//------------------------------// // Grackus Bellamy // Story: Legion of Shadows // by Strythio //------------------------------// The pony led the duo into the castle, the grand double doors opening to the throne room. Here, Grackus lay atop a large cushion on the carpeted floor, locked in a match of chess with a serpentine blue dragon. Upon the entry of guests, the two looked up, with Grackus smiling wide. "Brother!" he called out, rising from a cushioned seat, "How good it is to see you!" Gilda had often tried to guess the avian background that created the oddly owl-like head of Grackus, his brown feathers running smoothly into a tan coat. Grackus had green eyes, very expressive for a griffon. He wore nothing, but Gilda assumed that the lack of formal dress may have been due to the nature of the situation. His lion body at least seemed relatively normal. Antoine and Grackua embraced each other, though once Grackus got a good look at Gilda, he released his brother and put on a scowl. Seeing his neice hardly ever brought a smile to his face, and Gilda should not have expected this to be any different. "What is she doing here?" "Gilda here is going to be a part of your security detail," Antoine explained with a sheepish smile, "Not to mention I need to keep an eye out in case either of you get into trouble again. The two of you can get along can't you?" "As long as I can get a taste tester for my goblets," Gilda joked, flicking a talon towards Grackus, "No telling what Uncle might do if we're left alone." "So this is your niece Grackus." The serpentine dragon looked intrigued, and had a wide, silly grin on her face. "The fruit does not fall far from its tree at all." "Hmph." Grackus turned towards the dragon, arms folded tightly. "Nevermind her Dratina, she gets that from Equestria. Where were we?" "Before you get back to your, um, business," Antoine interrupted, recapturing Grackus' attention, "Where is Charles? I sent him ahead of me in order to make sure that you had at least one guard the entire time." Grackus shrugged. "Charles never showed. The whole teleportation incident that the Princesses refuse to elaborate on any further may have gotten him near anywhere in the world." Grackus seemed concerned, but not overly so, as he returned to his seat in front of Dratina. He cast a look back towards Antoine before asking, "How is the wife doing?" "Mine is doing quite fine," Antoine started, stopping once he noticed their royal guard escort was still in the room, intently listening to the idle chit-chat of the foreigners. Antoine looked towards the pony with a smile, and with a gentle nod asked, "You don't mind do you? We are about to discuss something rather sensitive." The pony, likely less than eager about leaving three griffons and a dragon alone in the throne room of his rulers, hesitated. Dratina, using magic, levitated the knight piece on the chess board, knocking over and replacing a queen piece. "Check." Grackus seemed surprised, and perhaps this exchange easing his fears, the pony guard nodded to Antoine and departed. Once the pony was gone, Grackus and Dratina both changed demeanor, rising from their respective places and approaching Antoine with haste. "Were you successful in eliminating the targets?" Grackus inquired, "Or did they get away?" "While we failed to actually kill the suspects, we did manage to get a significant amount of information from their storehouse," Antoine explained, gesturing towards Gilda to join him on his right side, "What we know now for sure is that the rebellions are linked, and have intentions on overthrowing both royal families of our two kingdoms." "We figured that," Dratina stated, a frown creasing her face, "What we don't know is how they are operating." Gilda huffed in annoyance. If they had known that, why did her father risk life and limb? Seemed easier to just go off of speculation and start the head rolling. Antoine did not seem bothered by this though, or at least he did not show it. "Indeed, they met with ponies, but prior to earlier belief, they were not meeting with Equestrians." Grackus and Dratina both seemed confused, with Grackus shedding some light on the source of the confusion. "I don't understand. If they were not meeting with Equestrians, then who were they meeting with? There are not that many pony nations able to house ruffians capable of supporting a rebellion an entire seas away." Antoine lowered his voice, and brought his head closer to both monarchs. Gilda found herself leaning in a few inches closer, though she tried to restrain herself from doing so. After all, this was not any of her business. "They met with Crystal Ponies." Antoine leaned back from the whisper, the shocked faces of his audience giving way to disbelief. In a hushed whisper, Dratina scowled. "Crystal ponies? Surely you are mistaken?" "No, this adds up with the other report that I have received," Grackus mused, walking away from the small group and pacing the floor, "Indeed, they noted that many elements of our guard went to the Crystal Empire. The missing members of the Equestrian guard, however, ended up in both Griffia and Draconia in points where they were in significant danger. The only ones to benefit from a more weakly guarded Crystal Empire are the crystal ponies." "That's rubbish." Gilda could hardly believe that such speculation could be considered fact for a moment. What would the Crystal ponies have to benefit from being less defended? "The Crystal Ponies were integrated into Equestria the moment they accepted Princess Cadance as their princess. Not to mention they are pretty docile." Grackus turned violently towards Gilda, pointing a talon dangerously in her direction. "That is what you are supposed to believe. They accepted Cadance as their princess, but that does not mean that they accepted Celestia and Luna. Considering what could be gathered from their libraries, there is good reason for them not to be so pleased about being ruled, at heart, by Celestia and Luna." Now it was Antoine's turn to be confused. "What do you mean by that? Celestia at least hasn't done anything worthy of any pony being suspicious of her actions, much less willing to be ruled by anyone else." "There is an entire history in the Crystal Empire that was proven truth by recent events," Dratina explained, "When the Empire returned, the first opportunity to exploit their knowledge came when Celestia ordered that the library be both inspected and restored. Certain, interest groups, acquired the history section, and cleaned it of anything having to do with Pre-Equestrian alicorns." "And you are going to claim now that said articles are now in your possession?" Gilda folded her arms, highly skeptical that there was no horse crap sitting in the room. The current conversation reeked of false information. "Gilda," Antoine scolded, but Grackus put up both talons for silence. "Continue to wallow in Equestrian ignorance. The Crystal Ponies know and have proof of it all." Grackus then turned towards Dratina, his scowl turning into more of a level expression. "We have to act, and soon." "We should include the Equestrians in this," Dratinia advised, "After all, they can handle the Crystal ponies far better than we can." Gilda rolled her eyes, not believing what she was hearing. These two would have been discussing plans to attack each other, let the public tell it. However, it was clear that they were not as uncooperative and antagonistic with each other as they allowed the general populace to believe. And now she was supposed to believe that they were going to try to work together in order to gang up on the Crystal Empire? Equestria would never go for it. The Princesses, even if there was some truth to these tall tales, would never actually take action on it. Because if the crystal ponies, having went through the rule of Sombra, were willing to risk the anger of their monarchs, then the Equestrians would not be too far behind. Antoine sighed and walked over to Gilda. He put an arm around her shoulders, and gestured with his head towards the two monarchs. "Well, before you worry about that, I think we have more pertinent things to attend to. As I was stating earlier, my wife is fine, but the royal family in general-" Grackus snapped to attention, realizing what could possibly be coming next. "Now, you are not about to state that they, and more importantly, my mate is in danger are you? You should have went back to Griffia first instead of grabbing your daughter." Gilda refrained from rolling her eyes. What good was a mate if the two could never produce offspring? Might as well call her what she was; wife and co-ruler. "I hate to point this out now of all times, brother," Antoine sternly stated, staring Grackus down, "But Gilda is in line for succession if something were to happen to you. You are quite unable to produce an heir, so while keeping you alive is important so that it does not come to that, your wife is not on my priority list. If Gilda and you were to disappear or worse, be captured, Griffia would have a very serious succession crisis to work out." "Couldn't you just take over?" Dratina offered, "I mean, you are royalty are you not?" "I surrendered that right a long time ago when I wed," Antoine explained, removing his arm from Gilda's shoulders, "To put it shortly, Grackus was in denial about why he wasn't having any children until he finally got himself checked out." Grackus roared, stepping towards Antoine with a less than pleased huff. "How dare you! Such information is private! Not to mention the mere mentioning of that-" He glared at Gilda, "Equestrian coming to the throne of griffons..." Grackus and Antoine took a few steps towards each other, mere moments away from what Gilda interpreted as a scuffle. "First of all, being a pony doesn't make you an Equestrian, loyalty does," Gilda rebuked, stepping between the siblings with arms and wings outstretched, "So you can stuff that where the chicks won't spawn. And secondly, I would not have had to grow up an Equestrian if it was not for your wife trying to get rid of me." For a few moments, the room was thick with tension. Though she had felt fine earlier, Gilda feared that if a fight broke out, she would now very literally be caught in the middle of it. All thanks to her body acting before her head could consider the repercussions. Flexing his talons, Grackus appeared ready to strike for a few moments when the throne room doors creaked open. All returned to a less than aggressive stance as none other than Princess Celestia entered the room, flanked by two guards. As usual, her presence demanded a change in atmosphere. Despite appearances, the Princess clearly noticed the tension in the room, and had likely been listening in prior to entering. "I am not interrupting something am I?" Her otherwise innocent question prompted a few glances between the griffons. Gilda was unsure whether to respond truthfully, sarcastically, or with a question of her own. Antoine stepped up. "Just having a discussion is all Princess. I assume all is fine on your end?" "Other than diplomacy, politics, and the increasing cost of sorting out this mess, I would say things are fine." Celestia smiled warmly, and even Gilda had to admit that she felt far less tense than she had mere moments before. There was something eerie about that pony, the way she could disarm even the most bitter with a mere smile. She clearly had centuries of practice behind her to have that kind of effect so seemingly involuntarily. She walked along the carpet, noticing the chess game. Her smile grew wider. "Hm, if we have time, perhaps I can play the winner. Grackus, Dratina, I am sure you are aware that your guards are supposed to check in before setting up shop around my castle." Antoine tilted his head to the side. "If I recall, my griffons did check in." "Your griffons have the attention of the entire city, Antoine," Celestia assured him, her gaze resetting on Dratina, "Your dragons, however, have my attention. Dragons are not an uncommon sight in Equestrian, but ones that blend in with the buildings are more than cause for alarm." "You have a sharp eye Princess," Dratina complimented with a smile of her own, "They are here for protection purposes. Obviously I felt that they needed to be more covert than griffons, or else they might attract the wrong kind of attention." "If they are attracting my attention and not the attention of my guards while they are escorting me, then that is the wrong kind of attention," Celestia warned, her expression shifting into a small frown, " I respect that you wish to have protection, but understand that this is still Equestrian territory, and you are still foreigners. I do not want to get the wrong idea and believe that you are trying to take advantage of this situation." Dratina did not respond, perhaps because now even Grackus was staring her down. Gilda would have joked about the dragon in the room of griffons and ponies being the most suspicious, but some inhibition held her back. There was a time and a place, and if she got another chance outside the presence of Princess Celestia, she would certainly tell it. "It will be dealt with promptly, Princess." Dratina then slunk off in haste towards the throne room, avoiding eye contact with Grackus, as if she were a chick being sent to the far part of the nest for her misdeeds. Celestia nodded, and continued her walk down the aisle to her throne. Taking a seat, she closed her eyes, the two guards whom had escorted her standing on either side of the throne. Like statues they stood, except the faint signs of breathing could be noted between the two. The temptation to poke them for a reaction was strong. "Now then, I am going to presume that the winner of the chess match is on her way out," Celestia noted as Dratina exited, eyeing the small group still standing in her throne room, "So I am going to have to ask you all to find someplace else to discuss your private matters. I need my throne room." "Of course," Antoine quickly stated, gesturing towards Grackus and Gilda, "We should be on our way. The guest chambers?" "I know the way," Grackus growled, eyeing his brother, "And I know what that shield is really for." A daggar had been thrown, striking its mark based on Antoine's furrowed eyebrows. Celetia warily watched as the two led the way out of the throne room, staring each other down the whole way. Gilda had not realized that there had been so much potential tension between the two. But she did know one thing for certain. If they were going to fight outside the throne room doors, she wanted front row seats. Much to Gilda's disapointment, Antoine and Grackus both maintained themselves until they reached the guest bedrooms. The palace's guest bedrooms were sizable; so large in fact, that one had to ponder just how large the non-guest bedrooms were. After all, most guests were around the size of two ponies, maybe four max. The guest bedroom that they came to, just from the outside, looked large enough to accompany the entire Guard force that Antoine had brought, with just enough room for Gilda to have her own little corner. Antoine, Gilda, and Grackus approached the diplomatic guest room one after the other, the doorway only being large enough for one at a time. However, Antoine waited at the door, allowing Gilda and Grackus to walk ahead of him inside. He did not smile again, but he did put on a friendly tone to explain himself. "I would love to stay, but I am sure you two have some catching up to do. If you need me, I will be in Canterlot." "Thanks, that's very specific," Grackus growled, waving his left wing in dismissal, "Carry on with what you have to do. We'll be fine." Antoine bowed and then closed the large door. Gilda only just now noticed that it was one of the few times in which Antoine actually bowed to his brother. Once the sounds of his footsteps died out, Gilda took in the sight around her. The Griffia crest was everywhere, from flags to the very pillars that held up the high ceilings. There were no windows, and yet, the light that emitted from the many wall mounted, torch-shaped lambs illuminated the room very much as if natural sunlight poured in through windows. It was almost eerie, and not in the dark kind of way. In the "everything is too bright" kind of way. Noticing how acute shadows were in the room, Gilda eyed the single, king sized bed that had a single, silk red robe on it. Gilda grimaced as she imagined her Uncle in it, and then grimaced again when she actually watched him put it on. The room was carpeted, in a yellow color no less. The walls were covered in the lamp torches, a single visible green door likely led to the single bathroom. Despite earlier projections, this space was not near enough for her to spend, alone, with her Uncle. Gilda did not look forward to having to stay here any longer than she needed to. "Well Niece, what do you think?" Grackus joked, hopping into his bed, bouncing a few feet before finally settling onto his back, "It is not quite like home, but you won't forget who sleeps here." "Yes, I needed that reminder." Gilda frowned and slowly walked towards the bed, hoping that a roll-up version would be found if she kept walking. Grackus reached under a large, fluffy pillow, a silly grin on his face as he began searching for something. "You know I don't dislike you as much as I let on right Gilda? After all, if I wanted you dead, you would have been twelve feet under already." Gilda scoffed, at least in part because he had a point. Though his wife was not the brightest of the coop and pride, Grackus did at least have the competency to send the right griffons to do the right job. The way he could still give orders to her father was proof enough of that. "Whatever happened to six feet under? Twelve is a bit overkill." "Oh you know, would not want your corpse to wash up in the wrong place would we?" Grackus finally stopped rummaging underneath the large pillow, and with a silly grin, drew out a single dagger. Gilda did not need a sixth sense to tell her that she had best not join her Uncle on the mattress. "Being barren, and being king, is a very cruel fate." Grackus sat on the mattress, staring at Gilda with a soft expression. He played with the dagger, flicking at the tip and tossing it up and down as he continued. "Some sympathy would be nice, but all I get is grief. Now my family is in danger, and my best officer is wasting his talents protecting me..." He paused, his eyes narrowing in on Gilda, as if taking aim. "And you." The thick silence that followed only put Gilda more on edge. If Grackus wanted to throw the dagger, why didn't he just do it already? Must he drag things out like an over the top villain? Or maybe he needed to stop bluffing, before Gilda decided to take the first strike. They did not call her Lightning Strike for nothing. "Yes well, Pops already explained the situation to you. I am next in line if you croak, and if you croak, an Equestrian citizen will be in charge of Griffia. Imagine the shit storm that would come from that." Grackus smiled and tossed the dagger carelessly to the side, its clattering on the floor as loud as glass shattering on concrete. Gilda assumed that wherever it had landed, it was not on carpet. In fact, a brief second of realizing that odd fact caused both griffons to look to the foot of the bed, just in time to see a section of the floor close, as if it were a hatch of sorts. Grackus made a motion to hop from his place, but his entire body was shoved forward against his will. His body looked constricted, despite the fact that nothing visible seemed to be restraining him. Gilda assumed magic, and rushed forward in order to aide him. However, Grackus, beak apparently still free, sharply pecked downwards, eliciting a sharp cry from whatever had assaulted him. A green, serpentine dragon appeared, its body completely wrapped around Grackus, constricting him even tighter. His head now held in place, Grackus looked towards Gilda with an expectant look, as if she should come to his rescue. Gilda contemplated it, and at heart, had decided against it; however, when she felt a tug on her rear foot, she found herself being dragged backwards and lifted from the ground. Wings flapping and arms flailing, Gilda attempted to strike at her attacker until she noticed a slight aura around her form. Just as she noticed this, she was thrown towards the wall. Released from the magic grip for a moment, Gilda extended her talons out to get a grip on anything, only to find herself slamming into a Griffia wall flag stomach first. Though the wind was knocked from her, instinct allowed her to claw at the flag that had somewhat softened the blow, completely ripping through it before once again being levitated into the air against her will. It was now that she wished she still had that necklace that her father had given her. Again she was thrown, but this time, she was hurled into the ceiling. Repeatedly she was smacked into the ceiling, mercilessly slammed into the hard surface for several minutes. Her vision dimmed, and by the time her assailant finally let her plop to the ground, Gilda had temporarily lost the ability to even stand. She had not lost the ability to crawl, and she hastily scrambled towards the bathroom door. Before she could reach it, she was grabbed yet again by her hind feet, except this time, she could feel the jaws of a more powerful creature behind this attack. Dragged, Gilda scrambled with her front talons in a vain attempt to escape before the assailant flung her through the air. Unlike last time, however, she landed squarely onto the king sized bed, the cushioned landing almost more painful than the hard floor. It was unexpected, and a shadow cast itself over her. Raising her head, Gilda noted the slumped form of Grackus, and the green dragon that had started the attack. The shadow, however, was cast by a griffon, with a blazing red uniform and a strange emblem on his chest. It was shaped like a lion, but it had both an eagle and a sword on the top and bottoms respectively. How in the hell the two had missed that in this room of yellow, brown, and green Gilda had never figured out. Talons forced Gilda's arms upward, and feline legs pinned her own. Staring at her was another griffon, with blue head feathers and a nut cracking beak that curved more like a claw than something resembling a beak. Ocean blue eyes seemed to glare into her soul, and it was only now that Gilda noted a wide smile as well. At least someone was having a good time. "Well then, this could not have worked out any better," the griffon cackled, pressing Gilda's arms further upwards, "You have any idea how long we have been waiting for just one of you? And just our luck, we get to have both of you." In that light, maybe it was a bad idea to have two potential targets in the same room. Gilda knew she should have walked out with her father the moment he suggested that the two of them stay together. Nothing ever seemed to go right when she was around her folks. "What do you want?" Gilda inquired, staring at her captor, slowly regaining both strength and her senses. "From you, all I want is your body," the griffon chuckled, "Don't take it personally, but I need those talons of yours." Gilda shifted around until she managed to free her tail from beneath her; though she could not see it, she knew what had to be done. Wrapping her tail around one of her captor's legs, she forcefully pulled downward. Apparently surprised by this, the griffon loosened his grip for just a moment, allowing Gilda to free her left arm. In a fluid motion with her previous move, she socked the griffon in his throat. The griffon recoiled and clutched at his neck, gagging just as Gilda landed another one to his left cheek. The force from this blow cause the griffon to roll to the side, completely freeing Gilda and allowing her leverage. The dragon from earlier coiled up in preparation for striking, but Grackus stabbed the earlier discarded dagger into it. The dagger went all the way through, pinning the coiled beast to the carpet for a short time. With an angry hiss the dragon lashed out at Grackus, who sloppily dodged the angry dragon's jaws. Temporarily stuck to the floor, the dragon worked to free itself, Grackus gasped for breath. Hopping to her feet, Gilda grabbed the excessively large pillow and slammed it downward onto the upper body of the griffon attacker. She then flopped atop of it, much to the displeasure of the struggling griffon below. While she tried to keep the large pillow in place as to suffocate her quarry, Grackus shook his head clear just as the dragon freed itself, the bloody dagger now in the jaws of the dragon. If only Grackus had been strong enough to embed it all the way through the floor as well. Even more riled up now, the dragon eyed Grackus for a moment before looking towards Gilda. In a moment, the dragon reared back and hurled the dagger towards her. Gilda flinched in preparation to move, but Grackus was closer, leaping into the air and slapping the hilt of the dagger downwards. While this did not stop it, this greatly altered its trajectory, the dagger embedding itself into the outstretched arm of the red suit griffon. The griffon's howl was drowned out by the large pillow, the sound vibrations mildly irritating Gilda's stomach. Within that moment, the dragon used its long body to sweep Grackus' feet from beneath him, forcing him once again to the floor. Trapped between suffocating , or attempting to anyways, the griffon assailant and dashing to her uncle's aide, Gilda pressed down harder in an attempt to finish the process, so that that would be one less attacker to deal with. However, the griffon had removed the dagger from his arm, and blindly thrusted at Gilda, narrowly missing her neck by mere centimeters. Had he merely went for an injury he might would have struck her sooner. Realizing that it would be more dangerous to her to allow the griffon to retain ownership of the dagger, Gilda used the rest of her body to maintain pressure while her arms worked to seize the arm of her assailant. With his struggles becoming weaker, Gilda found it easy to exert enough force to snatch the dagger away from the griffon. With the weapon now in her right hand, Gilda briefly looked towards Grackus and the dragon, the former once again trapped in a strangehold. With aim hardly practiced and with the hilt end in her grasp, Gilda hurled the dagger with as much force as she could muster, with the intent of hitting the dragon. The dragon, perhaps with some sort of sixth sense, turned at just the wrong moment, turning what would have been a miss into a bulls-eye. However, the dragon's head was unscathed; Grackus, on the other hand, had taken the dagger right between the eyes. Time seemed to slow, as realization dawned on Gilda that she would have been better off killing the griffon with the weapon before rushing to help her uncle. The griffon below her finally stopped struggling, though the dragon did not stop squeezing Grackus, despite the monarch no longer putting up much of a fight. Unlike the dragon, Gilda, perhaps more out of anger than necessity, took extra time to make sure that her victim was not merely faking. These extra few seconds seemed to last for an eternity, during which time the dragon finally released Grackus, whom fell to the floor seemingly in slow motion. As his blood gently pooled and stained the yellow carpet at the foot of the bed, the injured dragon quickly vanished yet again, likely using its camouflage magic again. Before Gilda could react to this, the front door burst open, with none other than a member of the Equestrian Royal Guard entering. The pegasus' face had at first been in the form of a scowl, but upon seeing this scene, it instead turned to horror. Probably had come to ask them to keep it down. "Wait!" Gilda shouted before the guard backed away and trotted down the hallway. "Assassin! Griffon assassin!" The pony cried out in alarm, no doubt stirring up the entire castle in the process. Panic overtook Gilda, as she saw that piece of the floor once again flap open at the foot of the bed. Not allowing the hatch to close and deny her pursuit, Gilda used her talons to raise it back up. Once it was open just enough, Gilda took one step into the darkness and plummeted down a narrow space unsuitable for wing flapping, darkness overtaking her vision as the floor hatch turned into the ceiling, it closing once she no longer held it up. Dropping what felt like some ways down, Gilda landed roughly on the ground. As her eyes slowly adjusted, she could hear the sounds of movement directly in front of her. Her forepaw aching at this point, Gilda limped into the darkness, the moist ground beneath her likely having been tainted by the dragon's blood in its most hasty retreat. Gilda merely using the sound to guide her movement, but before long, it stopped, and with it, Gilda's vision finally adjusted to the darkness. She could see the form of the dragon, it having come to a stop. Its breathing had become shallow, and as Gilda approached, the dragon took one look at her before hissing. It uttered something unintelligible before dropping for the last time. Not wanting to stick around to see if the dragon would get back up, Gilda stumbled over the body before continuing her blind venture deeper within the cavern, her heart racing and fear releasing itself in an adrenaline fueled run. Her earlier pain no longer bothered her. No, not with what that pony had seen. Not with what happened back there. She ran, and did not look back; even if her father had called for her right then and there, she would not have turned back.