Rats In The Belfry

by Beegirl Scribbler

Chapter Seven

The intruder's eyes narrowed as he peered down into the void.

The spell had worked perfectly, of course. Sombra had always been a predictable whelp, not that the intruder had ever had occasion to test himself against the shadow-unicorn directly.

Stairs, he thought. Always stairs with that one.

He worked a spell—as quiet as possible, to avoid alerting the Crystal Princess and her mortal husband—and slowly drifted down into the darkness. After a minute or so, his cloven hooves touched stone.

This wasn't the pleasant gray stone of his home, of course. Still, he wasn't much for flight and was glad to be back on the ground.

He eyed the door before him with contempt. The technique toward its opening was obvious. Sombra was so very, very predictable.

He raised his hooves.

Grogar pounded the bar repeatedly, creating two solid indentations in the cool steel. “Come, now!” he barked. “Where are my donuts? So slow! Wretched establishment!”

The yellow pony sitting on the stool beside Grogar eyed him nervously. “Um, maybe you should be more patient. You made a very large order.”

Grogar glared at her. He couldn't recall her name, but he was getting very tired of her constant presence at Luna's side.

He tilted his head. Perhaps something must be done to amend this.

It occurred to him that he was staring at the pegasus pony—Cuddlefish? No, that isn't it—and he quickly looked back to the counter. The donuts were still absent, so he pounded the steel again, denting it further. “Serve your patron!” he shouted. There was no response from the kitchen door.

He turned to the alicorn sitting to his left. “Princess Luna, your standards are contemptible. It has been eight minutes. Donuts do not take so long in a proper restaurant. That unicorn—”

“His name is Joe,” Luna said, sighing. She rested her head on the counter. “Surely not even you can forget a name so easily.”

“It is not my concern to look after the names of fools. If they cannot remember their own identities, why should I offer assistance?”

“It is not a matter of memory on their part, it is a matter of politeness.” Luna straightened, scowling at Grogar. “You never did understand the value in treating those who served you well. I expect that accounts for Bray's current absence.”

Grogar tried not to show any reaction. Luna went on. “Now, please cease making a mess of this place. You are damaging the establishment, and my little ponies do not tolerate that.”

Grogar raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Ah, I forgot. The princesses of Equestria cannot control their own subjects. So easy for the mind to wander.” He jabbed the pony to his right—Gutterfly? Fetters Tied?—with a cloven hoof, eliciting a startled squeak. “You are too close to your subjects. This is exactly what led to that disaster before.”

Luna jerked, knocking over her hot chocolate. Eyes darting about, the alicorn quickly righted the mug. She got off her stool to clean up the mess.

Grogar's smirk widened, knowing that his little innuendo had once again given Luna cause to wonder. How much did he know?

Of course she wanted to avoid his learning of the existence of Nightmare Moon. And had Grogar not had eyes up above, perhaps the secret could have been kept. But he had, and so the secret had been uncovered very quickly. He'd chosen to keep her guessing, though.

“That is to say...” he continued, “...the dual betrayals of Sombra and Auros. Had I not been imprisoned at the time, and your enemy, I could have warned you. You were a foal to trust the likes of them. They were foul, and they would not stop being thus.”

“Sombra was not pure,” Luna murmured, as she wiped up the spill with a rag she'd just materialized. “He could have been salvaged.”

“Foolishness.” Grogar got off his stool and advanced on Luna.

Behind him, the yellow pegasus—frankly, Grogar didn't care in the least what her name was—spoke up. “Um, I don't think it's—”

“Naivety,” Grogar snapped. He poked Luna in the chest. Luna recoiled, looking alarmed. “You would once more have the wretched mortal fight your battles? You ponies are all alike.”

“Hey!” he heard the pegasus whisper. He paid her no heed—who would give attention to such a pathetic cry?

“You overstep your bounds, Grogar,” Luna said, eyes narrowing.

“I am the ruler of Tartarus.” Grogar's eyes glowed bright. “I have no bounds, execrable brat. No boundaries, no bonds, no barriers.” He loomed over Luna as she flinched away. “Sombra had few of those as well,” he hissed. “You trusted him with too many secrets. He tried to redeem himself, but one can never step away from their own shadow. Eventually, jealousy will lead them back to the old road.”

Luna stared at him, and Grogar spotted a tiny bit of moisture at the corner of her eye. Grogar knew she'd gotten the secondary meaning.

“Hey!” he heard the pegasus repeat, her voice getting louder. “Hey! Listen up!”

To his shock, he felt somepony jab him. He turned.

The pale yellow pony was glaring at him. Her eyes were wide, and filled with a strange sort of fury.

Righteous fury.

Grogar's jaw dropped. The pony's eyes tore into him, utterly merciless twin spheres of wrath. He heard her speaking, but didn't understand a word.

Because he wasn't paying listening. The eyes had sparked an old memory.

Your anger's mighty, I am sure
But it's inconsequential
In order for those gates to stir
It will be essential
What you need cannot be stepped
In hate, or want, or tears
The anger must be pure, and kept
Free of selfish fears.

After the moment of recollection had passed, Grogar realized the yellow one had stopped talking. She was still staring at him.

Something about the stare was a bit unnerving.

Actually, now that he was paying attention, it was extremely unnerving. He stared back, eyes widening.

Fluttershy, that was her name.

Grogar realized he was leaning away, and tried to stop. But he couldn't bring himself to move any nearer to the eyes. Panicking, he cast a spell.

The ceiling cracked, causing a cloud of plaster dust to fall down onto Fluttershy and into her eyes. She let out a cry and started reflexively trying to rub the dust out with her hooves.

Luna's horn started to glow as she hurried past Grogar. Another rag materialized and became drenched with water, and Luna gave it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy began dabbing at her eyes, rinsing the plaster out.

Luna looked up at Grogar, glaring. “A low move, Lord Grogar.”

He only smiled. “See to her injuries if you must.” His bell rang, and the door to the kitchen flew open. A number of donut holes flew through, heedless of their startled chef, coming to hover before Grogar. “I am going to take a walk. I suggest you join me.”

He trotted through the ash-covered exit, munching a few of the still-warm balls of fried dough. There weren't as many as he'd hoped for, but they would be enough to sustain him for now.

His smile grew wide as he looked around.

At last, he thought, the slime's stupid little riddle makes some sense.

Luna ran up beside him as he set hoof upon the street. “That was poor conduct, Grogar,” she snapped. “I will remember it when it comes time for my review.”

“Oh, Luna...” Grogar chuckled. “Do you really believe you're going to pass this review? Given the way things proceed thus far?”

Luna stared at him, mouth hanging open. After a moment, Grogar winked. “A jest. No need to be so serious.”

Luna eyed him suspiciously. “You are in an oddly good mood.”

“Hm.” Grogar shrugged. “Your pony impressed me. She is worthy of the Element of Kindness.” Luna blinked, looking shocked. “What is it, Princess? Did you not expect me to acknowledge her merit?” He leaned closer. “I would watch yourself around her, all the same. Royalty should not associate so closely with their champions. And why does she not wear her Element now?”

Luna seemed a bit off-balance, though Grogar's following criticism appeared to sober her a bit. “Well...well, she does not presently need it. It is at her home, being guarded by...an ally.”

“Hm.” Grogar raised an eyebrow. His bell started to ring. “I suppose that...may be enough. Nonetheless, it should be better protected. I shall have my pet make a note.”

Luna frowned at him. Grogar gave her a benign smile.

“What are you casting now?” she asked.

Grogar looked at her, then up at the sky. He laughed. “Much has been learned. You have not done poorly for once, Princess.”

Luna again seemed confused. Grogar trotted ahead, humming quietly to himself.

For now, he would keep her guessing. That was the way to go about this. This was still a means of entertainment, for now.

Author's Note:

I like donuts. I also like writing from Grogar's perspective.

Comments

[vazak]

Interesting chapter I do kind of wish Grogar had been able to shrug off the stare but everything was pretty awesome, Grogar's perspective is extremely interesting, mysterious and cool to read.

[Beegirl Scribbler]

2110190 I was considering having him just shrug it off, but it was important to stay true to his character from g1. Tirek might have shrugged it off, but Grogar is a very angry creature, and I can't really envision him just "not giving a buck". That being said, Grogar can always cheat a little.

[vazak]

2110297
hmm he was an angry fellow good point! Thanks for the reply.

[Mr. Grimm]

Ah...I think I know where Bray is, at the moment.

And I must agree with Vazak, Grogar's point of view is very fun to read.