Chapter 17. Keys.

I sat on my makeshift bed in the master bedroom with Raven who was sound asleep right beside me. Her tiny form was nestled up against me in an effort to find warmth and safety in her weakened body. I chuckled at the thought as I grabbed my tome to do a spell that I have been putting off for a short while now. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I placed a claw on the purple book and prepared myself for what was to come in an effort to learn why my memories were foggy in most areas. I activated the spell and let myself become one with the dark.

I reawaken in a black void of pure nothingness and floating in front of me were two doors. One was a simple brown door with a silver door nob while the other looked like nothing could break into it. The other door was black with trillions of runes and magic circles on it. What was even more foreboding was the silver chains that wrapped around it with a lock that looked like a Rubix cube on steroids. I groaned in annoyance as I knew that the locked door that could not be opened, even if I had my old eye for how complex the locks are. “There has to be a key somewhere in here?” I sighed as I looked around in the void.

“I agree but where, oh where could it be,” cooed a demented-sounding voice that sounded like Q from StarTrek…’And what the fuck is Startrek?’ I thought as I turned around to see who was in my head with me. Standing before me was a tall being of mismatch body parts. I recognized him instantly as the God of Chaos and wondered why he was here in my head. ‘But that's not important right now.’

“I agree, Void Knight, as time is of the essence,” he spoke again but in a more serious tone. I would have raised a brow, but I didn't have one...Or a body in the void.

“And what, pray tell, is that, Discord?” I asked as I tried to figure out how to open the locked door.

“As much as I want to chat with the very thing that I despise the most. You are the only one that is capable of defeating Celestia, so I'll keep it short as said Sun Tyrant isn't watching me right now,” I stayed quiet and let him continue.

“You will find the key in your ship that you are hiding in that hammerspace of yours. Also, since I am reformed and have to be nice. There is a high chance that you can return to your old world once you are done here. Now I must be off as Woona is hunting you and the Elements that you had kidnapped. Ta, ta for now!” he said before he left in a ball of light, not explaining anything he just said.

I groaned in irritation at the Chaos God that just came for a few seconds, said some things that help, and left without explaining why he decided to just pop in and say hello. Though, now that I think about it. If Luna was hunting me as well as the ponies I had kidnapped. Then a confrontation with her could be disastrous. ‘At least, know that going home was a possibility as well as the location of the key to my memories, but I will need to wait until we are away from Equestria before I pull out the ship,’ I thought as the spell ended.

I groaned in annoyance that everything was not what it appeared to be. Knowing that the key to my memories is hidden on my ship was going to be a problem for later. Though, with what Discord had said to me just a few moments ago, having Luna on my tail was also a problem that I didn't want to face, but for now. I had the issue with my mercenaries.

I placed the destroyed tome aside and jumped off of the bed, much to Ravens displeasure, and moved back to my desk to make another tome. With having the Black Knights as potential bombs for my plans, I was going to have to turn myself into a dragon for the time being. I don't want Celestia to know—If she was watching, that I was a griffin with strange powers, plotting behind her back. As I wrote the spells I would nee to stabilize my dragon form, I thought about all that has happened in recent weeks.

From waking up with missing memories to moving all over the place without a thought. I know now from the last time that I did the latter. I ended up in places that I didn't want to ever wake up again. Having a sudden trip to hell once was all fine and dandy, but there wasn't enough brain bleach to remove those memories.

I had to wonder what I was doing? Sure I was trying to take down a god...Again...For the fourth time without screwing them before and after I beat them in a fight. This time, I was greatly at a disadvantage. This Celestia was powerful. So powerful that I even fear her. Just knowing that she has my power that I bled to master bothers me to my very soul, but, at least, I was immune to most of what she could potentially do to me. The worst thing that I had to fear was her ability to instantly gain enough magical power to make a planet before my eyes. And that was something I didn't want to fight against without a backup plan.

'But what is my plan?' I asked myself. I usually don't have a plan. I just go with the flow and see where it takes me. 'Heh, that turned out well,' I kicked myself. 'Within the first two days of arriving here in this fucked up world, I was kidnapped into slavery and now I am looking for a vault that may as well be destroyed.' Such was the things that I had to deal with when fighting a god who could see everything and influence everyone without them knowing. I had no plan past from; getting my memories back, and finding a way to return home...And freeing Griffin kind.

'Once I'm done here. Discord better send me home for fixing his mess. There was no point in him telling me that there was a chance of going home to kick Griffins face in once I meet the prick for being a bastard.'

I groaned in further irritation as I finished the book. Just like the others, it turned into something else. I put aside my aggravating thoughts as I activated the spell's that I just wrote, turning me into a six-foot-six, bipedal, black dragon. 'Though, turning myself into a dragon with this kind of magic will be a problem for a while. Not being able to turn back into a griffin to hide for a month is a cost that shouldn't be a problem unless stupid shit happens, but, at least, I will be able to fight if I have to.'

I quickly went into my hammerspace and grabbed my armor of Ornstein that has seen some battle, but I left the helm in the hammerspace and put it on and left the room as Sunset Shimmer should have brought the Elements by now.

Captain Black sat in the throne room with a Griffin that was known as. Tom, waiting for his employer to stop hiding behind a baby Griffin like a coward. He didn't like the fact that his little sister was discovered as a spy for the Sun Tyrant, but what was worse was what he did to her from the shadows. Having his sister turned into a Griffin, plus being used as simple gatherer rather than his original job of escorting somepony to a secret location that should have billions of Bits worth of loot within. He was more than bitter about who was hiring him, and his companions.

Black ate a simple meal with the silent Griffin, trying to think of a way to get him to reveal the location of his employer, but, just as he was about to speak up to start a simple conversation, a figure walked into the room.

He and everyone stopped eating and turned their attention to a terrifying sight. Standing in the entrance to the throne room was a black dragon clad in battle-worn armor, with a few weapons holstered to his person. The dragon had a scaly, wolf-like muzzle with, cold azure eyes. The dragon had two, long, ivory horns that were bent into the shape of a lightning bolt with; three smaller horns just under them that were straight. His spins were like miniature versions of his black wings, but what was the most prominent aspect of the dragon was his armor and weapons.

He carried three, straight edge swords at his left side. Two of them had wings for crossguards while the other one was a simple black square. Judging from the length of the sheath's, the blades must have been at least four feet long, and the runes on the sides of the black scabbards gave the swords a terrifying secret. On the back, however, was two, strange, boxes. One box looked like a five-foot long tube while the other box looked like a six-foot-long suitcase. His armor looked like it was made of dragon bone and scale that looked like it weighed a ton, but when he walked over to the center table. He moved like it was a second skin.

"Tom, has Sunset arrived with the targets?" He spoke in a deep, wolfish tone that could seduce the most wretched of demon queens. Tom gave him a nod, but he frowned as there were more than just the three ponies that arrived.

"Yes, my Lord. A few more ponies arrived in order to save them. They weren't a problem, but the extra baggage wasn't something that was needed," Tom replied, causing the dragon to groan in a deep growl.

"Who was added to the captors?"

"There was a few my Lord. They are; Rainbowdash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and, of course, Sunset Shimmer."

The black dragon sighed and turned to Black. "Captain, I am your employer, so let me give you the rundown of what is going to happen before we go." Black nodded a fearful reply. "First, gather everyone as well as the prisoners and bring them to the mountain range due west of here. Second, bring all of our supplies and third; Don't do anything funny until we are there."

Author's Note

Sorry for the not thing of things, but my mind went blank for a while. Anyways, here is a quick thing, but the next thing will be a bit longer and might not pop up for a few days as I am looking for a cheap laptop to buy so I can write more often.

Whelp, other than that. Things will get more fleshed out and whatever down the line...Hopefully.