Shadow of Fury

Chapter 4

Meanwhile....

The young female griffin walked down the hot, steamy corridor. The red, rocky walls seemed to emanate heat, but that didn't bother her. What bothered her was what waited for her at the end of the corridor. Coming from the lit room at the end she could hear footsteps, pacing back and forth. She gulped. She knew who was causing those footsteps. And she knew that they would be very unhappy when they heard what she had to say. She took a few deep breaths before walking inside.

The room itself was part of a large, secret underground structure built into a volcano. The complex was absolutely gigantic. It spread for at least a mile in all directions, and was literally carved out of the igneous stone of the volcano. The secret base had been found by her and a few other griffins a few months ago, and it was now their home. Or the closest thing to home it could get. She didn't know who built it, and she didn't care. All that mattered was that it was there, and it was theirs for the taking.

The room was furnished with an orange couch made of spongy rock, and had a table made from a large mushroom, one of many that had been found growing along the slopes of the mountain. There was a fireplace, of sorts. Rather than a chimney with firewood, it was a well. The well was similar to the kind used for bringing water to the surface, but instead of water it was filled to the brim with lava. It bubbled and crackled, providing a warm, smokeless light for the entire room.

The cause of the footsteps turned to look at the young griffin. He, too, was a griffin, albeit older, male, and twice the size of the younger one. His feathers were snow white, and his coat of fur a deep silver. His eyes were as red as rubies. Some of his feathers shared this red, producing a spotted appearance. He wore steel armor, with the symbol of a red phoenix on its front. His wings were not natural. They were made entirely out of metal. The steel feathers that coated them were as sharp as knives, and made a horrible clicking sound whenever he walked. He never told anybody how he got them, and most were smart enough not to ask. There was a scar on his left eye. This was the same eye that twitched angrily as the younger female entered the room.

"Well?" he asked. "Did it work?"

The younger griffin sighed. "The ursa major was killed," she said.

The older one seethed, trying to contain his rage. After a moment, he only said, "How?"

"There were the bearers of the elements, of course. They attempted to defeat it. In any case they should have been killed, at least a few of them. But there were...complications,"

"What kind of complications?"

"Four colts. I don't know who they are, but they helped the elements to defeat the ursa. I saw it with my own eyes,"

There was a moment of silence as the older griffin simply stared into the lava.

"How many soldiers did we lose angering that thing to the point where it would attack Ponyville?"

The younger griffin shuffled anxiously on her feet. "Five, sir,"

"And how many ponies did it kill before it was defeated?"

She gulped. "Zero, sir,"

"Zero," he repeated, "zero,"

The male continued to look into the lava. "Any news from our 'friend?'"

The younger griffin sighed, relieved that the subject had changed. "Yes, sir. She will be here in two days time, to oversee the final stages of the plan,"

"Oversee?" He said. "Who does she think she is? This is my plan. And I will not let her think that she is in charge. She will learn her place in due time,"

The younger griffin was now shrinking back in fear of what would happen next. Seven more griffins walked in then, all of them male. The larger male took them all in, before returning to the younger one.

"You may leave us, Gilda," he said.

Gilda let out a sigh of relief, before saluting. "Yes, Father,"

Then she ran out into the corridor.

The older male chuckled as his daughter ran off. The brief smile on his face disappeared almost instantly as he turned to the other griffins who he now whared the room with. "Gentlemen," he began, "shall we get down to business?"

The griffins nodded and sat around the large table. The large male spread out a map of Equestria. "I trust we are all familiar with the plan?"

The griffins nodded again. As the larger male began to talk, two younger subordinates struck up a conversation.

"This guy's crazy,"

"What?"

"He's crazy. I mean, who spends all this time thinking up plans for conquest?"

"A general, maybe,"

"Oh, don't get smart with me. I outrank you,"

"No you don't. I outrank you,"

"Oh, right. Whatever. But think about it. Do you really want this guy in charge?"

"I want a strong leader, and he provides that,"

"But have you heard some of the things they say about him? I heard that his wife only married him cuz she had to. And that he's training his daughter to become a military commander,"

"Now that you mention it, I have heard some weird things about him. Like his wings,"

"Yeah, his wings!"

"How did he get them?"

"I heard it was in a fire,"

"I heard he chose to do it to himself,"

"Seriously, who put this psycho in charge?"

The other griffin didn't talk.

"Hey, we're not done here!" the first one said. "What are you even looking a-"

The griffin stopped midsentence. Looking directly at him from across the table was the older male. His ruby eyes seemed to glow like hot coals with suppressed anger, which was made even more intimidating by the fact that his face showed no expression otherwise. The griffin stood, and opened his metal wings.

"So," he began, "you want to know why I'm 'in charge' as you so eloquently put it,"

The younger male gulped and shook his head vigorously. "No, sir. I'm sure it-it's f-for a v-v-very good rea-reason,"

The older male smirked in amusement. Then he laughed. All the other griffins laughed too, albeit very awkwardly. Then, in the blink of an eye, the old male slit the insubordinate's throat in a single, fluid motion of his wings. All of the other griffins stopped laughing and looked on in horror. Then, the older male turned on them. One by one he slashed them with his wingtips, until only one remained. He was the one who was talking the insubordinate. The room was an absolute bloodbath, and the older male turned to the last survivor. In a flash, he was right in front of him. He grabbed him by the throat with his front claws.

"That's why," he said. He dropped the younger male, who sputtered and coughed.

"Yes, Lord Ironfeathers,"

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Author's note!

This was a short chapter, and was mostly written just to introduce the villain. I'm going to get to work on the next chapter pretty soon, and that's gonna take a while. That's why I wrote this chapter so quickly, so I could get it out of the way.

Now go forth and multiply!

E = mc2