//------------------------------// // Chapter 51 // Story: 64 vs. The Underground // by Jman9877 //------------------------------// Chapter 51 64 POV Apparently these Gryhpons didn't want anypony wandering around after dark. Aurum had showed me to the room Frenzy and I would be staying in, and the first thing I noticed was a Magical time release lock. Once the clock struck 10 PM, the doors would lock, and any attempt to exit would be met with a silent alarm. There were also bars on the windows, each would be easy to cut through, but the real challenge was being wide open if I got outside. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Volaticus. Make yourself at home." Aurum said as if he was being forced to, which he probably was. After that he slammed the door and left, leaving me and an unconscious Frenzy. The room itself wasn't bad. Two large beds, small kitchen area, and a large bathroom with a pretty nice bathtub. I set Frenzy down on one of the beds before looking at the lock on the door, trying to find the pattern the lock had on it. Unfortunately it was names, and I didn't know a few, meaning I couldn't find a pattern. Maybe when Frenzy woke up... bzzt...bzzt...bzzt... The noise was coming from my bag, and when I found it, I saw it was a yellow colored communication gem. I opened the channel. "Hello?" I said carefully, not knowing who it was. "64... I'm glad I can finally speak with you..." A garbled voice said from the other side, obvious using some kind of modifier for their voice. "We have a common interest... I know what your true purpose is here in Ethaxial... and I am willing to give it to you for a few favors..." "And what exactly is my true purpose? What could you possibly know?" I questioned, not believing the mysterious voice. I couldn't trace the magic due to this being an unknown receiver, and if I tried tampering with it it might alert the other side. "Information. Espionage. Did you think Equestria was the only nation to try this? Capras has sent their best Stealth Specialist to the meeting to act as 'bodyguard'. Mutarus has sent their best shapeshifter. You were almost a believable bodyguard, what with your combat experience. But I can see through your ploy... They all can." I didn't respond, waiting to see if I could hear any clues about who this voice belonged to. "I can see that you are eyeing the lock. Those are all historical figures. There is a history book in the bookshelf to your left. Good luck." After that, the channel went dead. I looked down at the gem, wondering what the fuck that was about. He said he knew i was in Ethaxial to spy... but then he gave me instructions on how to escape the room after dark. He wanted a favor done in exchange for the information... I could only imagine what that favor would be... I looked to the bookshelf the voice pointed out. The voice could see me in my room apparently... so it was probably watching me right now. I had to make sure to inform Frenzy of this. "History books huh?" I whispered, looking at the books. As I looked at the titles, I saw that only one book contained the word 'History', but it was a Musical book. I picked it up anyway, looking inside of it. It was the novelization of a musical, with lyrics still inside. The opening number was appropriately named, 'History'. "My name is King Clawmen 5th of Ethaxial! Where is Mad King Cypher 6th of Prance!?" "I am Mad King Cypher 6th of Prance! What is it?" There was a small squabbling between the two kings, but the names are what caught my eye. They were both on the lock, meaning I was finding a pattern. After that, there were no more recognizable names in the number. I read on, seeing the first scene of the first act. The musical was about the Dauphin of Prance, named Clawmen 7th of Prance. That was another name on the lock, but I continued reading on. Eventually Pone of Arc came to aid Prance in a war effort, and in doing so managed to conquer Prance and the surrounding nations. Yet another name... After a few twists and turns, it turns out a General and Archbishop were secretly trying to get rid of Pone when she started to become too powerful and succeeded. With Clawmen the 7th being good friends with her, he killed the General and tortured the Archbishop to death. He then took the throne as Mad King Clawmen 7th of Prance. I set down the Musical and looked back at the lock, seeing the names. I unlocked the lock by overloading the names of the cast members as they appeared, resulting in a small click, and deactivation of the lock. I rearmed the lock to make sure that no one would get suspicious, and went back to sit on the bed. Apparently reading that musical took some time, because I looked out of the window and saw that the sun was beginning to set. bzzt...bzzt...bzzt... I grabbed the gem again and opened the channel, looking around to see if I could find how the hell he could see me. "I see that my clue was not so difficult to decipher... but painstakingly long..." The voice chuckled. I began to consider if just crushing the gem would be a good decision. "Now... since you are willing to perform that task, you are probably more than willing to perform the next task to get your information..." "Depends. A few others want me to do things I know I'll regret." I chided, looking over a Frenzy. He was still out cold. "Nonsense. A righteous soul such as your would no doubt enjoy this task. I saw what you did earlier with your magic... I saw 3 trackers sent out. 1 to the Gryphoness, 2 to two Gryphon guards by the name of Marcos and Quinn. I can say that your assumptions in the situations were correct." I remained silent... "Get a good night's rest. You'll need it for the next few days." The channel disconnected, leaving me with unanswered questions once again. "Huh? Wha...?" Frenzy moaned, finally returning to the land of the living. "Where am I?" "In our Diplomatic Suite apparently. You passed out after seeing Blackbeak try to decapitate me." I answered, causing Frenzy to gasp and roll of the bed in an ungraceful heap. "64! Why in the name of Celestia would you do something like that! Now he might think that we're hostile to this country!" "Don't worry about it. If anything I made us look better." Frenzy looked unconvinced, so I explained further. "Look, Ethaxial is a country with pride in their military. Combat is a common pastime here, and to them Equestria is a weak country. By showing them that I can actually stick up for myself in a fight, it will make Equestria seem stronger. I might have to do something like that again later." "No! You will do nothing of the sort! Do exactly what I need of you, just protect me and find those secrets." Frenzy scolded, poking his hoof in my chest. "Look. Are you gonna go anywhere with this? Or are you just gonna keep trying to hold my back from something you know you can't?" Frenzy huffed and shook his head, looking around at the room we were in. He saw all of the security measures that I did, but when he looked at the metal bars, he squinted his eyes and walked forward towards it. When he finally reached them, he put a hoof up to them. He knocked them... that's all he did... They popped off like the cork off of a bottle of champagne, falling to the ground with a loud thunk. I just stared agape, wondering how the hell he did that. "Shoddy welding job... It's like they want us to break out of here..." Frenzy muttered, looking at a intercom system next to the beds. He went up to it and fiddled with the buttons for a bit, before speaking. "Hey, we got a problem in here. The metal bars on the windows just fell off. I think they may have rusted off with the cold." "Shit... we'll get someone up there right now. Sit tight." A Gryphon on the other side replied, before the line clicked off. Frenzy looked at me. "Any other escape routes in the room? That lock on the door doesn't seem that hard to crack." "Already got it... but Frenzy, I gotta tell you something." I whispered, pulling out the Yellow Gem and holding it out in my hand. "Someone's contacting me. I found this gem in my bag when I was unpacking, and whoever's on the other side is watching us..." Frenzy's eyes narrowed and took the gem in his hoof, eyeing it a bit. "One way channel, can't trace the source though. What did they want from us?" Frenzy asked quickly, once again reverting to his fast talking way. "Whoever it was, said they knew why I was in Volaticus. They know I'm here to do some snooping, but they said if I perform a few favors then they would just give me the info we need. He said the first task will be given to me tomorrow morning, so... he advised I got a good rest." I sighed, sitting down on one of the beds. A knocking at our door both caused our heads to snap upwards, looking at the door. "Hey, I'm here about the metal grate!" A voice said from the other side. I walked over to the door and opened it, seeing an older Gryphon with a tool belt on. "Yeah, that one." I said pointing to the open window. "These things should let in a chilly wind, why don't they?" "Oh, Fire gems encrusted in the walls keep this place warmed up. A reason Ethaxial needs gems is to magically fight off the natural environment so we can actually live here." The old Gryphon explained, flying out of the room through the opening to retrieve the fallen grate. Frenzy and I gave each other a chance, seeing the logic in that. Freezing temperatures year round would make living here difficult, with only a select group of plants available to eat. But the Gryphons were Carnivores, meaning that the plants grown would have to go to cattle for food. Gems would be the only way to live here. "Looks like your offer may be a bit more than persuasive Frenzy, it's damn near necessary for their survival." I commented, touching the stone wall and feeling a heat radiating from it. Fire gems... "That's... not as good as it sounds..." Frenzy groaned, pulling his robes off over his head and folding them up nicely. "Why not? They'll accept the terms, and if they want the gems they'll have to help the Changelings build actual towns and villages. Everypony would win in this case!" "Yes... but tensions will always be high between Ethaxial and Equestria... I came here because I wanted to help fix things forever, not a temporary bandage." Frenzy explained, sitting on his stomach on his bed. "Ethaxial is always going to think that Equestria is keeping the ladder underneath them steady, and at anytime, we can just let go and let them tumble down. No matter what they'll always think that..." I could see where he was coming from. If at anytime Ethaxial broke their part of the bargain, we could just cut them off completely and let their country die out. That kind of distrust wouldn't sit well, and eventually it would lead to some sort of backlash. "For now, a quick fix is what we need. Ethaxial was already planning to attack Equestria, so by doing this, we can stop their plans by keeping them on a leash. They won't attack in fear of losing an incredibly important resource that they need." I consoled, seeing the repair Gryphon fly back up with the metal bars in his talons. He set the bars back onto the opening and started welding, using a small blowtorch he had on his belt. Frenzy and I sat in silence as he worked, seeing the sparks fly as he did so. Frenzy scooted over to me a bit, whispering quietly. "Look, just see what the voice on the other end of that gem wants. If the jobs don't involve anything too bad, then do them. I'll make sure to stay safe in here while you do them" I nodded and cracked my neck, seeing the old Gryphon finish up his job. "All done here. Just call back if something else needs fixing." "Will do. Thanks." Frenzy said, getting up to make sure to lock the door behind the Gryphon as he left. He sighed and turned back towards me. "Did he say anything about the jobs though? Any minor details?" "Yeah, two targets. Two Gryphon soldiers who probably had a bit too much fun when they went into town. Not sure what I have to do with them though." I admitted, rubbing my nose a bit. I was beginning to grow tired from the events of the day, especially with reading that long play. "I'm gonna get to sleep. Don't stay up too late, we have a biiiiiiiiiiiiig day tomorrow." "Don't worry about me." I accepted the short response and sat onto my bed, pulling off my shirt and armor before pulling the blankets over me. Ethaxial was certainly going to be interesting... Ghost POV I woke up, and once again found Applebloom in my bed... again. When she came to my room for the first time 2 nights ago, she didn't tell me she planned on doing it for multiple nights. I slid out of bed as slowly and as quietly as I could, making sure not to wake her up. It was a Monday, meaning that she had to go to school at 8. I was already tutored at Canterlot, so it was decided I wouldn't need to attend. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to. I never got to go to school with other's my age, so I was really curious to see what it would be like. I had the saddlebags I brought to Ponyville, so I would use those as my schoolbags. I went down to the kitchen to see Applejack already up and about, which was normal on a weekday for her. "Howdy Ghost, ya sleep well?" She asked. I didn't think she knew about the sleeping arrangements Applebloom had made for herself, so I decided to stay quiet about it. "Yeah, I just wanted to come down here to make a lunch for today." I answered, making Applejack raise her eyebrow. "Ah thought ya didn't need food. An' why make a lunch when ya're gonna be here for lunch time?" I shrugged my shoulders, "I was planning on going to school with Applebloom. I've never gone to an actual school and I want to know what it's like." I said simply enough, but Applejack tilted her head in confusion. "Huh. Never thought Ah'd hear of tha one colt that actually wants ta go to school." Applejack joked, "But that don't explain why ya wanted a lunch." "I never said it was for me, it's for Applebloom." Apparently I had said something strange, because Applejack just started laughing like crazy and covering her face with her hat. "Uh... did I say something funny?" "Ya... ya didn't don't worry. Tell ya what. Ah'll let ya make her lunch. Ah've gotta go out and talk ta Rarity about a visit from her little sister. Clean up when yer done!" Applejack cheered, walking out of the kitchen. I sighed and let my disguise fall, letting me breath for a few moments. The disguise was draining... but for some reason it didn't feel as bad as it usually did. I started with making the dandelion sandwiches and filling up Applebloom's thermos with apple juice when I heard heavy hoofsteps coming down from the stairs. They stopped once they reached the bottom of the stairs, and I felt a pair of eyes burrowing at the back of my head. "Ghost. Ah'm going' ta ask you one question, and ya better tell me the truth. Why is mah sister upstairs, in your bed?" Big Mac asked slowly, obvious trying to be threatening. "She got scared in the middle of the night and wanted to sleep in my bed. Simple as that." I said, not taking my eyes off of the task at hoof. "If you want to know more then you need to ask her." I could hear Big Mac snort air out of his nose, obviously angered at my nonchalant response. He walked back upstairs, leaving me with the lunch preparations. "Alright... now did Applebloom like her sandwiches with or without crusts?"