64 vs. The Underground

by Jman9877

Chapter 50

Chapter 50

3rd Person POV

Engines were attached to the bottom of the aircraft, which was simply square platform with a guard rail. The hum of Anti-Gravity enchantments filled both 64’s and Frenzy’s ears, each of them sitting on the seats of the Chariot. 64 looked over the rails, but saw nothing but dark clouds rushing below them.

“I’m glad I wore my robes out here! I think having just my fur would be pretty chilly!” Frenzy said over the air rushing past us, having to yell a bit to be heard.

“It snows nearly year round in Etahxial’s Capital, plus we’re pretty high up here! It’s gonna be cold our entire trip buddy!” 64 replied, seeing Frenzy’s eyes widen at his remark.

“Buddy? I’m your buddy?”

“Well the way I see it, we’re gonna have to get to know each other on our trip. Might as well start now.”

Frenzy smiled a bit and pulled his Saddlebags up next to him. “Ya know, I’ve never really had friends in Canterlot! I mean, there were other scholars in Canterlot, and we usually got together to talk about developing Canterlot up intellectually, but I never became friends with any of them! They were always kind of snobby and thought that they were better than everypony just because they were smarter, but I never thought of this position as me being smarter than everypony.”

“Well, you thought up this plan involving every Kingdom pretty fast. I’m sure an average pony wouldn’t have been able to think of stuff like that.” 64 commended, with Frenzy just waving his hoof.

“It’s nothing. I already have a few backup plans ready just in case things go south!”

64 heard that phrase and remembered the last time he had heard it. Crossroads had come up to him with that offer, and it would be up to 64 to stop anything if things ended up taking a turn for the worst. He would need to make it look like an accident, like a drunken tumble off of the Castle walls, or food poisoning gone terribly wrong.

64 shook his head in shock that he was already formulating plans just in case, showing just how much faith he had in Frenzy. He brought his hands to his eyes and rubbed them, sighing a bit in restlessness.

64 realized that he had also been spending the long flight looking down, so he tried looking up for a change. He gasped at the amount of stars he saw, seeing millions upon millions of the flaming balls of light above him. The moon was nearly blinding when looked at directly, its white light illuminating the top of the large clouds below him.

“Usually Royal Pegasi can’t go this high! I prefer this view though!” Frenzy called out, admiring the sights as well.

Out of the corner of 64’s eye, he could see a few of the stars move a bit, forming a small image of a him with a frown on his face, before it was literally flipped upside down and turned into a grin and winked. 64 chuckled at the humorous drawing, remembering what he had felt during his last encounter with the Princess of the Night.

Infatuation? Crush? These were words 64 never even thought of acknowledging before. But now…

64 couldn’t help but let his eyelids start to droop a little bit. It was getting late and he had a pretty long day.

“I’m dozin’ off here Frenzy. You mind being alone for a bit?” 64 asked, turning over to the Scholar.

“I’ll be fine, the quiet gives me time to think!” Frenzy yelled, trying to be heard clearly over the rushing winds. 64 just shook his head and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overtake him.

64 POV

“Uh… 64? I think some gentlemen want to introduce themselves!” Frenzy said, breaking me from my sleep. I opened my eyes and rubbed them a bit to get rid of the last remaining bits of sleep in them, before looking at what Frenzy was referring to.

Gryphon Warriors, clad in full steel armor, surrounded us on all sides. Snow fell around us at a slow rate, allowing me to see my breath at a much denser rate. The numbers of Gryphons was a bit imposing, seeing for than 20 strong around us.

“You two are to follow us to the Castle. Relinquish your weapons and keep your hands and hooves where we can see them at all times.” One of the Gryphons said, clad in a golden colored armor. It couldn’t have been real gold, Celestia knows it would have been too soft for actual combat.

I was about to tell this guy off, but Frenzy just put his hoof up towards me and shook his head no. “Understood. 64, give him your blades and baton.” Frenzy said in a calm matter, stopping me from retaliating. I grunted and pulled the blades out of my wrists, along with the Shock Baton out of my waist.

“Here, don’t cut yourself.” I said sarcastically, tossing the sheathed blades to him. Next I threw over the Shock Baton, which he caught with a scowl. He placed my weapons into some sort of burlap sack before tossing it to one of the other Gryphons.

“Step out of the carriage. Now.” The Gold Gryphon commanded, as I opened the small door allowing us to step out. I made sure to pull my sleeves up a bit to show I didn’t have anything on my wrists anymore, but for some reason it didn’t make me feel any less safe.

Frenzy stepped out of the carriage behind me, looking a bit nervous at all of the armed Gryphons. Each of them had a pistol on their side, along with a Gladius on the other side of their hip.

“My guess is that this isn’t exactly a warm welcome for us. What’s the real reason for the grandiose entrance?” I asked, not exactly pleased at these Gryphons trying to threaten me. None of the gryphons answered me, but Gold turned around and started walking.

“No sudden movements, unless you want to lose a limb or two…” He threatened, causing Frenzy to gulp.

“W-wouldn’t dream of it!” Frenzy said nervously, now slightly shaking at the intimidation tactics.

“Don’t listen to them Frenzy. They can’t lay a claw on you unless they want a war on their hands…” I growled, scowling at Gold.

“Heh, you actually think that? At least Ethaxial will actually be prepared for a war.” One of the other Gryphons sneered, receiving a smack to the back of the head from one of his buddies.

“Shut it. Don’t speak to them.”

I looked in the direction we were walking, but the snow was starting to pick up and starting to cloud my vision. I channeled magic to my eyes to see through the thickening sleet, and nearly gasped at what I saw.

In front of us was a small village, roughly the size of Ponyville, but behind that, was the true reason that Volaticus was Ethaxial’s capital. A large castle, made entirely out of stone, stood before us. Just looking at it I could tell how sturdy it was, meaning it wouldn’t be easy to sneak around once I was inside.

“Welcome to Volaticus fellas. Don’t do anything stupid…” Gold joked, making Frenzy chuckle weakly.

“Can I get your name? I don’t believe I got it back at the landing zone.” I asked, trying to be the first one to act civilized here.

“Tryin’ to get chummy are ya? Fine. I’ll bite. The name’s Aurum, Captain of the Volaticus Royal Guard.” He growled, not exactly opening up any.

We finally reached the small village, and just by taking a look around, I could see the sorry state it was in. Small buildings and shops were boarded up, completely cover in graffiti. When our convoy walked by, I could see Gryponesses grabbing their young and holding them closer to protect them. I looked closer, and saw that they weren’t cowering fear at the sight of me, but the sight of the Gryphon guards.

We were passing some sort of back alley when I saw a dumpster moving around, only to reveal 3 young gryphon teenagers scrounging in it for food.

I saw one of them pull out a rotten apple in glee, jumping out of the dumpster. When he jumped out, the 2 others immediately jumped onto him in an attempt to try and take the apple for themselves. A fight broke out, and a flurry of claws went flying.

Aurum went forward with his gun drawn, and as I began to fear the worst, he fired a shot into the ground behind them. They all stopped at the sound, seeing the Royal Captain standing there. “Get the fuck out of here! Stop with all of your squabbling and get back to your mothers before I put a bullet through your beaks!”

All 3 of the young Gryphons shot up to their feet and ran down the alley, all of a sudden not wanting the rotten apple.

“What the fuck was that for? You could have just told them to fuck off and they would have listened!” I spat out, wondering what all the threatening was for.

“Heh… maybe things are a bit different in Equestria… Those kids should have been working in the gem mines, not playing in the garbage.” Aurum said, as red alerts went off in my head.

“Wait, gem mines?”

“Heh, if you could call them that. Gems are scarce in Ethaxial… we need them for… well… I can’t exactly tell you that now, can I?”

Frenzy was looking a bit worse for wear, seeing all of the terrible things happening around us. A pregnant Gryphoness walked by our convoy, her head hung low. She saw us and immediately tried to walk away as fast as possible, but a few of the other Gryphon guards started to chuckle lecherously.

My brain was able to put two and two together, before growling and clenching my fists. When I was sure that Aurum wasn’t looking, I sent tracer magic towards the Gryphons laughing, just so I could find them later… and ask them a few questions. I also tagged the Gryphoness, wanting to ask her a few questions as well.

I remembered the map that Shining Armor had given me that was resting in the bag on my bag, knowing that I would be able to find them later using that.

We finally arrived at the outskirts of the town, getting closer to the Castle now. Now that we were closer, the Castle looked even more massive than it did before.

“Hm, keep your mouth shut… don’t want flies goin’ in there now do we?” Aurum taunted, making me growl. The Castle was surrounded by a massive moat. Strange considering that most of the population in Ethaxial was primarily made up of Gryphons… with wings.

A drawbridge closed off the main entrance to the Castle, needing to be dropped to cross the moat. Aurum whistled, and I saw a few silhouettes through the snow on the top of the castle wall move, before the sounds of chains rattling filled my ears.

The drawbridge fell downwards, splashing into the moat. The Gryphons surrounding us all stepped aside, leaving me and Frenzy at the front of the pack. “Guests enter first… Go ahead…” Aurum chuckled, the tone of his voice making Frenzy gulp loudly.

“C’mon Frenzy. Stay behind me.” I ordered, walking forward with my fists clenched. My black longsleeve was billowing in the wind, along with Frenzy’s red robes.

“A-Alright…” He whispered, his eyes darting around to see if there were any traps. I stepped carefully across the bridge, before I eventually made it across and entered the Castle Courtyard. It looked as if it should have been a moderately sized garden area, but it was completely covered in snow at this point.

“Alright you babies, you made it passed the Retention Field. Now we just gotta check your personal belongings. Follow me. THE REST OF YOU! GET BACK TO YOUR PREVIOUSLY ASSIGNED STATIONS! MOVE IT!” Aurum yelled at the rest of the Gryphon guards, who scattered in all directions.

We followed Aurum into a hallway of the castle, which was decorated with a red carpet and paintings of what I could only imagine were Gryphon heros. “You’ll been staying in the Diplomatic suites. The Zebra and Changeling diplomats will also be staying on the same floor.” Aurum explained, turning into a wooden door which revealed a room with a table with 4 chairs around it. I slung off my bag and unzipped it, laying it onto the table for Aurum to check. He found the rolled up map Shining Armor had given to me, but to him, it looked like an average map.

The good thing about having Chaotic Magic is that it isn’t entirely siphoned out by Magic Retention spells. All I had to do was give the map a jump start with my magic, and it would show all of the targets I had tagged with it.

Other than that, all he found was clothing and toiletries in both mine and Frenzy’s bags.

“Alright… Now King Blackbeak has requested an audience with you two. You can either meet him now, or first thing in the morning. Which one do you want?”

Frenzy went visibly pale at that, and I felt a shiver go down my spine. Could this by my chance to stop things? To end it all before it starts?

“We’ll see him now. No point in delaying the inevitable right?” I shrugged, actually wanting to meet Blackbeak before I thought about it any further. Aurum nodded and moved to remove his helmet, revealing a light brown gryphon with white tipped feathers.

“You’re lucky. An audience with Blackbeak is incredibly rare these days. Don’t speak unless you are directly addressed, and once again, keep your hands where we can see them at all times.” Aurum ordered, setting his helmet onto the table.

He then exited the room with a motion to follow him, Frenzy giving me a scared look. He had the smarts, but he didn’t have much experience in the field.

“Take deep breaths Frenzy. Just focus on breathing. When he speaks to you, just see him as just some Gryphon.” I instructed, trying to keep him calm. The last thing we needed right now was a fuck up.

“O-Ok… I’ll try.” He said, gulping loudly.

I was honestly feeling a bit nervous at meeting the Gryphon king as well. He may have been old… but that also equaled experience. If we angered him in the slightest…that could mean things ending before we have a chance to fix it.

We finally arrived at the Throne Room, if the large Bronze double doors meant anything, and I could feel my heart thumping in my chest.

“Alright… here you go boys.” Aurum chuckled, pulling a lever which powered the doors. A loud screech was heard before the doors began to move aside, literally sliding away from each other to reveal the Throne room.

It was dim, with torches barely lighting the walls. A long golden colored rug ran from the door to the Throne, was looked as if it was made with Steel. Me and Frenzy slowly walked forward, breathing slowly and looking straight ahead. I could see a figure sitting in the Throne.

His head was lowered, his golden crown visibly on his head. He had a red cape draped around his shoulders, and metal gloves over his talons to make them even stronger.

“Aurum… leave us be…” He rumbled, his voice deep and demanding power. Aurum nodded and left the room, closing the doors behind us. I couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t another lever on this side of the doors. “Come forth…”

Frenzy and I kept walking, each step taken with careful caution.

“Halt… kneel….”

I looked at Frenzy and nodded, both of us stopping and kneeling. Frenzy looked like he was bowing, but it would have to do.

“Frenzy Scribe… I was notified of your attendance a few short days ago.”

“Y-yes your majesty. I have come to-”

“I know what you have come for.” Blackbeak interrupted, causing Frenzy to squeak a bit. “It is you…” Blackbeak said pointing to me, “That I am more interested in…”

I swear I could feel a bead of sweat running down the back of my neck. “Me? Why would you be interested in me?” I asked, trying to sound calm.

“The Bipedal Blight of Equestria…The Flaming Inferno… Vanquisher of Super Nova… you’ve gained quite the few monikers in my country…”

“Your point being?”

“You are revered in Equestria as a fearsome warrior… unfortunately… in Ethaxial you might not be seen as such.”

My eyes narrowed, feeling an insult in his words.

“How does me simply going into another country make my ability in the art of combat diminish?” I growled defiantly. Blackbeak simply chuckled, as I felt a fire inside of me start to grow.

“Equestria is not exactly the right place in the world to breed warriors now… is it? Their definition of a warrior is no doubt much less experienced than our definition.” Blackbeak said condescendingly, that comment being the straw that broke the camels back. I stood up and pointed my finger at him.

“What the fuck would you know!? It looks like you haven’t moved from that throne in ages! I bet I could wipe the floor with anything you throw at-”

Apparently my challenge lit a fire in him, because the next thing I know I have a sword conjured with my magic and using it to block a blade about 2 inches from my face, Blackbeak holding the offending blade.

I could see Frenzy had a face of shock, horrified at what was happening. I had to be honest, blocking the blade took a bit of effort. The old Gryphon’s face was now right in front of mine, his face completely covered in grey feathers. He had a scar running down his right eye, much like the burn scar I had on my right eye.

“Hmph… very nice reaction time.” Blackbeak said, backing off and sheathing his sword onto his hip. “Maybe we can put your skills to the test during your stay in Ethaxial…”

“Maybe you can.” I retorted, dispelling my sword.

Blackbeak went back to his Throne and took a seat, pressing a button on the armrest. The doors slid open to show Aurum standing there, his golden helmet back on. “Aurum. Take Project 64 and the unconscious one to their room.”

Unconscious one? I looked over and saw that Frenzy had passed out during the encounter between me and Blackbeak. I sighed and slung him over my shoulder, following Aurum out of the Throne Room.

Comments

[DominiusTWD]

kinda feels like 64 is wasting this opportunity to take out celestia. but thats just me

[Jman9877]

4544382 In what way?

[BureYaAkili]

4544707 the emoticon makes me think more romantic like...

[DominiusTWD]

4544707

well while celestia is distracted with a war he could be all ninja like and BAM! insta revenge!

[thewookie1]

I'm starting to wonder if 64 is actually a clone of a long deceased human dumped in Equestria by some means. Such as the Bermuda triangle or something. Upon its finding, his body was sent for study to which Celestia became curious as to its origins and how it held up so well in the wreck and in past injuries seen as scars. Early in the experiment the doctor whom created 64 concluded that the human had been sentient but while in the process of informing Celestia about his amazing findings, he was assassinated by the evil doctor from the 1st fic.