Griffon of Canterlot
Chapter 104: The Naked Keeper
Sitting at a empty table the anthropomorphic fox Keeper Sentinel held a half empty glass of strawberry shake with one paw hand, the other holding the hand held tablet swiping the thumb down and across on the screen. “Hmmmm...” Keeper brow lowered staring at the image of the two multiverses seen from a point of his Grimormia Tower, he tip the glass to his open maw letting the pink smooth liquid flow into it.
Keeper finished off the shake licking his muzzle and put the glass down. Keeper for a unknown time worked on his hand held tablet, going through projects and results of recent events to do with Shal-Quz almost five days ago. Keeper looked at the image of the rabbit. “I am glad my gamble paid off, Grover really is something and impressive, even annoying at times I liked his pressence at the tower for those five years.”
“Sir, we need to finish cleaning, everypony part from you have left, we can not finish until you leave. Could you please leave the dining room?” He turn to the mare standing before him wearing cleaning gear on.
“Sure, sorry for keeping you waiting.” He got off the seat landing on his feet paws walking out of the room putting the hand held tablet away placing his hand paws behind his back against each other. “Through out the breakfast all I said was thank you and yes please and bye, I usually have a witty remark or saying something in a sly way to annoy the heck of the others.”
Keeper stopped walking as he looked at a transparent reflection of his red and creamy slender body form with short legs, semi long arms, bushy tail with paws, tail and ear tips with darker reddish brown fur colour. He rose the right paw hand to his eyes staring at the paw pads on the palms and fingers ending with claws at each of his three fingers and thumb, he flex and felt the rubbing of pads and moved the paw hand to his chest pressing it against the creamy fur.
The warmth of his slightly larger than normal red crystal the life force of him pulsing with magical energy through out his body, it was gave him life, what made him externally and internally a anthropomorphic fox with all the organs of one including the tiny hairs of his fur across his body. “We all had a set program in our minds, acquire pure magic from our Creator. Grogar when he made us to activate 10 years after his defeat he didn't take into account the years we would live, the time we would learn and grow.”
Keeper move his hand paw away from the chest moving it behind his back against the other paw hand as he causally walks down the hall. “Why am I thinking back to the day my Life Crystals became activate?” He lower his head slightly looking down over the muzzle at the red carpet between the black and white chequered tiled flooring, his feet paws dragging slightly with each step.
“Those early years I was focused on the mission, planning and figuring out when the child would even return, I managed to figure it out roughly with simple Mathematica equations. I could of easily took the magic and gave it to Grogar, that was before I was this fluffy furry red good looking fox with Arbiter through those early centuries.” He rose his head up turning to a hall mirror looking directly at his reflection coming to a dead stop.
“After that day I wasn't the same, I became something more... something else, I could feel, smell, taste, eat and dream.” He half chuckled. “Have the smell of wet fur, stick like no tomorrow to needing a well needed bath... that was the moment I saw the endless possibilities. The moment I saw what the child meant for us Created...”
Keeper took a few steps to the mirror pressing his right paw hand pads against the reflective surface. “Two became one, brain dead fox and a light bulb with intelligence like no other, two Life Crystals fused into one.” Keeper lower his head and press the forehead against the surface closing his eyes. “Why am I thinking about my early days all the sudden?” He lightly bash his head against mirror groaning.
“That child...” Image of Gale happily making pancakes with Celestia came to his thoughts. “I highly under estimated how effective he would be, we were created from his imagination and memories afterall.” The moment he recalled the memoires, consciousness and soul taken out from a metal floating orb with the Life Crystal fuse into a fox by Arbiter using rune magic he acquired from Leela via contact through a mirror.
He opened his blue eyes letting the colour shift green for a second before returning to blue. “I became a fusion of two created... I am the only Created that has two Life Crystals fused into one pulsing through my veins..”
Hoof steps directly behind came to a stop, Keeper raise his head to look into the reflection to see the Captain of the Guard Shining Armor standing slightly over him in armour. “So the bug queen is right about you, your a thinker and you already started to figure this foxy fox out.” He stood with paw hands against his furry sides. “Am I correct or am I correct?” He raise one hand paw up with a gesture for Shining to speak.
“Your sly snarky remarks not going to wash over me Keeper Sentinel; and yes you are correct.” Shining said calmly looking at the fox in the eyes through the mirror reflection. “Before you stepped a paw off your tower I been going through the minuet details during the convention at Manehatten. Learning little about you from Leela and Rocky, including those from the other Equis.”
Keeper kept his sly smile getting that spark in his eye and the bushy tail swishing back and forwards a little. “You have sparked my interest Cap, just like Grover there something there that I haven't seen or felt in a long time, maybe it the cub Prince Gale having a effect on me from our dreamy encounter.”
Shining Armor kept a calm static form as Keeper spoke to him with interest. “Your lack of interaction at breakfast also told me that Prince Gale approached you last night or within the dreamscape.” Shining recall the screaming in the morning. “I will go with the latter which I believe you screamed yourself awake.”
“Correct, he had a impact on me that I never thought possible, never even saw it coming and it wasn't he who scared me awake, it was myself.” He move the hand paw over his head scratching the fur slightly with the claws. “A moment of clarity that I haven't felt in millennia and left me thinking about my personal past in ways I never thought possible.”
Keeper pull out his hand held device tapping away on the screen. “Your sister's counter part also had that spark, I was a little insulting to her and I don't care about how rude I am to others.” Keeper turn the device around showing Shining Armor in the reflection of Twilight activating a mirror. “As it stands at this time she is the only one close enough to finding Grimormia, that I would put a stop to in a instant like when Grover almost deactivated the phase cloak of Prototower.”
Keeper turn the device back around tapping away at it again with his thumbs. “And then there is you, not anywhere close to their level of intelligence.” Shining Armor listened to Keeper about to speak when Keeper raise a hand paw up with a finger raised. “But you have a different type of intelligence that showed the ability to piece together things from the most minuet details as you said.”
Keeper finally turn around looking up at Shining Armor. “You were able to figure me out and approach, your a thinker that really got my tail wagging with excitement.” Keeper put the hand held device away again. “Now let's see you show me what you got after everything I just said Cap.” He slyly smiled with arms crossed.
“You said Grimormia, no tower on the end, you did more than create a tower didn't you? You created a world in that micro-universe didn't you?”
Keeper jumped grabbing Shining with both hand paws on the sides of his face and kissed the muzzled square on it, he land on his feet paws with Shining spitting and wiping his muzzle with his forehoof. “Spot on Cap! You amazing unicorn! I love it! You really got me fired up! I can't believe how long it been since I felt like-” He dance around on the spot speaking with excitement till he saw the captain still reacting to the kiss. “Cap, are you done?.”
Shining finished rubbing his muzzle and glared at the fox. “You kissed me on my muzzle you stupid fox! And all you can say is 'are you done!?' Never I repeat NEVER do that again! Got me?!”
“Got it Cap.” He saluted.
Shining Armor rubbed his forehead under the horn with a hoof letting out a sigh. “Now can you answer one question?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“I saw you when you first arrived with clothing on, also overheard Tigress and her husband Ratchet talk about your lack of decency not wearing anything at the table. Even it doesn't bother anyone here in the castle why did you choose to not wear your clothes?” Shining honestly curious about Keeper's change in attire. “Before you answer I gather before this moment you always wear trousers and a top, correct?”
Keeper waved for the Captain to follow as he causally walks away from the mirror, the hoof steps of Shining close to his right. “I woke up screaming as you assume already, I always slept naked in turns of no night gear like some do when wearing clothes. When the guards came in I was expecting them to tell me to cover up or something along that line than asking if I am okay and act in confusion to my statement of the lack of clothing.”
They walked up stairs to another level of the castle as he spoke. “So after they left I stared at myself holding up my clothes in front of me, that when I thought if they not bothered with me just in my natural fur, than why should I be in front of all of you. Prince Gale wasn't bothered at the sight even the wolf Alpha giving that one eye hard stare didn't seem to be phased by it, I knew Tigress and Ratchet would be.”
“Yet you weren't bothered by what they said, you are bothered though in some degree cause it something you done for well beyond my life time.”
“Cap your correct, I feel as if I need to quickly use my tail to cover up my lower areas and quickly put on my clothes, Leela and Rocks wasn't even phased and that eased my tension a bit more alongside the fact the three princesses just acted if seeing a naked fox is normal. Soon as Princess Luna mentioned the kitsunes and that pretty much erased by fears of covering myself up, if kitsunes can go without clothes, so can I since we are both vulpines after-all.”
Shining Armor came out with a witty jokey remark to what Keeper just said. “And it only took you over 4000 years to figure that out.”
Keeper came to a dead stop tapping his right foot paw on the red carpet with hand paws on his sides. “I am a complete idiot, how could I not even see that?” Shining Armor felt he needed to apologise from the tone of voice Keeper gave but the fox's laughter caught him by surprise.
Shining watched Keeper continue to laugh with a hand paw over his head now turning around to him. “I haha got the haha joke you cheeky unicorn hahaha.” He put the other hand paw over his chest bending down continue to laught. “Haha I haven't haha laughed haha this much in hahaha ages.”
Shining Armor couldn't help but smile as this anthropomorphic red fox laugh now on his knees with a hand paw on the carpet with the other punching it. “I am glad you saw the joke in it, I wasn't aiming to call you a idiot.”
Keeper slowly push himself to sit on his knees looking up at Shining waving one hand while using the other to wipe the tears away. “It hehe okay Cap, you really got me there and happy that I was called that even unintentionally by you. It kinda feels nice that I got out played for a change.” He push back to sit on his backside with his legs crossed and hand paws on his legs. “I am really impressed.”
Shining kept the smile but gave the fox a slight shake of the head. “I got a feeling your playing favouritism to me over other Shining Armors you seen from your tower because I am the home universe variant.”
“Fair point, but not exactly, you just got that spark about you that I like, no one got me to laugh that hard and that saying a lot from even me.” Keeper place his paw hand on his chest. “Now I gather your curious about on my beginnings.”
Shining Armor walk up to a window looking out at it to see Gale flying around with Spitfire, Gilda watching with Alpha and Sunbeam. “I am a bit curious, specially the brain dead fox part you mentioned.”
Keeper got up on his feet paws walking up to the window seeing Gale being given some flight lessons from Spitfire. “What I am about to say will be the first time I ever told anyone this, only two other knows this because he the reason for who I am, but won't think much of it.”
“Arbiter and Leela correct?”
“Yes, the split-jaw and our beloved book keeper.” Keeper answered. “When we all were activated and came to life, only one of us didn't wake and just slept out of Creator Gale's Created.” Keeper pull out his hand held tablet to bring up the picture showing it to Shining, it was a red fox with a green shirt, blue trousers and a blue tie on sleeping. “Nicholas was his name, sadly when his clay golem form was made with the life crystal the body form only was carried over from Prince Gale's mind, he was a living golem with no memories, no motor skills, nothing. Just a living furry fox form.”
Shining could hear the hint of sadness in his voice when speaking about it. “How many in total end up like him?”
“Six, one of Prince Gale's Created and five of Grogar's Created.” Keeper answered. “Before I became Keeper Nicholas Sentinel I was this.” Keeper showed a image of a floating orb like object with one big blue eye. “Guilty Spark who I original was, with Arbiter in my early days we stuck together and worked together even he won't or refuse to acknowledge it.” He gave a soft chuckle.
He put his arms up on the window side pressing his lower muzzle against the resting arms continue to watch Gale.
“We kept the body safe, hoping one day that the fox would wake up.”
“It never happened did it?”
“Nope it didn't we waited for close to 300 years and during that time we came up with a idea how to transfer my consciousness, soul and memories into the fox using a very rare form of ore we had very little of to create a magical artefact, rune spells with the aid of technology to merge my life crystal with his. The machine was destroyed in the process as well the artefact and I was created, a very clever sly fox and put on new attire and became who I am today, I built Prototower in the Frozen North then moved on to creating a micro-universe which I build Grimormia and the tower.”
Shining Armor was astonished by what he was just told by Keeper. “That is incredible and that would mean your Life Crystal is one of a kind as you are, that how you continue to grow, expand beyond any scope that anyone could even dream of.”
Keeper haven't moved from his resting position staring out the window. “Thanks to the fusion of artificial intelligence on one side and the biological anthropomorphic fox I became, the sense of feeling the ground on my paw pads, the sense of smell; hearing the world with these amazing fox ears, seeing through these eyes, eating and drinking as well the power to sleep, with dreams of immense imagination to come up with so many ideas that I would never been able to as that light bulb.”
The sense of passion and pride came through in Keeper's words, Shining couldn't help feel that too, they continue to watch Gale train with Spitfire. “That some origin you got there... Nick”
Keeper grinned. “I see what ya doing there... Sparkle and yeah that my lame ass origin story.”
Shining Armor smiled back and pressed on with the floating machine. “What happened to that light blub?”
“It turn to clay and I have it sitting on a shelf in my bedroom.”
“A reminder of your origins?”
“Yep and a reminder that even you are over 4000 years old, there more to learn and grow even with all the smarts.” Keeper chuckled as he continue to watch Gale fly around a few trees the orange brown leaves being pulled off from the flyby.
Shining Armor step back from the window. “I got my rounds to do, take care Nick.” Keeper pull his right hand free from under the muzzle waving it in response. “Oh one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“I recall being told where you live in the tower there no real concept of time.” This made Keeper slowly raise his head up and turn his body around slowly to face the captain walking away. “Which means your just as old as Anubis or even older, even so no matter how long lived you, the Princesses or anyone else that fall into that category. There still room to learn from us youngsters or you will get stuck in the past.”
Shining Armor disappeared around the corner and out of view, Keeper fell back against the wall with arms resting on the window seal. “Damn, Cap really got me there and saw through my half truths again.” Keeper reach into his bag pulling out a silver coin looking at it held in his padded finger and thumb. “Look like this old fox still got a thing or two to learn.”
Keeper shift it to his thumb and flick it into the air, he watched it sail upwards and come down to hit the carpet bouncing a few times till it started to roll. The coin rolled back to his feet paws coming to a stop without falling on either side.
“Neither heads or tails and came right back to me.” He reach down picking it up with a smile holding it up to his eyes once again.
“Well now that was unexpected, what are the chances of that?”