Flam Industries) revolvers. I endeavour to make myself a poster child for this effort. I crouch down next to the molten pit where the young colt had taken his last breath and fetch the holster from within. This holster is more of a custom accessory; it has seats for two hoof guns as well as being a charming shade of ochre. I fasten the strap about my waist and usher for one of my followers to gift me with some firearms. Two mares trot obediently and place a gun on either side of me.

The Queen throws a tantrum from her confines in the distance. She lets fly her Phoenix hoard and they swarm our fair PonyVille. Each set of fiery wings sets another thatched or wooded roof ablaze. The rooftops glow with impunity as I prepare my sister and brothers of wing to fight the good fight. I pace back and forth, making sure each rebel is ready for combat and that most importantly they know the stakes. As each Pegasus lines up to head into battle I give them a kiss on the cheek. A sign of respect and fond farewell for when worst comes to worst. They leave into the sky, my fledgling crusaders. I once again focus my attention on Thunder Lane.

“I’ve got a mission for you too”

“Oh just for me? Don’t I feel special?” He sarcastically says, rolling his eyes.

“It’s very important…”

“Uh Yeah”

“I need you to find Twilight Sparkle”

“Didn’t you hear Dash? The only Alicorn is Celestia, she has total control. The others… The others disappeared”

“But we need her”

“No we don’t! Trust only a Pegasus Dash. Anypony else cannot be trusted”

I turn away and bite at my hoof in an anxious fit. I gaze up to where my rebels fly. I look back to a doubtful looking Thunder Lane.

“Take as many as you need. Put a stop to the pit. Put a stop to the in-equine treatment of your kin”

“I shall try”

“And that...” I begin, a faint smile cracking through my frown. “… Is all we ever ask of you”

He leaves me as well. I am without a friend just as I had been for years now. I decide I will establish our base of operations. Any organisation worth its salt has a headquarters. How would I keep the nosy cake-loving snout of the princess out? I have to concentrate so hard to remember my physics lessons, why was I such a tearaway? And then an epiphany smacks me dead in the face. I could use giant mirrors to reflect back the sun’s rays. But no that could result in the beam hitting a different target and huge mirrors must cost a fair bit. Hmm, ah perhaps a cave would suffice? I mull this over for a second before recalling my crippling fear of the dark. Hmm I think to myself; how about the tree house? No I don’t think she will have any qualms with burning this down, after all she has banished the Alicorn who dwells here. I am fed up with thinking so act and fly up the tree house balcony.

I don’t imagine anypony is home so I forget my Ps and Qs. I blast the doors aside with my rear legs before taking a look inside. It’s very dark; there is not a sound to be heard. I wonder around the ancient tomes and literary mazes until I reach a set of stairs. I ascend them, not through boredom but curiosity. Light bleeds from the upper floors, I must investigate. I climb the stairs with creaking and squeaking progression before I am in the familiar surroundings of the observatory. Here I see the source of the light. There is a single candle, lit by a single spell by a single Alicorn. I gingerly count the steps it takes for me to see her face. I then walk on hoof tips to where she sits. I look over her shoulder at the book she has open. It is upside down and a… dictionary. On closer inspection I see the spittle leaking from her jaw, this was no Twilight I had ever seen before. I prod and poke at her face to see if she still has some marbles left. I am sadly mistaken. Her vision is fixed on the single book, lit by the single candle by the single spell the Alicorn sustains. Out of nothing more than pity I try to wipe the spittle from where it’s smeared on her chin. I clap my hooves together a few times but still no result. I push her head with a bit more force and it droops to a slant.

“The light is so beaut…” she stutters.

“Twi? Are you okay?” I needlessly ask.

She lets her head drop even further. I put a hoof underneath to support but she bites it. I draw my hoof away in pain. I don’t know what has happened to her.

“There was a search for you… How comes you weren’t found?”

“Obvious” is all she says.

“Have you been here all along?” I question.

“Even…”

“Twilight you’re acting really strange”

“When…”

“Even when? What are you trying to say?”

“The sk…” she says, another unfinished sentence.

“Twilight I…”

“Burned…”

“Were you here when Celestia attacked this place?”

“Burned and burned” she confirmed.

I put a hoof in the struts of the stool and spin it around. I see her face clearly now. Half her body is burnt.

“It’s beautiful”

“Twi I need to get you out of…”

The candle goes out.

“I’ve always been here Rainbow Dash” she whispers in the dark.

“Tw…?”

“You were too selfish to notice me. You save your precious Applejack but where is she now? Is she suckling on an apple on the floor of some office? Well Dashie what about me? I needed your help, but I didn’t escape…”

“I’m so sorry, sorry. How is it dark in here?”

“I made it dark. The light was so…”

“I didn’t know you were here, that’s why I didn’t…”

“Depressing”

“Twi, I’m sor…”

“I want to sleep now”

“Why? Twi why are doing this?”

“Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock”

“Twi, come on please. I can help you now”

“Tick… Tock… Goes the clock”

The light bursts back into the room.

“Twi you didn’t survive did you?”

“Oh what gave me away this time? I hid the glow I didn’t laugh inappropriately…” Celestia giggles in failure.

“I knew it was too good to be true”

“Not many things can withstand me little Dashie…”

“You’re voice could bore to death”

“Oh I might have to laugh inappropriately. You are starting another revolution” she explodes in laughter.

“Nothing new Princess, I’m finishing what Spitfire started”

“Do you want to see what happened to that mare you love so much?”

I can’t believe my eyes. The husk of Twilight falls still. Celestia walks out of her body, as though she was using the skin as a costume. She closes in on me and drags my head onto the floorboards with her magic.

“No” I defy.

“You will see what I tell you to see!” She screams.

Her horn glows intensely, the intensity grows as does her insidious grin.

“I don’t want to see it!”

“This is what will become of you if you choose to continue your treachery…”

‘Those who have been before’

There is a mare; she looks like the one who died. I try to speak to her, but this is just a playback, a recording…

I set a course for the gilded tower. I fly a breath from the ocean surface as it crashes up against the cliffs of Mt Cantus. I cast a signal to my followers and we rapidly ascend the walls of Canterlot. I am the first to overcome the barrier and as such I fly into the raging city ahead. A griffin assaults me from the ground. I avoid its razor sharp talons before diving for its neck. The beast tries to shake me but I am not a pushover. It barrel rolls under a sky bridge as I land a punch on the nostril of its beak. I almost lose my footing on the buzzard as we head for the unforgiving ground below. I detach a small phial of liquid I have hooked about my waist and let myself disconnect from the griffin. As the wing takes a stroke below I deploy the phial and watch as the griffin burns to a cinder. A segment of my army takes a detour down to me and leads me back to the herd. There is no chance to talk; most would meet the end in the next few minutes. My most loyal Pegasi are adorned with plates of brass and chrome. Some wield spears crafted from the severed heads of out victories in the skies. Then – A counterattack.

A battalion of griffin soldiers breach our little known island of peace. Their eyes are glazed, their faces blank. They do not know what they do. They want me to call her the God Queen. I will only ever refer to her as the puppeteer. She did not pay these souls a bit to carry out her bidding. She will not surrender to us till we put a sizeable dent in her puppet collection.

“Cut the strings” I order my loyal Pegasi.

I unsheathe a custom cast sword and hold it, I admire it. I take a small stripped phoenix chick and force it into the nook of the sword. I squeeze hard the chick before it sets ablaze my sword. I fly ahead once more, I tuck between a couple of the mindless birds and take a head from one before breaking the heart of the other. My igneous sword needs nearly no effort to send more and more a griffin on the long boat ride across Acheron. When my daydreaming ceases I am thrown by a set of talons set around my shoulders. I punch and kick to free myself but to no avail. My sword has dampened out, the flames never do last an entire skirmish. I say a prayer before looking down to where my fate now must certainly lie. I take a look and my killer, but already my forces prevail and his throat now plays host to a javelin. It hasn’t quite killed the beast but one thing I notice from my exposure in the fields of battle is that once injure the Queen drops the strings.

“Once they are injured they are no longer your enemy” I shout.

I am too late, though stubbornness in conviction was a good attitude to have; killing innocents was a one way ticket to hell. When I dare look back the creature is torn into pieces. Each and every lump off its dismembered self would come to rest back on the sterile streets below. More of my soldiers select victims from the flocks and let their blades quench their thirsts. Many a skull is caved in and many a wing is perversely eviscerated. I can now but watch the fruits of my labour. I trained each one of them, made them a killing machine. Why should I deny them the blood they lust for? I too wear armour; it shines in the midday sun. I start forward again towards the gilded tower, towards the Queen. I summon unsurpassable feats of speed and concord up to the lonely balcony we all dreamed of so fondly back in Cloudsdale. I purposefully clip the rail on my way into the tower. As I enter the shadowed room my armour ignites. It burns with pigments of green and red, shades of purples and oranges and subtle tinges of cyan. It was not what I expected.

I wanted some kind of gimmick, a niche; something… I wanted something to distract me, for the deed I intent to do is one out of my nightmares. The thought of slaying the puppeteer has plagued me for weeks. It has been a long time coming and I could not shirk this responsibility. To kill a God, it escapes me how I go about such an undertaking. In the room there is no evil villain, no cruel dictator. No. A Princess cowers at the foot of a four-poster bed. She weeps for her ponies, but what was the reason for her hypocrisy? I approach her; I hear her muttering certain obscenities under her breath. I shuffle forward slightly till I am but a whisker from where she wallows. I tap her on the shoulder. She turns slowly to me, her face is pale, her coat is white but still her face looks pale. She doesn’t move at all, she is stuck in a deep woe. I let my flames die out and bow to her.

“My Princess… why have you forsaken us?”

“In time you will understand” she whispers.

“I have had time to deal”

“Then you understand”

“I do not”

“Then I was right to do what I did”

“I still do not understand”

“Oh how would a brave Wonderbolt like you even begin to comprehend the struggles of life?”

“I have suffered; I was not born into stardom”

“You soon will be born again. From the ashes of this world shall be born a new era.  From the pits of Hell we ponies shall ascend to the shores of heaven”

“You’ve… You’ve lost it”

“I’m just wise to it”

“To what? Where have the other Alicorns gone?”

“You needn’t worry any longer. I shall purge thee for thy sins”

She lights her unicorn horn up with a cataclysmic arcing of energy. I am blind, for I cannot see.  I try to feel my way around the room, to hopefully find the window and the lonely balcony. My hopes are dashes by a piercing pain in my abdomen. The light turns down and I see again. She has impaled me with her horn…

“You… You’re kind will never win”

“We” I choke, speaking now a chore. “W… We will rise… Up”

I lower my hooves to grip onto the potent lance that has me. I lean down and look into the Princess’s eyes and see I am finished. She has not regret, not a remorseful tear in her dry eyes. She pushes her head closer and drives her magical catalyst through.

‘Follow me’

I am again myself. The outer-body experience has opened my mind to a less cut and dry reality than the one I thought existed. The Queen is there no longer, or was this more of her tricks? I find myself back in the tree house with the single Twilight pelt, the single unlit candle and the single book. I go to look out of the window, to see if any of my rebels have returned to me. I am not gifted with any such triumph this day. I am only rewarded with the blighting light which spells the plight of my ponies. I turn and set into another flight to escape more of the Queen’s tantrums. I reach the balcony just as the rays lick sensually at my pasterns. I regain my train of thought; Thunder Lane is still busied with the task I had set him. Or he is dead. The Schrodinger theology does not float long in the canals of my mind before I have flown to the gorge.

Assessing the situation is vital for a leader, we take a step back. We come up with solutions, we do not get involved. I however am low on staff, the search for the griffins was taking for too long to glean anything noteworthy. I find my second-in-command and fly down to meet him. He has been pummelled by the buffalo. I tentatively place a hoof on his shoulder; he winces and shrugs me off. From muzzle to mane he is tattooed with bruising. I try to speak to him but he is too weak to do much of anything. The task has been accomplished however, the buffalo are gone, the evil conveyor belt stopped. I look down into the pit. The bodies fester and decompose down below. A mare crash-lands behind me. She has urgent news to tell, I observe from the skittish manner by which she trots. She pants and gasps for air until she can finally string a sentence together.

“Great news!”

“You’ve found it?”

“We head for the nest at your word”

“Is it in Canterlot?”

“No, it’s much farther than that”

I place an understanding hoof on Thunder’s shoulder before leaving with the Pegasus mare. We fly for what seems like an eternity before we catch up with the spectres of Pegasi fading out into the distance. I go hell for leather and reach optimum speed in order to create my rainbow wake. I zip past the squabbles of my rebels until I reach the front. Confident with where we need to go and what we need to do I order them.

“Follow me”

No other words need be said. They honour a vow most sacred and travel with me to lands so tremendously far away. We fly over farmland rotted by the industrial age. We take in sights of grand bastardisations of ceremonies where young Pegasi are tortured for the enjoyment of the racist onlookers. We soar over wide canyon stretches where piles upon piles of fallen friends lay as examples to others. We pass over acres of green and perfect meadows which house nothing but the gentile folks. We take in the sight of another war occurring down below in a town which just as us has peace no more. Such sights that grace us and some, as a civilization, disgrace us. But what of the purest of souls still out on the mire? Won’t they have earned a happy afterlife from this cutthroat disease ridden hell?

My wings are all of an ache. I usher my followers to land at the summit of nearby mountain with me. I have to lead them to the nest, they have to follow me. I settle in a bank of snow and examine the fetid sprawl of twigs and spit ahead. There is space here for us to sleep safely but will any of us remain when the light returns? How foolish I am. The sky never dims, this is the eternal day. I allow my followers respite upon the mountain, we will need all the strength we can muster.

I thought I had stayed awake, a sentry for my latent rebel force. I find the Pegasi perched, ready to leave at my whim. I go to a hover over them to see they are paying attention. Once satisfied I give a subtle nod and unleash them onto the nest. I peek over behind me and smile with pride.

“Follow me to victory”

As I ascend between the numerous mountains of the range I hear s yowling come from the abyss below. I look behind and see the doubt bleed into my followers. They look about anxiously for some sort of excuse to leave, to call it a day. The nest is not far from us, this would give us our first step in dethroning the Queen. I fly up ahead until I can see the fledgling griffins straying from their safety and taking on these brutal skies. We reach the nest. I pry back a prong of knitted wood and hold it for my followers to enter. I hear the yowling again and try to squeeze through the gap after them. The noise is louder now, and so too is the gravity of the situation. I feel a coarse tongue glide up my spin before I am dragged from the nest and held by a beast. A Manticore, it made the griffin look normal in comparison.

The lion beast holds me firmly as it brings me to its salivating mouth. I tuck a hoof to my side and draw the revolver. I fire once at the head but by this time the creature its jaws closed around my arms. He does not bite down however. Why does the Queen wish for me to survive? I once again accept my fate, perhaps I will just be saved by another stroke of luck. The giant teeth slice into my sides and I let my ideas of survival die. I hear whooshing sound, like a creature fast of flight. A mighty paw meets my rump and forces me down onto the shallow ledge surrounding the nest. The paw navigates up my body until a claw is poised over my throat. I wrestle for freedom but the monster is far too strong. I will surely die. I find my gun under the mass of the paw and fire a round though the Goliath’s heel. I whimpers, coward, then strikes down at me with the other paw. I roll to the side and prepare for flight but the Manticore catches me by the tail and drags me back down. I point the gun back at its head. It lets out an endless roar which petrifies me. I cannot move at all, he has me. One of my followers is on hoof and they have found a chink it its armour. A stallion of the sky levitates behind the Manticore and fires a round into the back of its head. It cannot be, the beast is not slain. In the momentary lapse in its aggression I duck underneath the beast and find a crux to it. The tail is that of a scorpion, I give a signal to Thunder and he throws me a blade. I double back and head back towards the nest as the Manticore turns around. I hold the blade flush with the beast’s back and lop the end of the tail off. The monster turns again, he must be getting dizzy. I pre-empt what he will do and lunge forward with the sting, catching him at the throat and turning him to stone.

A sea tongues of fire billow from the nest. I enter through the pried prongs and search for my saboteurs. I fly through the dangerous home of my foes, my eyes peeled for what was left of my rebel army. I slow my progression and touch down in a canter as I see a fire erupt mere metres away. The nest burns wonderfully, however, it is a slow process. I beckon for the attention of the flyers and describe my newest plan.

“None of these things can fly yet. We must push this nest off the cliff”

No answer do I receive. Much of my party travel back outside to assist Thunder with the pushing. It will take some time. I delve further into the depths of the nest; something had to be spitting the babies out. I crawl through miniscule arterial passageways to reach the lowest dwellings within the nest. I am appalled by what a find. A huge griffin hen heaves out countless eggs onto a bedding of straw. She has a huge distended womb; her face makes me think she wants to die. Thunder catches up with me and passes me a vessel of some kind. It contains deep red liquor. I take it and approach the sprogging lump of fat that scrams from giving birth without rest. I reach its distorted feet and climb up its feathers to reach the head. The beak is gawping at me, the hen gasps for more air. I let the vessel hang off of my hoof. I drop it and immediately retreat from the griffin. It wheezes and screams and shakes as the mystery liquid cooks it from the inside. I put my hoof out, Thunder grasps it gently and looks into my eyes.

“You knew what we had to do”

“And why we do it” he replies

“We cut off one supply, will it be enough?”

“It doesn’t have to be enough” he answers. “We only need to send a message”