Trotting the Streets of Danger [Closed] (Dated)

Megabyte turned towards the stairs once the crashes rang up from down below, glancing at the window that would function as her escape route if she pleased. "I'll probably be killed on sight either way for what they think is running away from their order to go to the headquarters." She replied calmly, shifting on her hooves a bit. "A bare you no ill will, and wish you safety. Go and flee, I won't be able to escape them like you can, they know me by name."

With a nod, she opened up her saddlebag with her wing. After a few moments, she tossed a small object that seemed to simply be a piece of metal with a tube of hardwood squeezed tightly over it to Strike's hooves. "Take that and twist the two pieces to make a sound that hurts a griffon's ears if you find yourself in trouble." She simply instructed, giving Strike one last glance before running back down the stairs.

In all his years, he'd never met as mad a pony as her. He caught the tube, and listened on how to use it. With a final look back, he began running along the rooftop. She's either the bravest pony in existence, or the dumbest. And by the looks of this device, I'd have to go with the first one. I never did learn her name... After reaching the fire escape at the end of the rooftop, he thought about the other mare he had left behind, right next to the rampaging griffon. Oh I'm sure she's alright. She tried to seduce him and the griffon for petes sake. His concerns turned mostly to himself now. Where was he going to go? What could he do now that a griffon had his description? The answer was he had no clue, and every griffon in the city could be looking for him by tomorrow. He had to think of a place to stay otherwise patrols might catch him unawares. And the last thing he wanted was to waste the valuable device on a small group of griffons.

Iris does a simple detection spell to figure out that the sword is protected. She turns the diamond on the hilt of the sword and feels the magnetation release. She grabs the sword and rushes out leaving Zwei stuck to the wall "So long big guy."

Megabyte hurried back down the stairs after letting Strike escape on his own. She looked towards Zweihander with panicked eyes to make sure he was still restrained, freezing in place once she noticed Iris in the dark next to him. She opened her mouth to call out to the black pony, halting all speech as Iris stole the sword and left them alone in a flash. Without her rational mind, the gray pegasus backed herself behind the counter to hide from the enraged griffon rather than doing the obvious and running for the wide open door.

"So long, big guy".

As soon as the sword left Zweihander's back, one could hear a pin drop in the smithy. Zweihander remained absolutely still, not even audibly breathing for fifty seconds. His pupils were mere pinpricks. He did not notice Megabyte hide behind the corner. He did not notice the fly land on his exposed eyeball. He did not even notice Steel running on the rooftops, in his eyesight. It took a moment for Zwei's psyche to pick up on the fact that a third of it was gone.

The rational third.

The rational part of him, the sword had begged the unicorn for aid. And she killed him. He was no longer whole.

But he knew where he was. He knew with his remaining pieces of soul where that delicious thief had gone. He could smell her, and he could feel her emotions through the sword. She seemed to be triumphant, glad she conned a low-life Griffon of his valuables. She felt greed, at how much the sword would fetch her in the Undermarket. But she did not feel fear.
He would fix that.

Megabyte simply cowered behind the counter with her forelegs over her head in a protective position, waiting for Zweilander to either catch her, or simply run out of the shop. All of a sudden the loud sounds of struggle stopped, everything was quiet as a graveyard. The silence was both comforting and unnerving to the mare; the one who was causing the noise could be gone, but it could also be a ploy to draw her out. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and attempt to get her rational mind back, slowly scooting across the floor and peeking around the corner of the counter, staying as low as she could to avoid being seen.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw next, the griffon was still there, but it almost seemed he had fainted with his eyes open. Despite the lack of any kind of movement from Zweilander, she stayed where she was rather than making a break for the door; just staying quiet and watching the griffon from her location.

IsmellathiefIsmellathiefSTOP

Zweihander's body tensed up. His sense of touch told him his sanity was gone, and he was restrained. He needed to fix that.
With a barely visible movement, the griffon pulled the horseshoes, his claws, and a good part of the wall out. Released from his imprisonment, the griffon collapsed on all fours. Crouching like a feline, he began to sniff the air. Several familiar scents entered his nasal cavity. Three Unicorns, several Pegasi, one Griffon, and... a Diamond Dog's scent was hanging in the air, deliciously unique. The Griffon paused. Three of the scents were recent. Both Unicorns were absent. He could feel one, moving quickly away. The thief. The other, he could smell, was farther away, but moving slower. With multiple clicks of his beak, the Griffon could smell the fear on his musk. But in the very same room... was another. The Pegasus had stayed. He did not know why, but as he felt his stomach clench, he realized he had not eaten in a long time.

Sniffing the air, he discovered that the Pegasus was very close. Slowly moving around, clicking his beak all the while, the griffon that was known once as Zweihander crept closer, and closer to the shops counter. Reaching with a claw at the top, he grabbed the counter, and slowly lifted himself on top.....

Iris Hawkeye quickly moves to the Undermarket remaining unseen with her newest selling item. (will be continued in the post: 'Sword for Sale')

Megabyte watched the griffon break free from his restraints with fearful eyes, able to feel her heart rate increasing rapidly as the moment looked more and more dire for her. Please don't find me...please leave the shop... She repeated in her head, slowly creeping backwards as silently as she could to retract her head from view, greatly underestimating the power of a griffon's nose.

An ear twitched as a light sound came up from above her, a sound she was roughly familiar with: the sound of claws on wood. With mild hesitation, the inventor looked up above her towards the counter top. The sight that welcomed her nearly made her heart stop; a hungry griffon.

Without a moment's thought, Megabyte shuffled to her hooves and clumsily ran away from the counter and towards the stairs up to the second floor. She wouldn't risk running past the hungry predator to get to the front door...she had wings for a reason.

As the griffon slowly loomed over the fearful pony, he clumsily dragged his claw along the wood. The mare looked up, and with fear in her eyes, ran with the speed only Pegasi can accomplish. Scrabbling with his claws on the smooth surface of the counter, he launched himself in the air, making a beeline for the mare. With a claw outstretched, he made a swipe for Megabyte's back. If he hits, Megabyte will have some nice new scars to show off to all the rebel colts.

Megabyte kept her attention split between the hallway ahead of her, and the raging griffon behind her, looking back every so often to make sure she kept a safe distance from the larger creature. She only had her head turned back ahead for a moment before she was suddenly overcome by a pain worse than anything she had felt before as the griffon's sharp claws sank into her soft flesh, leaving large bleeding gashes along her right side cutie mark that quickly stained her flank red.

With a heavy wince, she jumped as accurately as she could manage, hitting the figurative bull's eye and soaring through the window. Once she was in the open air, her wings instinctively opened from their resting places on her sides and allowed her to glide to safety on the roof of the shop. She kept her wings ready while taking the chance to catch her breath, there was no way something the griffon's size could fit through that window.

Steel was making his way toward freedom. He had just climbed down the fire escape, when he saw the Pegasus fly outward. Yes! She made it! he thought, but his face dropped, as he saw she was bleeding. She managed her way onto the roof. There was no way onto the roof, besides a ladder, or flying up. Sadly the griffon could do one of those things. Steel thought if there was anything he could do to help her. He quickly guessed that unless she flew down from there (Which wouldn't be wise in her current circumstance), he couldn't do a damned thing. He thought that maybe she could follow him to the East Residential District, and he might lose their scents there. But with the new wound, the trail would be fresh.

Then Cam quickly thought back to the device she had given him. He looked around, to see if any patrols were looking. It seemed downtown was void of any patrols, which he'd need to move across town. He pulled out the thing she had given him. He levitated it up to her, landing it right next to her on the roof. Hopefully that'll buy us both some time, if she can use it effectively.

He began trotting towards the East Residential District, and turned his head over his shoulder and shouted "Sorry I had to return it so soon!" and with that he was on his way.

Megabyte looked down at her hooves as a familiar object came back to her. She was forced to sit down on her haunches as the wound to her flank finally med her right hind leg give out. Upon hearing a voice calling out to her, she looked down over the side of the roof to spot Strike escaping, watching him run off and taking good care to watch where he was going.

With a heavy nervous sigh, she picked up the device that had been returned to her and held it closely in her hooves, waiting for the griffon hunting her to make another appearance.

Stopping his momentum just in time, the griffon paused. The prey had been clever, but was wounded. It would not be long now. Taking a sniff of the air, he clicked his beak in irritation. The scent was wrong, how could the mare be right there with him? Unless she was above.

Staying silent, the griffon waited for a sound to confirm his suspicions. Tensing ever so slightly, he prepared his muscles for a large exertion.

The faint familiar sound of a clicking beak managed to make its way to Megabyte's ears, alerting the mare that her predator was right nearby. The sound came from below her, or at least seemed to; the item in her hooves quickly showing her that she had an advantage in this fight as long as she played the card right.

She took in a large breath before letting out a sigh to calm herself as much as she could. She eventually started to scoot herself towards the edge of the roof, looking down at the small device in her hoof and giving it a nod. With a quick twist of her hooves, the device quickly began emitting a piercing noise designed specifically to hurt a griffon's ears. Without wasting a single moment of the device's valuable limited time of functionality, she tossed it down towards Zweihander before taking off towards the East Residential District after Strike.

Alas soon as he heard the noise, the painful, pervading noise all was a blur. Startled, he launched at the wrong spot, exploding the roof outwards, attempting to escape the sudden pain. As he flew, he noticed the Pegasus heading East, where the unicorn male was heading as well. After flying far enough, he discovered he was in...a place of metal, scrap, and abondoned buildings. Looking for a safe haven, he landed in the remains if a chimney. After preening himself, he curled into a ball, and rested. The hunt would continue tomorrow. Hearing his stomach growl, and still feeling the sword, Zweihander had a restless sleep, filled with half-memories, and dreams of blood.
(Zweihander is now in the Industrial District)