Brothers In Blood II

“Where’d Celestia go?” Clayton and Shining started jogging to the meeting room. The rest of the mane 6 disappeared to help the repairs of the castle. It looked better than before, but it still needed repairs. No pony dared to go into the throne room as it had small traces of magic radiation. Clayton stuck his helmet back on, the lights springing back to life.

“She stormed off,” Shining paused to catch his breathe. “She’s probably already in the room.”

“For a captain, you have a short stamina.” Clayton chuckled. Shining stuck his tongue out in response. “But something’s not right Shining…”

“You’re telling me.” Shining got back his composure and began walking to the council room, Clayton in tow. “We just had a damn meeting and now another? This guy doesn’t give up.” The sound of yelling brought Clayton and Shining’s attention to the council door.

“You didn’t say he was already here.” Clayton grunted.

“I didn’t know.”

CHAPTER IX: HIDE AND SEEK

Clayton pushed the doors of the room open. He looked over to Celestia. She ignored the fact that Clayton has entered and continued to glare at the Gryphon king. He glanced over to Clayton and frowned.

“The beast has arrived.” The gryphon king spat. “Here to beg your master for food?” Clayton ignored his comment and stood next to Celestia. Shining closed the door and stood on Celestia’s right.

“Why have you called another meeting?” Clayton asked, trying to sustain his rage from Sombra.

“Noting of your concern, beast.” The king scoffed. “Run along now, the more important people are talking.”

“Well Celestia seems mad, so it’s now my concern.” Clayton shot back. “So I ask again; why have you called another meeting.” The king glared at Clayton, his eyes reflecting the light from the window. He sighed and nodded to one of the guards behind him. The guard threw down a photo of the remains of a village that was attacked.

“I have witnesses of your ‘princess of the night’ attacking my village and killing MY people!” the Gryphon king yelled, slamming a claw on the wooden table. “You have A LOT of nerve attacking my people you witch!”

“Luna did not attack your people.” Clayton defended. “Nightmare Moon did.”

“Another being Celestia has created.” The Gryphon king yelled. “You’ve done nothing but create monsters! From Sombra, to Discord. And even your own sister. So to solve that problem, you send this monster to attack my people.”

“Celestia did not attack your people!” Clayton growled.

“Do not speak, unless spoken to wretched beast.” The king spat.

“Clayton is not an animal!” Celestia yelled, slamming her hooves against the wooden table. “And you have no authority to blame me for anything!”

“Finally, you speak.” The Gryphon King sighed. “I was tired of speaking to your filthy pet.” Clayton clenched his fists. He glared through his helmet at the king and paused. Staring at the king, he looked at his eyes. Clayton ignored the arguing from Celestia and the king and started into his eyes, before freezing. The kings’ eyes were yellow with blood red irises. The Gryphon king glanced over to Clayton and winked.

“Honestly, I don’t understand any of you.” Sombra’s voice echoed in Clayton’s mind. “I mean, all these things are happening right infront of you.”

“Son of a BITCH!” Clayton roared. He lunged over the wooden table and tackled the king to the floor. The Gryphon king blocked two blows before Shining and the kings guards restrained Clayton. The king got up, brushing the dust off his armor.

“HOW DARE YOUR BEAST ATTACK ME!” the king yelled. “You have some nerve releasing your animal on me.” Clayton tried getting out of the griffin guards grips.

“Clayton, calm down!” Shining whispered. “Relax.”

“Remove this foul beast out of my sight!” the gryphon king yelled. The world slowed down as the king added another thing. “I don’t want the stench of failure in this room.” Clayton froze. The griffins slowly started pulling him away, ignoring the grin on their kings’ face. Shining reluctantly opened the doors and watched as Clayton was thrown out. He shook his head at Clayton and closed the doors shut.

The hallway was purged into silence as Clayton stormed off from the council room, pushing guards and ponies out of the way.  His fists shook in anger as he pushed another pony out of the way. The rainbow manes mare looked back, her eyes furrowed.

“Hey Clayton, if you don’t want to talk, you don’t need to be pushing people out of the way.” Clayton paused. He glanced over his shoulder before continuing his march. “Are you ok Clay?” Rainbow followed Clayton down the hallway, before he paused at the door to his room.

“Was the King a big jerk? Because news been travelling that he’s been a total asshole about the whole situation and-“Clayton swung his door open and walked into his room. He violently slammed the door shut behind him, the sound heard all across the castle. “Or you can be a big fat jerk too!” Rainbow grumbled and walked off, ignoring the eyes of other ponies.

“How dare you try and start a war with the Gryphons!” the griffin king slammed his claws on the table. “First, you send your beast to attack my son. Then, you send your sister to kill my people. And now, you make your animal attack me?”

“I assure you, none of that was my fault.” Celestia shot back. She didn’t want to start a war with her own son.

“You can’t deny truth Celestia!” the griffin king roared. “I have proof of all the failures you’ve brought by being in rule! You are un-fit for ruling this nation!”

“No, you’re un-fit for ruling this nation.” Celestia turned her head to see Clayton standing at the door. All his weapons were on his back. In his left hand was a large bottle, the words ‘Equestrian Whiskey’ plastered on the side.

“Oh no…” Shining armor groaned.

“So the beast returns at the call of its masters help.” The king spat. “Get out of my sight and return back to your room.” Clayton rested a hand on the door frame for balance as he took a long swig of the whiskey. He slowly wiped his mouth.

“Say that to my face, birdbrain.” Clayton said coldly. Celestia was about to say something when the king got up. He slowly walked over to Clayton, their eyes locked with each other. The king got up to his hind legs and stood mere inches from Clayton’s face.

“Go back to your cage like the animal you are.” The king growled. Clayton and the king stood unmoving, their eyes staring daggers at each other.  The tension in the room was high, causing Celestia to get up on her hooves. Clayton and the king slowly parted away from each other. They paced around the room, walking inches away. The glare never broke as they made a full circle.

Clayton roared as he rushed the king, his shoulder connecting with the kings’ gut. He grabbed around the kings waist as he crashed through the window. Shards of glass fell down as Clayton and the king made their decent. The king finally pushed Clayton off in mid-air, only to get a swift punch right in the jaw. They both crashed into the maze below with a loud slam. Dirt and dust clouded the area, blocking the vision of the area.

Clayton coughed as he fanned the dust away from him. He winced as pain struck his legs, causing him to kneel. The dust suddenly blew away as the Gryphon King flapped his wings. He stood on his hind legs, a claw over the sword on his hip. His red cape was ripped and torn as it blew in the soft wind. Blood trickled from his nose and down his beak. They both locked eye contact, ignoring the small crater they stood in.

Without warning, the king lunged at Clayton. He unsheathed his sword, the blade reflecting the suns glare. Clayton quickly pulled out his Lancer and activated the chainsaw, the hum echoing around the maze. The blade and the chainsaw collided in a furry of sparks the sound of metal grinding against chainsaw could be heard around the castle. Clayton finally stood up and pushed against the sword, more sparks flying everywhere.

A swift kick in the gut pushed the king away from Clayton, his claws digging into the ground. The king spat on the ground and slowly rubbed away any traces of blood. He roared as they both lunged at each other, their weapons colliding once again. The king pushed Clayton away and went airborne, his wings blowing some dust into Claytons face. He curved around in the air and flew downwards to Clayton, using gravity as a push. Clayton barely rolled away as the kings sword collided with the ground, blasting dirt into the air. He swung he sword in Clayton’s direction only for it to be blocked.

“You have a lot of nerve fighting a GRIFFON!” the king roared.

The kings’ sword sliced right through the rifle, to Clayton's shock. He threw away the two pieces and rushed the king, knocking the sword out of his talons. He rammed him through one of the walls of the maze, leading them into the center. The king pushed away Clayton and clawed his face, drawing blood. Clayton ducked under another blow and punched upwards, right into the kings’ chest. The dragon bone armor cracked in the impact as it pushed the king upwards. He reacted quickly and flew away from Clayton, dodging another blow.

The king rushed Clayton into the fountain sitting in the middle of the maze. He slammed the man’s head into the water, trying to drown him. Clayton roared as he elbowed the griffin in the ribs. He pushed away the griffin as he caught his breath. The king took no time to lunge at Clayton. Clayton barely dodged the king and grabbed the back of his head. He slammed the griffins face straight into the fountain, smashing the stone. The king lied unconscious, the water slowly turning a hue of red. Clayton backed away slowly.

“Aw crap.” Clayton gasped. Two griffins clad in armor flew down from the castle, investigating the body. Shining Armor and Celestia rushed to the scene, a group of mares trailing behind. "Awwww crap."

“Sweet Celestia Clayton,” Shining armor said. “Please don’t tell me you did what I think you did.” The griffins picked up the unconscious body and flew off, not saying a word.

“I think I might’ve.”