My Little Pony Fan Fiction ❯ Chaos Reborn ❯ Chapter 13

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Shattered Blade sighed as he moved to his left side. The chains rattled as he did so and he felt them chafe against his hooves and neck. There was a boom in the inky blackness that the spotlight didn't touch and caused Shattered Blade to jump. He looked around and it seemed he saw something slither through the darkness around the spotlight. He narrowed his eyes and swore he saw a tail slither back into the darkness. He continued to stare into the darkness in hopes to see what was stalking inside the inky blackness.

 

"How do you like your accommodations?" Chaotic asked as he walked into the spotlight from the inky darkness. He looked down at Shattered Blade and gave him a toothy grin. Shattered Blade glared up at him not saying a word.

 

"The bed's stiff, there was no mint on my pillow, and I was promised a continental breakfast, "Shattered Blade said. Every word, every syllable, and every letter was oozing with venom. If it was possible, Chaotic would see venom oozing, pulsing, and foaming from Shattered Blades mouth. Chaotic looked at him before he reared back and busted out laughing. His laughter lasted a good half a minute before he wiped the tears from his eyes.

 

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I'll have to fire a few of my staff members, but don't worry the rest of your stay will be complimentary," Chaotic Joked before he turned and slipped into the Inky Blackness. Shattered Blade watched as his tail slipped into the darkness before his voice came from within it, "Oh, and one more thing: I need room for some trinkets. I have no room in my Trophy room for them. Hope you don't mind me storing them with you." Shattered Blade heard him snap one of his claws and the inky darkness exploded with light. Shattered Blade winced at the bright light before his eyes slowly adjusted to the light. When his eyes fully adjusted to the light, his mouth hung open as he saw the trinkets Chaotic mentioned.

 

Around him were skeleton hands holding orange liquid that had taken the shape of an egg. The skeletal hands were engulfed in flames, but it wasn't the skeletal hands or eggs that shocked him. It was what was inside the liquid that shaped the eggs. Floating inside the liquid were Ponies that seemed to be in suspended animation. Bubbles would now and again come from their open mouths as their chests rose and fell like the liquid allowed the Ponies to breathe while submerged inside. Shattered Blade looked around at the Ponies. There were mares, stallions, colts, fillies all floating inside the liquid eggs. He looked back at Chaotic who had been watching his reaction. Chaotic's smile grew as he walked back towards him and asked, "Confused?" Chaotic looked around at all the Ponies before he looked back at Shattered Blade and continued, "To call them trinkets is kind of a lie. They serve more than just simple decorations."

 

Shattered Blade watched as Chaotic reached over to an egg with a filly whose tiara floated inches above her head. Two claws gently grasped the egg and the skeleton hand fell to ash. He watched as Chaotic lifted the egg high into the air above his head and saw Chaotic wearing a sadistic smile. Shattered Blade watched in horror as Chaotic looked up at the egg and opened his maw. Chaotic let the egg drop down towards his open mouth and when the egg was feet away from his tongue. His jaws snapped shut and Chaotic swallowed loudly so Shattered Blade could hear the egg and filly go down his throat. Shattered Blade stared at Chaotic with wide eyes before he violently vomited.

 

"I'll have a staff member clean that up," Chaotic joked as his tongue licked his lips before he turned tail and walked away from the still vomiting Shattered Blade.

 

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"Mom. Can't. Breathe," Gnel uttered as his mother hugged him tightly, not wanting to ever let him go.

 

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When Gnel first came barreling into the hut his mother thought he had found another misshapen rock. As he skipped past her, she wiped her wet hands and placed the damp dish in the strainer before following him. She expected Gnel to pull his box of misshapen rocks from under his bed and they'd organize the newly found rocks in their places. However, Gnel seemed to be gathering objects from his room like he was going somewhere. She leaned against the door frame and asked, "Spending the night at Zreol's?" Gnel shook his head and began to explain. As he told her his plan, her happy demeanor started to slowly change to confusion and then to utter terror.

 

"You can't," She cried as she grabbed Gnel's wrist and she felt tears start to form in her eyes.

 

"Why not, it's my duty. Like dad and grandpa," Gnel said.

 

"But you're too young. I can't lose you like I lost my dad and your father," she sobbed.

 

"Don't worry mom," Gnel said as he confidently admitted, "I'm the Epitaph of Cyclone. She'll protect me."

 

"But that's what your father and grandfather said before," She said before she sobbed again, "Before." Gnel looked at his mother whose head hung down as more tears began to form in her eyes. He placed his hand gently on her right shoulder causing her to look up at him.

 

"Don't worry mom, I'll be fine. I have friends who will watch over me," Gnel reassured her. She was going to object, but a knock at the door caused her to look out and quickly wipe her eyes.

 

"Hello," Sheik called out into the home as she knocked on the already opened door. Gnel's mother walked out of his room and greeted Sheik and the others.

 

"May I help you?" She asked with a warm smile.

 

"These are my friends," Gnel chirped as he skipped past her and motioned towards Sheik and the others. Gnel's mom looked from him to Sheik and the others before Gnel added, "You should hear them out mom. It will ease your mind." She looked at her son's gleaming eyes and gave in to his request.

 

"I'll make us some lemonade," She said.

 

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After explaining everything to Gnel's mother, she felt a little bit better having him with others like himself. She helped him gather what he needed and now hugged him tighter before she let go and said, "Please be careful. I can't have you end up like your father. I can't lose you too."

 

"Don't worry mom, I'll come back to you. I might have a few scrapes and cuts, but I'll be back," Gnel said. Gnel's mother laughed at her son's sense of humor and patted him on the top of his head. She let him walk out of her hut and watched as the others followed him. Sheik stopped in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

 

"I promise we'll bring him back to you," Sheik promised. Gnel's mom hugged her and thanked her before Sheik followed the others to the middle of the village. She saw Twilight examining the Map with Sombra. She walked up and suggested, "How about we head to Aeolus's shop?"

 

"That's not a bad idea," Discord said before he pointed down towards a glowing silver dot on the map. Twilight nodded before her horn lit up and the lavender aura wrapped around the group before they all disappeared in a flash.

 

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There was a lavender flash that caused the Griffin to fly off course and crash into another Griffin. The two began to bicker and then started fighting. Other Griffins seem to stop and watch the two fighting while others avoided the crowd and seemed not to notice or care about the commotion.

 

Twilight looked around in utter awe at the large buildings that seem to stretch high into the sky. She saw Griffins flying around and some knocked on windows before the windows opened to let them in. She turned 360 degrees before she uttered, "We're in Hippogriff!"

 

"I take it you've never been here," Ahuizotl said before he turned to two Griffin children staring up at him in awe. He growled at them and they let out a yelp before they ran off.

 

"No," Twilight admitted before she added, "I've always wanted to see the Capital of the Griffin Kingdom."

 

"Yeah well, we can't just take a week of visiting the sights. We have to find Aeolus," Tirek said before he swatted at two Griffins who were talking, not paying attention, and nearly flew into him. They cursed and yelled as one flipped him off before the two flew around him and continued on their way. Tirek scoffed, "I hate Griffins. They act all high and mighty like they're above other creatures."

 

"You're one to talk," Sombra said before he looked around and pointed towards the middle of the city and added, "This way. His shop should be in the middle of the city."

 

The group followed Sombra as they walked down the street toward the middle of the city. As they continued down, many Griffins standing behind wooden stands tried to get the group to buy one of their items.

 

"Fresh fish. You won't find any fresher," a Griffin called out

 

"Two for one sale, I've got the newest movies while also having cult classics. Two for one offer," another Griffin called to them.

 

"I've got mint condition Falcon Rangers. Red, white, blue, pink, yellow, and black Falcon Ranger. Three hundred bits for the bundle or fifty bits each," a third Griffin called. Gnel saw the action figures and started towards the Griffin. Sheik quickly grabbed his right wrist.

 

"Don't get caught up in their heckling. They'll drain your Bits dry," Sheik explained as she shook her head before she added,

 

"Plus: you can't guarantee those action figures are the real thing or counterfeits."

 

"Hey!" the Griffin yelled before he argued, "These are guaranteed mint condition action figures." The Griffin slammed the action figure on the wooden stand. A second later the right arm of the action figure popped off. The Griffin looked at the arm and then at Gnel and sheik before he nervously laughed and began to try and placed the arm back on.

 

"See," Sheik said. Gnel nodded and the two caught up with the group. As they continued down the street, other Griffins tried to get them to buy their products and knock-off trinkets. After several minutes of listening to Griffins yelling at them, they arrived at the center of the city.

 

"Whoa," Twilight said as she saw the massive statue. In the middle of the city was a large Griffin statue standing on its hind legs with its wings extended. It's two claws were outstretched and between the two was a large golden clock made to look like a pocket watch. When the clock reached the top of the hour, the Griffins beak slowly opened and from it let out a recording of a Griffins war cry. A Griffin unfortunate enough to be flying near the beak jumped and suddenly began to spiral out of control before she corrected herself. She poked one of her talons into her right ear to try and stop the ringing in it. She shook her head and limply flew away.

 

"So he lives there?" Twilight asked

 

"Nah, he lives there," Discord said as he pointed his Griffin's claw towards a small shop at the base of the statue. The group headed towards the shop while Twilight continued to gawk at the sheer size of the statue. When they reached the shop, Twilight saw a hanging wooden sign that read Clockwork Talon. Discord walked up to the wooden door that had a large clock embedded in it. Discord knocked on the wood with the back of his lion's paw before he stepped back. for a long while the only sound coming from the shop was the sound of ticking from the clock embedded in the door. Discord was about to knock again when static began to come from hidden speakers around the door frame before a voice came from them.

 

"May I help you?" a voice asked from the speakers.

 

"Aeolus," Discord asked as he looked around before he continued, "It's me Discord, I brought the others." He waited for a few seconds before Aeolus's voice came back from the speakers.

 

"Please press the button under the speaker," he said. Discord looked around at the doorframe before he saw a small white panel with a speaker and a red button under it.

 

"Hello?" Discord said again as he pressed the button.

 

"Yes, hello now please tell me what you need. I'm expecting company. If you have a clock that needs service, I'm unfortunately not accepting any more orders for my shop will be closed for an unknown amount of time," Aeolus explained.

 

"Aeolus, it's me Discord. I brought Sombra, sheik, Tirek," Discord began before several loud clicks came from the door.

 

"Please come in. I've been expecting you all," Aeolus interrupted. Discord let go of the button and looked at the others before he shrugged and started to open the door.

 

"I guess I'm staying out here. I don't think I can fit inside his shop," Tirek said.

 

"Why? Just shrink down and join us inside," Discord said as he held onto the door handle.

 

"I don't think you get how my magic works. I absorb magic and when I do my body grows to contain that magic. I can't just shrink and grow at will," Tirek explained.

 

"Yeah, but that magical sphere I gave you back in Tartarus had part of my magic in it. You can use that magic to shrink and grow," Discord explained before he added, "Try it out. Shrink to the size of Twilight and Sombra. Then you can join us inside." Tirek narrowed his eyes at Discord before he looked at Twilight and took a deep breath. Tirek then began to shrink which caused Butterfly to fly off his shoulder. After several seconds he had shrunk to the size of Twilight. He examined himself and marveled at his new feet. Then he suddenly glared at Discord.

 

"Wait a minute! Does that mean I could have shrunk down and gone into that tavern with you, Twilight, and Sombra at the Jackle village?" Tirek asked a little annoyed.

 

"Yeah, but I highly doubt you'd stay shrunk after the performance we saw," Discord admitted before he pushed the handle down and opened the door. Sheik let out a high pitched laugh before she placed her hands over her mouth to stifle it. She snorted as she tried to keep from laughing again.

 

"Good one Discord," Sheik said as she followed him through the threshold. The others followed suit with Tirek bringing up the rear with his arms folded in front of him mumbling something. Butterfly was on his shoulder and she was glaring at the back of Discords and Sheiks head.

 

The shop inside was filled with working, none-working clocks. Walls, tables, even the floor was covered in different styles of clocks. Some tables had clocks gutted and their contents scattered around the table and even the floor. Twilight marveled at the many clocks as a voice announced, "Welcome my friends." Twilight looked up to see a Griffin standing on a high balcony looking down at them over the railing. He jumped from the balcony and his silver wings unfolded and he lightly floated down to the first floor. He was a combination of a silver falcon and cheetah.

 

"You must love clocks Aeolus," Butterfly said as she looked around the room.

 

"Well yes, I'm a Clockmaker and have a degree in Horology," Aeolus admitted as he motioned towards a wall with awards and degrees on it that were surrounded with more clocks

 

"Horology?" Gnel asked as he swayed left and right on his hooves in motion with a swinging pendulum of a grandfather clock.

 

"It's the science of measuring time," Twilight explained.

 

"Exactly, this is why I have so many Timekeeping devices like Clocks, watches, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, and time recorders. This shop is my family's legacy. I inherited it from my dad, who inherited it from his dad, and so on and so forth," Aeolus explained before he blinked and asked Twilight, "And who are you?"

 

"Oh, sorry. I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight introduced.

 

"So are you a new Epitaph?" Aeolus asked.

 

"No, no. she's one of Equestria's princesses. She'll be accompanying us throughout our journey," Sombra explained.

 

"Oh, so she can use Alicorn magic. That will come in handy when we fight Chaotic," Aeolus said with a nod. He turned and headed towards a door in the back and offered, "Since you've come this far. Why not have a drink of water and something to eat before we head out. You all must be hungry and parched from your travels." None of the group objected as they followed him into the back room which was a large kitchen with a round marble table in the middle.

 

The coffee maker whined as the final strands of coffee dripped into the large coffee mug. Aeolus grasped the mugs handle and placed it on the table in front of Sombra before he went to make himself a cup. Tirek took long gulps of his water before he reached to the water jug and poured himself more water. Butterfly sipped at her water in a bottle cap. Sheik and Gnel drank their milk and laughed when each sported a milk mustache. Ahuizotl dripped a few drops of hot sauce into his chocolate milk before he took another sip, smacked his lips, and then added more hot sauce to it. Twilight watched as the coffee maker spat out more coffee while she sipped at her tea. Discord let his teacup of hot chocolate float to his lips as Aeolus took his cup of coffee and sat with the others.

 

"So, what's the plan?" Aeolus asked.

 

"Well, before we head out, we were hoping to ask Metallic why Chaotic was corrupted," Twilight answered.

 

"He may not know that and I'm going to assume you've all asked your own respective Gods," Aeolus said.

 

"We understand, but it doesn't hurt to try," Sombra said.

 

"That's true, so once we're all ready and filled with food and drink. We'll speak to Metallic and then head out. So, since Shuckle will be the last one we'll get. Who are we going to speak with next?" Aeolus said.

 

"I would say Rampage," Discord said.

 

"Rampage!" Gnel said in both shock and excitement before he added, "Rampage the Heavyweight Champion? That Rampage?!"

 

"One in the same," Discord said with a smile.

 

"Heavyweight Champion?" Twilight asked.

 

"Rampage is a wrestler for Labyrinth Championship Wrestling. He's the Heavyweight Champion," Discord explained.

 

"He's three weeks away from breaking the record for holding the championship. He'll beat Iron Wills record," Gnel interrupted before he added; "I've been watching LCW since I was a kid with mom, dad, and grandpa."

 

"You're still a kid," Butterfly joked.

 

"Ok, and then we get," Aeolus started before Discord started a coughing fit and interrupted him.

 

"Let's focus on talking with Metallic and speaking with Rampage before we go any further," Discord said after he was able to stop his coughing fit.

 

"Discord, what are you hiding?" Twilight asked as she narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "Who is the other being we need to get besides Shuckle and Rampage?"

 

Discord looked around for support but found none. He picked up his teacup and admitted into it, "Chrysalis."

 

"WHAT!" Twilight yelled in shock.