I knew from the start this would be a long endeavor. However, as we traveled through the jewels, a problem was approaching us. There was simply too much to carry. It was starting to get difficult for the boxes to hold it all in. One by one, the lids started to creak open against all our efforts.
"Why can't I get this one shut?!" Birch Bucket tackled it down, the lid of his box starting to pop off as well.
"Maybe we should speak to the demonic bells within our souls!!" Parcel Post had been shouting random nonsense at the top of his lungs the entire time, making the tension all the harder on all of us.
"Seriously, why did you bring him?" I pointed out. "He's clearly unstable."
"I've noticed." Ahuizotl held a few more lids in place while I filled the last of the cat litter boxes.
"That will have to do for now..." I grumbled in shame. There was simply too much to take out, plus if this Lil Cheese could take us back and forth into the vault so easily, it seemed kind of pointless to push our efforts so hard. "Wait a minute. Where is Lil Cheese?" I jumped around only to find her nowhere in sight.
"I told you to watch her!" Ahuizotl pointed at Parcel Post.
"Hey, I'm not that crazy!!" He pointed back. "I just really love bells!!" He held up an object we hadn't noticed before. It was a box with bell symbols all over it.
"Wait, when did you find it?!" Ahuizotl rushed over in such a fuss that he knocked down several boxes we just got finish filling.
"Oh, how I love hearing you sing!! My dark lord!!" Parcel Post swung the strange box back and forth, completely ignoring Ahuizotl.
"Put that down, it's the sole reason we are here!!" Ahuizotl yelled.
"That's the song I feel inside!!" He hit the box hard with his hooves. "It's the song of eternal darkness!! Hidden under the forge of ten trillion diamonds!!"
"Parcel Post, this is no time for music!" Ahuizotl shook the pony violently. "We have what we need now we can leave."
"What?!" I stood in front of Ahuizotl in disbelief. "We came here for this massive horde of diamonds, not for a random box with fancy bell art on it?"
"It not just a box!!" Parcel Post slapped Ahuizotl aside. "It is the greatest magical artifact in all the land, once wielded by--" He was silenced by Ahuizotl's tail hand.
"Magical artifacts?" My eyebrows raised in shock and greater confusion. "Beloved, this is a mission between us. Magical Artifacts are that damn Daring Do's kink!" I pointed at him accusingly.
"I know! But their master offered us this entire horde of diamonds if we remove the box from this vault." He tried reasoning with me, but I had heard enough.
"No, if you want such a thing go to that whore of a writer for help, not me!!" I threw one of the boxes at him. "There is nothing in this hoard worth taking is there!" I shook the boxes of diamonds to prove my point.
"You don't understand, just carrying out a few dozen boxes won't matter as this collection is near endless!!" He tried to plead with me. "And even more crazy, time doesn't matter in here. You could spend eons counting all these diamonds. That way you could never grow old and I would never need to abandon you--" I stopped him by slapping him across the face.
"You did all this so our time together would never end." I cupped his face in my hooves.
"Yes..."
"To lock me away in a vault like the other gems in your collection." My words shattered his eyes as it was the truth. I knew from the beginning that I was far from his first love. I doubt even Daring Do would be his last. I knew right away what this was, an attempt to keep me perfect for all eternity.
All his mares were just part of his collection. I could see this as plain as day now. I wasn't special, just one among trillions, just like any random diamond in this vault. "I see the truth now." I stepped away from him, not giving the old monkey any kiss at all. "This is the true treasure you have collected." I turned away and walked over to the door of the vault.
"Wait?" He pleaded with me. "We can make this work."
"Listen..." I spoke softer and reached into my bag of goodies. "I'm an old mare. I know when my time has come." I pulled out a large explosive, shocking them all. "But I know how to go out with a bang!!"
A fiery explosion tore through the door, much to the shock of everypony inside and out and a giant avalache of diamonds flooded down the mountain. Plenty of them were covered in the stink of my cat litter, so I'm not surprised when Babs Seed witness the sheer madness. It was an easy assumption to make.
The mass carried me down the mountain and crashed me into the chimney where I got tied up in the ropes from the boxes. I fell and bounced into the bedroom, before landing in the closet. Luckily a few minutes later a stallion shoved a cute little pegasus filly into the closet with me.
This filly spoke with a mare's voice so I assumed it had to be trapped in a similar fate to Babs Seed. Hearing Babs Seed in danger, I quickly ignored the thought and tried to break free. I was able to use it squishy body to break down the door. Don't worry, strangely enough, it enjoyed every second a little too well.
"Oh yeah, hit me harder, Shining Armor!" A seductive mare's voice screamed in utter delight from the filly's mouth.
******
Both Blueblood and Luster Dawn had a full spit take at that answer. The shock and confusion were only increased by Chrysalis's moaning in the background, echoing from Cozy Glow's mouth as she remembered every detail. This was luckily silenced by a cattle prong from Lightning Dust.
"Hold on, you mean to tell me that avalanche was a giant slide of diamonds?!" Braeburn rushed over and demanded.
"You know of this?" Luster Dawn asked.
"Well, not all the details before now." The captain took a step back to his radio. "Double the guards and double the weapons. It's a prime connection to the scene I am heading right now."
"How long have you known about this other crime scene?" Blueblood curiously poked.
"Since the beginning." Captain Braeburn stood up proudly. "Before we thought it was just a massive horde of cat litter."
"All the other stories mentioning a cat litter avalanched didn't sound familiar... at all?" Luster Dawn pushed.
"No--" Captain Braeburn stopped abruptly upon realizing how idiotic his statement sounded. "Oh, sorry."
"Either way, I now have all the details I need." Blueblood raised his hoof and called all the suspects back into the living room. "I know who is responsible for all this evil and where the Crystal Heart really is."
******