//------------------------------//
// =Chapter 9-Detectives II= 
// Story: Tale of a Mecha-Pegasus: Overworld 
// by Zaarlika 
//------------------------------//

The next day, X was woken by Twilight.
"Looks like 1I'm the one poking you this time." She smiled. After a huff he got up, stretching the pistons in his legs. He had no actual muscles, this is what they did instead. Following her he looked out the windows as the seven ponies checked out the hotel.
"So, straight to the building?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, no time to lose." Rainbow responded, checking around the corner.
"Uh, guys? How are we going to deal with the guards?" She asked. Looking around, they saw a trio of guards posted around the building.
"We tell them Princess Celestia sent us and...hope for the best?" Twilight suggested, setting off.
"And if that doesn't work?" Rarity asked.
"Then we find another way in." X blinked. The seven ponies headed down the street towards the guarded building.

As they approached, the guards, who had prior been lazing around, stood and grabbed their spears.
"Halt. No civilians are to enter the building." The one in the middle stated.
"Why are you guarding it?" Fluttershy asked.
"An investigator is on his way to here to look into the disappearance of Madame La Mosique. We are here to prevent disturbance before and while he does so." The guard answered.
"We were sent here to investigate the kidnappings." Twilight blinked. The guard off to their right looked at a clipboard.
"Ah, yes, it seems we have made a mistake. Proceed inside." He said. The guards moved aside, and one unlocked and opened the door. The ponies headed inside and, seeing nothing of worth in the lower floor, headed upstairs. The upper floor was dusty and full of webs, but had seen recent use.
"X, did you find out when the confectioner vanished?" Rarity asked. Since she and X had came to the conclusion of investigating the confectioner, she had been taking this in her stride. Sort of, anyway.
"About five days ago. However, activity was seen on this floor only two days ago, but nobody could make out who was up here." X answered, looking over a desk of drawers. The group moved around, investigating the room.
"Hey, guys, look at this." Twilight called. She had found a number of other, as of yet unused invitations to a number of others, not all of which were shopkeepers.
"Guys! I can't open this!" Applejack called. She had found a locked door behind a tall cupboard, and it was locked. Twilight's horn lit up as she attempted to open it, but the lock did not budge.
"Well, our only option here is to find the key. Okay, gang, let's look." Twilight turned back to what she had been doing before.

The seven had been searching the rooms for about half an hour, and while they had found three keys, all were old and dusty and none fit.
"Well, what do we do? We can't kick it down." Rainbow asked.
"Can't we?" Twilight asked, looking to X." He stared blankly for a moment as the other six ponies turned to look at him, before realizing he was a mechanical horse who could kick down trees if he wanted.
"I could, if you see it worth it." X looked to the door.
"Yeah, go ahead, we've searched everywhere else a dozen times." Pinkie smiled. X walked over, turned his back to the door, and bucked it, his hind legs firing out, and the door didn't just budge, it flew off the hinges and hit the far wall. Politely, he stood to the side, letting the six mares pass before following. It was another room, full of crates and chests. When X had kicked the door off, it had smashed one open. It was full of ice, with cupcakes sat neatly in them.
"So, who's been doing this? Keeping these things in chests in an abandoned house? Why?" Twilight asked.
"To keep them cool?" Pinkie suggested.
"To keep up a ruse." X picked up one, putting it near his nostrils. Scent detection was automatic. It was spiked. He turned and chucked it into the far wall.
"Hey, why did you do that?" Pinkie asked.
"They are tainted. Don't touch them." X closed the lid to the smashed chest as much as he could. The ponies investigated the room for a while, but it didn't take them long to notice the numerous floorboards out of place.
"X, think y'all could crack this?" Applejack asked, tapping on the loose boards. He sighed.
"I'm not a workhorse, you know."
"No, you're reliable." Twilight smiled. Rearing his front hooves, he smashed the floorboards and almost, almost fell down the hole beneath as the boards tumbled down. There was a green light deep down underneath, and after a distance it opened to a chamber, but they couldn't see anything down there.
"Unless one of us can walk on walls, ah don't think we're gettin' down there." Applejack blinked, raising a hoof to stop her hat falling off.
"Yeah, no, I'm no help this time. I could theoretically fly down, but I don't see how that would help." X looked over his wings. After a pause, the floorboards hit the bottom with a quieted clank. Another moment passed. And another. Rarity looked up.
"Well, it doesn't seem like there's anything down there, does it?" she asked.
"No. Maybe we've got a cold lead. Or whatever they call it." Fluttershy suggested.
"It seems too...close. Almost like they're waiting for us." Twilight stroked her chin.
"Who?" X asked.
"From the looks of it, this looks like a tunnel to a changeling cavern, of some description." She answered. He backed off. He remembered what he read about Changelings, and certainly didn't want to meet them.
"What's wrong, X?" Rainbow asked. The six turned to him.
"I don't know what they are, and they don't sound friendly." He answered.
"We defeated them once, didn't we girls? What, are these some rag-tag survivors?" Rainbow chuckled.
"With Cadence's help, yeah." Applejack shrugged.
"Don't worry, X, we've done enough for now, let's just leave and-" Twilight started to  head for the exit, before something screeched deep down in the cavern. It was followed by another, and another, and more joined until they couldn't tell just how many were down there. After a moment, a black, chitinous creature with wings and a short, smooth horn came out, with long fangs, blue eyes, and strangest of all, multiple holes in its legs. Immediately, X's programmed defensive mechanism kicked in and he charged forward, ramming it in the gut with his head, and most importantly, spiky metal mane. It screeched as its turquoise blood spurted briefly from its wounds and it thumped on the floor, before tumbling back down the hole.
"Lets, uh, get out while we can!" Applejack started for the door, the rest of them in hot pursuit. However, less than five seconds later and a swarm of changelings came out, blocking their exit.
"Alright, if they want to fight, let us fight." X growled, stepping forward.

The next couple minutes were chaotic. He knew fighting, it was one of the things he could do, but in tight quarters like these? He didn't know how they could hold up. Nonetheless he was dropping them like sacks of potatoes. He bucked one, flinging it into the opposite wall. The next he ended by swinging on his front legs, bringing his hind ones into its face, probably smashing whatever it had in place of a skull. The third he grabbed by the face, knocking a fang free and smashing it back into its head using his other hoof. He back flipped, throwing yet another into the wall, before bringing his front hoof into its face. It didn't retaliate. Turning, he punched another one in the eye, sending it tumbling. Another jumped on his back, so he opened his razor-sharp copper wings and sliced its hind legs off, before throwing his weight around and threw it off, stamping on the dying creature's abdomen. It was then he noticed that the continuing swarm of changelings had already overwhelmed and pinned down the other six mares, and were dragging them back to the hole. He couldn't tell who was talking, but he heard an 'X! Help!' From them. He responded immediately. Bucking one for a start, he charged through the SRAM, smashing several down and either giving them lethal incisions or lethal organ rupture, as he tackled one holding Applejack's hind legs, slamming it into the ground, breaking whatever was inside. Applejack promptly bucked one, knocking it into a crowd. However, the changelings had responded by literally filling the room with themselves. He only managed to smash one more's head in before he too was overwhelmed.

X awoke what felt like hours later, inside a green, slightly slimy pod. Indeed, his internal clock said three hours had passed. Of course, the need for air didn't apply to him, much like a lot of other things, so he barely noticed it. Looking around, the room was also illuminated green. Changeling cavern. Of course. He saw several of them some distance away in a deep depression in the bottom of the chamber. One was bigger than the rest, and appeared to be giving the rest orders. None of them could see him or were paying attention. Turning to his right, he saw seven other pods. He couldn't see inside them, but he guessed six of them contained his friends. Testing the pod's fleshy material, he noted it wasn't particularly tough, just enough to hold them. It was actually straining under his added weight. Sighing, he decided using his wings to cut himself free was a waste of time, and just flicked his tail, cutting an incision big enough for him to climb through, but not enough to give his escape away. He climbed out and opened his wings, hovering behind the pod. Carefully drifting around, he saw that the others indeed contain his friends, and another stallion who appeared to be a cook of some description. Looking down, he saw the changelings hadn't noticed him still. Looking back, he saw one open her eyes. Twilight, or at least he thought as much. It was hard to tell through the pod. He may have been a mechanical Pegasus, but he was only built to carry his own weight. If he were to divert more power to his wings to carry them away, he might give them away, and he really did not like the idea of having another one sided fight with these Changelings. He could do so and possibly save his friends, or go and sneak out. He was, really, here to study, and these friends had, at least originally, become friends to help him do this. Slowly, he glided away towards an obscure tunnel leading away.

X quietly walked down the path, evading being noticed by the Changeling guards that prowled. His feet were stained bluey-green, he had to smash three of them to pulp to avoid further danger. As he sat behind a tunnel wall as some more of the blasted creatures passed, he thought. Yes, those six ponies had served to help his core goal on the surface, but then, they had helped him in other ways. Pinkie had thrown him the party, he had the race with Rainbow, all of them had acted kind to him and been the few up here that welcomed him to the surface when everyone else gave him terrified stares. And this is how he repaid them? By abandoning them in a Changeling cavern and leaving them to a horrible fate they, by no means, deserved? And they had questioned the same things he did, did he want to go home? To Magnafell? There he was ridiculed and kicked out, punished for everything he did. Here, in Equestria, he was welcomed, valued, considered reliable and trustworthy. Princess Celestia had sent him to assist these six mares in this, and in doing this he had betrayed not only them, but her as well. He was snapped from thought by the sound of startled Changelings behind him. Slowly, almost dramatically, he turned. No, he didn't want to go home. He was nothing there. He was something here. Even if it left him to die rusty and broken, he was worth more here, and would die happily here. If he did die. Facing these three angry creatures, the last they saw before the tunnels echoed with the dying screams of the three abominations was his grin.

Twilight struggled more in her pod. Why had X abandoned her? Them? They were friends, but he had just left them! She thought he had cared about them, valued them as much as they valued him, but apparently a machine cannot have such thoughts. As she looked to her right, she saw a Changeling rip one of the pods off the ceiling. Trying her hardest to seem she saw it was a cook, an unfortunate stallion. Another Changeling flew up and grabbed the other end of his slimy prison, and they lowered it to the far tunnel, where a Changeling reminiscent of a smaller Queen Chrysalis stood, ordering her minions around. The two Changelings were surrounded by a troop of them, and the pod began thrashing around as the stallion awoke. Her gut was filled with dread and sympathy as the creatures dragged his pod away. Soon, he was out of sight. After a pause to think of how she could die down here, she was snapped out of her thoughts by a mangled, bloody Changeling flying across the chamber, smacking this pseudo-Queen in the back. Looking beyond rage she turned to face this disruption. Looking to where the corpse had come from, she saw a familiar copper stallion. And he did not look happy.

X charged the guard troop. There were six of them, this wouldn't be hard. The first he grabbed and bashed with his face to stun it, before letting go and spinning, slicing up its abdomen with his wings, before kicking it the second, who tumbled over its dying comrade. Into his fist. Four. The third, he grabbed by the front hooves, pressing his hind hooves against its chest and essentially bucking, breaking its back into pieces and ripping its stomach open. It was dead before he let go. Three. These last lot were terrified, but dedicated to protecting their master. He charged them, ramming one and flailing his head, ripping apart its chest and dropping it like all the rest. Two. The second last went to attack him, while the last went to grab him. Last became second last. He spun, bringing his hind hooves into its chest and caving it in, before finishing the creature with a hard punch to said chest. His hoof went right through. He chucked it down in disgust. Before the last could stop itself, he rotated his wings and clapped the sharp pointed ends together, running the creature through at least twelve times, before beating his wings together. It was literally torn to shreds. Zero. She was defenseless. Going in for the kill, he beat her down in four hits. She stopped trying after the first smash to the face.

X stood, imitating panting, among the pile of corpses, body bit and blood. He knew he was a war machine, and these melee attacks were apparently the least effective of his abilities, but he had torn them apart like they weren't even trying to defend themselves. Turning, he saw, thankfully, his friend's six pods were there. The seventh had vanished. Opening his wings once more, he took off, approaching them. He came up to Twilight.
"When I catch you, you need to hold on tight, I'm not meant to carry more than my own weight, okay?" He instructed in a loud voice. She just nodded. He dug his hooves into her pod and tore it open, catching the purple mare, carrying her over to the tunnel he had exited, and then arrived through, before turning. One by one he freed his friends, carrying them over. Fluttershy and Rainbow didn't need help, and helped carry Rarity over. Soon the seven of them were free. Sort of. Twilight hadn't forgotten his temporary betrayal.
"What in Celestia's name is wrong with you?" She growled. He immediately backed off.
"Whaddya mean, Twi? He just saved us." Applejack asked, confused.
"Yeah, after leaving us to die."
"What? Why? What did we do?" Rarity asked, turning to X. He hung his head and lowered his ears as much as possible.
"I...I don't know. I wanted to get out, away from these...things, back to my original objective. I'm not meant to be here bonding with people, I'm here to research." X sighed.
"You said you didn't want to go home." Fluttershy cocked her head slightly.
"I know, but, if I didn't return to the surface safely, it would be putting your entire kingdom at risk."
"What? How?"
"You know how I said if I refused or hid they would come and take me by force? By that, I meant my society's army would rise to the surface and attack everything in sight until they found me." X explained. The eyes of all six mares went wide.
"You mean unless we can get back nice and happy everybody?..."Pinkie started, unsure how to finish.
"Dies. Yes. And your guards cannot stop these soldiers. They have full Me'etar military training. Your armies would fall before they knew just what they were up against. They have guns, ranged weapons that shoot small bits of hot metal into at high speed. I would be impressed if one of your soldiers was standing after three shots. Our soldiers can shoot beams of superheated light. Our soldiers have weapons and armor your soldiers cannot hope to fight. So unless I, or we, get back to the surface and safely, and I go back without resistance, you, and your entire kingdom, neigh, your species, would fall and die." X explained, his voice grim and stammering. He looked up, straight at Twilight, who looked confused more than anything.
"Can you forgive my actions? I only had best interests at heart. Just my thoughts were...not straight. I am sorry." He asked. She looked up. Her friends had decided already.
"He has his reasons. And he did come back, didn't he?" Fluttershy turned to Twilight.
"Yeah, I mean, as far as he was thinking, it was us or Equestria." Rainbow added. Twilight looked up. At this moment her thoughts were most important, last thing they needed was an angry mare while they tried to escape.
"Yeah. Lets...let's save the emotional stuff for later. We need to get out." She sighed, looking down the tunnel.
"What's down there?"
"Some dead Changelings and our best hope at escape."