//------------------------------// // In Which I Conjure a Thing // Story: The Usurper King of Equestria // by UsurperBronyZant //------------------------------// I made sure Lilium was okay, which she was, albeit a bit shell shocked, and sent out a radar pulse. This time I sent it down as well as up and out. I didn't know for sure, but I had to make sure Church was still alive somehow. I received no response. I looked around and saw a chip that wasn't activated. Maybe it was Church? I picked it up and put a miniscule amount of magic in it to power it. “T-this u-u-ni-it has sus-sustained se-severe damage-damage.” It said. I knew what I had to do. I called upon all the magic I had and concentrated on an image I remembered from home. A form suiting a warrior. My levitation activated involuntarily, placing me about two feet in the air above the central totem pole. The chip hovered directly in front of me. The air around it grew blindingly bright. Lilium shielded her eyes, but I didn't notice. I was focused on the spell. As the air grew brighter still, I concentrated on the chip. I felt Church’s presence in it, but it was faint. There were other presences that were stronger. I redoubled my efforts. I thought of the body I had in mind. I knew what it had to be capable of. I thought of every single detail. I focused on Church and the other presences in the chip. The air around the chip got so bright it almost burned. The chip itself glowed dark red. The entire chamber glowed like the sun, then everything went black. ~~~Some time later...~~~ I don't know how long I was out, but when I came to, I saw quite the opposite of what I expected. A white coated alicorn hologram that looked like Cadence but not was what I saw. “Hello, my name is Amor. Epsilon has currently locked himself out.” I wasn't quite sure what to react, so I just picked myself up off the ground and said, “Uhhhh, hi there.” I looked over and saw Lilium unconscious near the chamber’s entrance. I figured she was fine for the moment, so I turned back to Amor and asked, “Is he okay?” “You tell me. You're the one who did this to my Dad.” She said with a mare's stare. “Well, that's the thing,” I said, exhausted and worried for Church. “I don't know what I did. I tried to save him, honest. That gryphoness, she would’ve condemned him to a fate worse than death. He would’ve been stuck in the planet's core forever. And I mean FOREVER. So I did the only thing that would remove him from his body: I killed him. Of course, I figured since he was an A.I., he’d just come back. Guess I was wrong. I found the chip and tried to conjure a new body, but I don't know how well it came out. I very much hope he's okay; I've come to appreciate him as a friend.” “...” Amor stared at me in silence for but a moment before trotting over to Lilium’s unconscious form. “Wake up sweetie.” She nudged the unconscious diclonius slightly. Lilium stirred slightly, indicating that she was only asleep rather than in a coma. Amor nudged her again, and Lilium slowly but surely awoke. “Are you alright?” Amor asked in concern. Lilium nodded in response. “We can wait as long as you need.” Maybe this was Church's daughter after all. Or at least, a memory. I looked around the room, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. I must have been unconscious for a long time. Through the holes in the ceiling, I could see Luna’s night sky. Other than that, however, all I could see was Lilium, Amor, and myself. No one else. I’d put so much magic and effort into that conjuration. Had nothing come of it? Feeling dejected, I sat on the ground, unequipped my helmet, and leaned back against a totem pole. I just looked at the moon through a hole and felt like garbage. Blood was spattered where Church had been, engraved into the ground forever as a stain. “Fuck me,” I thought to myself. “This is all my fault. Church is gone forever…” “...And it's my fault,” I said to myself glumly. “What about Desert Gem? She's still here.” “Yeah, I suppose,” I said, “but Church is...I don't even know! Is he dead? Is he whatever counts as alive for him? Is he in purgatory or that void thing? I don't know!” “No. He is under my care now.” Amor said sternly. “Thank GOD,” I said, relieved. There was still one thing, though. “Did the body come out okay?” I asked Amor. “All you did was give me the ability to make my form physical.” “No, no,” I said as I got to my feet. “One does not simply cast a conjuration spell of that magnitude and have no outcome other than an A.I. being able to make its holographic form physical. There should be some sort of outcome, even if it’s just a pile of radioactive sludge.” Then it occurred to me. There was one place I hadn’t looked. Berating myself mentally once again, I looked up and saw the fruits of my labor. It was amazing. I couldn’t tell from where I was standing, but I assumed it was about seven feet tall. The body was heavily armored, if not totally robotic. It gleamed in the moonlight. The four wings--two in between its shoulders, two at the small of its back--made it look even more menacing. Its head(?) had crown-like spikes that pointed straight up. Blood-red highlights glowed all across its body, painting lines all across its limbs. The lines all led to the core crystal in the center of its chest. My first major conjuration had been a success. I stared in shock. I hadn’t fully expected it to work, but there it was. In a stupor, still staring at the body, I stuttered, “Uh, h-hey, Amor?” “Yes?” She asked impatiently. She was still making sure Lilium was okay as she fussed over her. “I, uh, found the body…” “Uh-huh.” Amor said as she looked over Lilium who continued to assure Amor she was fine. “Are you sure you aren't hurt in any way?” Lilium nodded firmly, a hint of annoyance in her eyes. “Good. And what is...that?” She asked me in confusion as she stared at what I had created. “Number C101: Silent Honor DARK,” I replied. “Otherwise known as Church’s new body. It’s hollow, and it should be compatible with his...well, with him, I guess.” “He gets way too many gifts for his own good,” Amor said with a discontented frown. “Be that as it may,” I said, “I think his opponents will find this one much harder to remove him from.” “If you say so. When he gets back I'm going to be having a very long talk with him.” I could hear her anger. And feel it. “I’ll let you do that,” I replied. “Any idea when he’ll be back?” “I can force him to come back,” Amor said with a smirk. I did not like where she was going with this. “Uh, yeah, do that at your own discretion,” I said, getting a bit nervous. I knew what I’d put into that body, and if Church had that when he was pissed, whoever fought him, as well as possibly Lilium and me (at least at the moment), was in for a bad time. “*static* I-I...I have returned. *static*” I heard Church's voice say as his hologram appeared next to Amor, “And you better NOT tell her about this!” He screamed at the memory of his daughter. “Uh, hey buddy,” I said to Church awkwardly. “How ya feelin’?” “Where is Desert Gem?” he asked bluntly. I had a faint idea, but I wasn’t sure, so I sent out a radar pulse to check, and sure enough… “There’s a set of stairs leading to a massive round chamber behind this door,” I said, motioning to a large, foreboding door opposite the one we’d just come in. A purple circular rune faintly glowed on its left half. “There’s two other doors in that chamber. One leads to the surface. The other goes to a small room. Desert Gem is in that small room.” “Let's go,” Amor said before giving Church a pointed glare. “And I will tell her whether you like it or not.” I knew she was referring to the real Amor. I had a feeling that Church was in for a bad time when he got home. Church shook his head briefly, then said pretty loudly, “This. This is why I don't trust females.” Amor and Lilium had definitely heard that from their expressions. To break the tension, I said to Church, “So, uh, you like the body?” “I never played nor watched Yu-Gi-Oh! so I have no idea.” Church said bluntly. “Well, give it a test run, or whatever you wanna call it,” I said. Church just stared at me, not making a move. “I can't carry this.” I facepalmed. “You’re supposed to get in it!” I said, frustrated. Amor pushed Church towards it against his will until he was in front of the ‘suit’, nearly touching it. “Well? What are you waiting for Dad? It's not like it was made in China.” Amor scoffed. “Um, I don’t know about made in China, but I’m pretty sure it was conceptualized in Japan,” I said. Church begrudgingly entered the shell. As soon as he entered, the thing’s eyes lit up a pale shade of green, and the glowing dark-red lines began to pulse, going to and from the core, almost like the core was a heart and the light was blood. “I still don't trust mares,” Church said bluntly, in a voice that was slightly more robotic than usual for him. “They either want to kill me, or love me. And I don't know which is worse.” Amor sighed while Lilium just shook her head. Anxious to change the subject, I turned to Church and asked, “So, how does it feel?” “Getting killed? Well at first you see a bright light and then you-” He stopped at my blank expression. “I meant the body,” I deadpanned. “Oh, well as long as Amor doesn't g-” He froze when he realized she was right next to the shell. “No! You aren't getting in.” He jumped up and smashed through the ceiling effortlessly. The ceiling rumbled, and seemed like it was about to cave in. Thinking quick, I grabbed Amor and Lilium and teleported us back to where we’d first arrived. The clearing where we’d first set down. When we arrived, we saw Church hovering in the air some ways away, watching as a section of ground below him collapsed. “Hell yeah! America!” He yelled as he started smashing through the floor, presumably to get to Desert Gem. A moment later, he came back looking pissed, and very much empty-handed. “Having fun there?” I asked sarcastically. “FUCK!” He yelled as he grabbed a pillar and threw it at the wall, impaling it into it at an angle. “Whoa! Dude! WHOA!” I yelled to him. “CALM THE FUCK DOWN! If you break the wrong thing, we might never find her!” “I WILL TEAR DOWN THIS… “ Church calmed down when Amor shook her head sadly, “...place.” “You okay there buddy?” I asked him sincerely. “Ask all the dead bodies down there.” He pointed to the hole. What he said shocked me. “This place is still inhabited?!” I asked in disbelief. “Those are the bodies of royal guards and civilians.” “Equestrians?!” I asked him, now very much afraid. “Dozens. All brutally murdered,” He said seriously. “Do you know who or what did them in?” I asked in an equally serious tone. “You tell me? Do you know any other criminal organizations that would slit a foal's throat so nonchalantly?” “The Cult of Nightmare will BURN,” I said, my voice becoming murderous and slightly warped. “Do you know what Desert Gem's significance is to the Cult of Nightmare?” Amor asked. “Her unique magic might have something to do with it,” I answered, my voice returning to normal. “I know she’s half-genie, whatever that means in this fucked-up world.” “I may not care if others die in war but KILLING A DEFENSELESS CHILD? THAT. That is fucked up.” “The next time I see one of them?” I said, “No mercy.” “Lilium,” Church said as he looked at her. She looked at him in response, her head tilted as a cue for him to continue. Church walked up to her, his stomps resonating throughout the temple until he leaned into her ear and whispered something only she could hear. His tone was pleading. This deeply intrigued me. I arched an eyebrow, then looked to Amor and asked her, “Should I be concerned about all that over there?” as I pointed at Church and Lilium. Amor giggled, “Yes. Yes you should be.” By that point Lilium was looking Church in the eye and said, just loud enough for me to hear, and very, very seriously, “He won’t. Even if he tries, I’ll make sure he doesn’t.” “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. I had no idea what to make of this, but it didn’t seem like a good thing. In fact, it seemed very, very bad. “Thank you, Lilium. It is all I could ask.” Church said as he picked her up and gave her a gentle hug. He set her down, then looked to me and Amor and said, “Wort wort wort.” He sounded exactly like a Sangheili. Amor and I just facepalmed/hoof’d. Lilium looked confused. I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, despite everything. “Um. I think our target is moving in our direction.” Church said in confusion. I sent out a radar pulse. I found something very strange. I could no longer detect Desert Gem in the chamber she’d been in before. But I did detect her coming up behind us... I quickly turned around to see Desert Gem with a murderous look on her face, a dagger in her magical grip. Her green, fiery magical grip.