I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Hasbro does.
I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood. BBC does.
I do not own this character's background. The Idealist 11.7 does. I just borrow from him, with permission.
Neighpal.
Mountainside.
Early evening.
The cold wind blew relentless, making the harsh landscape even fiercer and dangerous than ever. The road to the other side was not without its perils, so only the most courageous - or ill-wised - travelers chose to take it.
An iron wagon, pulled by two massive griffons, ventured on such place without any sign of being affected by such conditions.
A third griffon stood on top of it, as the leader of the band. He had black feathers all over his body, with a crown of white plumes that showed his age, and a scar in his beak, that showed his experience.
His name was Galeford, and he had a reputation, as the best bounty hunter of the whole Land of the Griffons.
"Glargh, boys!", he cursed, keeping his 'employees' on their toes. "You are pulling like ponies today, I want to get to the Neighpalese authorities before the night is over, lazy-feathers!"
His voice, like a burning whip, did the job, and the griffons doubled their efforts to face both wind and rocky road.
"THIS IS NOT FAIR!", screamed a female voice from inside the wagon. "GALEFORD!"
'Looks like the special guest has awaken', he thought to himself.
Galeford made a quick air-spin - a surprising feat, given his age - and landed almost perched on the backdoor's window.
"Quiet, you!", he roared back, annoyed. "All of you!"
A couple of ponies and goats twitched in the dark, but one individual refused to quiet down.
"What's the idea?! I'm not a criminal, Galeford!"
"Oh, yes, you are. Yes, you are, Gilda", he replied to the smaller female, clawcuffed and wingcuffed, wondering if he should have also gagged her beak. "You are a criminal, according to this..."
He pulled out a parchment from his left wing's bushy feathers.
"Wanted: Gilda the Griffon, for crimes against the sovereign Kingdom of Equestria and its people ", he recited, in a mocking tone. "They even got quite a nice picture of you, see?"
"But you can't do this to me! I'm a griffon, just like you! You even know my father and...!"
"Family and business do not mix up, tyke."
"WHY, YOU!", Gilda moved fast, trying to grab the older griffon, but tripped on her on paws, as her clawcuffs were also chained to the floor.
"Temper, temper, Gilda, that's why you were never a good hunter in the first place. And not a good prey, either" he added. "What? You thought you could slip away from the fight, probably find some hole to hide back at the homeland? Wrong. Not with a reward this good", he pointed with a claw at the bottom of the parchment, quickly rolling it back and hiding it away. "Now, shut up!"
He climbed back over the wagon, but stopped, turned around and said something else. "Oh, and by the way... you hit like a pony."
Gilda had barely had a chance to taste her pint of hot mead when she caught the movement of the other travelers staying at the mountain tavern.
She looked at the entrance, where the gray goat who ran the place was getting some coins from a cloaked guy, while pointing on her direction.
She tried to run away, through the kitchen, but there were already cloaked thugs waiting for her, blocking her escape. Big, cloaked thugs.
She could see under the hood of the nearest one some dirty feathers and a pointy white beak.
Next, she leaped over some tables, spilling some drinks and knocking over plates. She was aiming for the window, her obvious intention was trying to smash through the tavern's window, and try her chances outside. There was a blizzard raging, but she had been one of the best at Flight Academy. She had more than a good chance f flying away...
... except her tail was caught by a very strong claw, pulling her back and straight to a wall. She was quick on her reflexes, bouncing back and punching her captor with all the impulse gained from kicking off the wall.
His captor's hood fell off, and that's when she saw the black scarred beak and the black and white feathered head of her opponent.
"You!", she said, but he was faster than she could expect and punched her on the stomach.
Gilda was out cold.
The wagon started to slow down.
"Boss! BOSS!", the massive griffon on the right called.
"WHAT?!", the older griffon yelled back.
"The road, Boss!"
"Look!"
Galeford heard his 'employees' and tried to make out what was going on ahead.
The wind slowed to a halt for the briefest moment, and Galeford saw the tons of rocks and snow that blocked their path.
Galeford spoke a quiet curse, followed by a less quiet "glargh!" sound.
"We can't cross that, Boss!", spoke the right griffon, called Gizzard.
"No, really? What gave you the hint, smart-beak!", Galeford berated, already on the ground and assessing the situation.
The storm would be not be subsiding for long, and they could all lose their lives with the freezing blizzard or by a sudden avalanche.
But they could not leave that many captured prisoner behind. Too much money on stake. Especially Gilda.
He mentally scolded himself for being too greedy and going up to Neighpal just to capture her, but that was quite a prospect of a reward, the price on her head meant there would be any number of hunters on her tail in no time. He could not miss the opportunity.
They needed to find a shelter. Luckily, Galeford knew enough of the region to know they were just a couple hours away from the best - well, the least dangerous place around these mountains.
"Change of plans, boys!", he yelled to his subordinates, quickly jumping on top of the wagon. "Let's go to the Tiger's Nest!"
Gilda sat back on her place, those around her suddenly deciding they did not want to look her in the eyes.
Gilda put her claws over her face, hiding a smile.
'Tiger's Nest', she thought to herself. 'Just as planned'.
When the wagon was already out of sight, the rocks started shaking a little.
The mass was enveloped by blue and pink auras, the tons of material were whisked into the air and dropped to the side.
A trio of ponies came from the side that had previously been blocked. The smallest one was donning nothing but a cape and a pointy purple hat, followed by a pink allicorn and a blue maned, white unicorn stallion, who was currently protecting the group from the increasingly cold winds.
"Part One was completed", said Captain Shining Armor, truly impressed.
"Now, it's all up to her, poor dear", Princess Cadance spoke, worried about the griffon.
Trixie fixed her new wizard hat, her eyes fixed on the road, worried about her friend.
"Let's go", Shining took the lead, followed by his companions.