Cogs and Crystals

by TomatoFace

Construct

If one were to ever enter the Leviathan caverns, they would be met with the most beautiful architecture to ever be seen. They would be met with huge open spaces, filled with bridges and buildings. They would see that a vast majority of the numerous gigantic caves that the system had been named for (that is, back when the area was settled) had been filled with excess stone, minerals, dirt and clay that currently lacked a use, and for much of the stone and dirt, that would be forever, and new spaces, spaces deemed perfect by their creator, spaces that were regularly maintained, spaces that were filled with a special type of beauty that had only ever seen the light of its keeper's glow, took their places, though they were not as huge in both size and number. If they went into the caves, they would be met with the sight of ancient smelting ares, still maintained and used by the keeper, as well as a blacksmith's anvil and forge. Further still and they would find themselves lost in a maze of tunnels, the layout of which so extensive and complicated it can only be remembered by a machine. There were tunnels that had been mined out by organics some long time ago, but they were indistinguishable from the tunnels the keeper made. They were filled with the sound of pickaxe against stone whenever there was not building, sculpting, or smelting to be done. And when one followed that sound, they would find the keeper.

Gears was content with the life he had been living for the past (Hundred? Thousand? The construct had lost track of the time. Even he had his limits)years, a life of digging and creating. There was an innumerable range of things he created. Tools, buildings, statues, sculptures, pillars, bridges, and parts for his own body all fell under the category of what he made. The only light he had seen in the days he couldn't count was from his own body, seeping out of the cracks in his patchwork frame. The orange glow of energy being released from the powerful magic-infused crystal core that is what he used to move his body. His name derived from the original way he moved, which was, of course, a system of gears powered by little tendrils of magic energy that acted as nerves, working in a way that was far too complicated for anyone in their right minds to understand. The gears were rendered useless when the magic started to grow more powerful, though, and they eventually became a sort of flexible, ghost-like skeleton. His original body, modeled after a goblin, was buried beneath layers of iron, bronze, and any other material that was in excess whenever he needed to modify himself. In some parts even gems was used, which were set out in a scale-like pattern to allow maximum flexibility. Now he resembled that of what is usually the form of a clay golem. His fingers were wrapped around a pickaxe, and, even if it was less efficient than he knew he could be, he preferred pickaxe mining, as it was what he had been taught back when the goblins that mined with him still existed. Routine was familiar. Routine was safe. The goblins left because they strayed from routine, because they screwed up. The gasses they released might all be gone now, might have escaped out of some crack, but they had still strayed away from routine, and they paid dearly. They didn't even take out the bodies.

"Are you sure we're going the right way? We've been searching for days. How do you even know the thing's here?" Rainbow Dash tiredly asked her horned leader. "Princess Cadence detected a powerful sure of magic a week ago, and she wouldn't bother us if she wasn't sure." Twilight responded like a mother speaking to a whining child. Every holder of an element of harmony was in the little group, searching for whatever it was that was worrying princess Cadence. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, being the two strongest ponies in the group, were pulling the wagon that held everything that was needed for the expedition, such as food, water, and firewood. It wasn't much of a strain on the two. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity brought up the rear, having their own conversations. Well, not really conversations, mainly just Pinkie happily spouting nonsense while Rarity tuned her out, nodding occasionally, and Fluttershy, despite hundreds of words of reassurance from Twilight, was scanning the area, watching for wendigos, trembling every so often. They weren't deep enough into the crystal empire wilds for there to be wendigos, and they mainly converged around the outside of the city anyways, but that wasn't enough for the timid equine. Suddenly, Twilight sopped dead in her tracks, staring blankly, registering the intense wave of magical power she just felt. After several seconds and the two pulling the wagon bumping into her flank, she began to almost gallop to the north, her friends finding it easy to keep up, not bothering to ask what was happening, since they knew all they'd get was a 'shush'.

Darkness. Complete darkness. And silence. Absolute silence. It took a second to register what had just happened. He must have dug too close to a vein of gutra crystals again. This was the second time in a span of two weeks, that he, again, couldn't count. Gutra crystals were a type of magic crystal, and they had a field around them that cancelled out the energy found in the stota crystals that were in his own body. The core would reset in a minute. He knew this because if the core had gone out completely, he wouldn't be thinking right now. A full minute passed before the spark that the core had been reduced to reset, sending of a huge wave of intense magical energy that would be felt for miles. He regained control of his body, and his sight and hearing returned, and left that tunnel, making a note to block it off when he got the chance. But now, he had to get back to work. Back to routine.

Twilight stopped at the base of an unremarkable mountain that had no name, the only unique thing about it being a small cave. It would be a bit of a squeeze and they would have to leave the wagon outside, but they could go in, one by one. But someone would have to stay with the wagon. Even if they were in the crystal wilds, it would be silly to leave a cart unattended. Fluttershy naturally volunteered, since they were about to go into a dark hole, as did Rarity, who believed her mane would fall victim to bats. The ponies that were going all went straight in, Twilight leading, with her horn's magic illuminating the cave with a purple glow. After quite a long walk, they were met with a dead end, but Twilight was not disheartened, and noticed that the end looked like it wasn't natural, like somepony had tried to block it off... It didn't matter, because with a single blast of energy, the boulder blocking the path was disintegrated, and they could make there way down, into the bowels of the earth.

Gears stopped again. The way the noise carried... it was wrong. Any other being would never notice it, but Gears was finely tuned to the sounds of the cave. And somewhere, back in the storage pits, some hole had just been opened, and not a hole he had dug.

Twilight was like a kid in a candy store. The room she was in was a massive cave, how far down it went she didn't know, but she was excited to be walking on a floor made completely of chunks of metal, gems, rocks, minerals, and dirt all thrown into a pit. There must be something exciting here! Despite the objections of her comrades, she continued onward. She was a mare of science, buck it, and science meant discovery! They moved straight across, Twilight eager to see if there was anything on the other side, and there was. Another tunnel. But this one was quite large. Almost two feet taller than Celestia, and half a foot wider than her wingspan. Something large once must have dwelled within these caverns, and they must have left something very powerful! The sudden appearance of an orange glow caught her eye, and, despite every bit of sense in her telling her not to, she ran it.

There was definitely something in the tunnels. In HIS tunnels. And they weren't goblins. No, goblins would never come in here again after what the gas did. They were too stupid to want to know anything about it, and too smart to want to be near it. He began to move to where the sound distortion was coming from, through the beauty of his underground architecture, and into the hall that connected the pits to the rest of the tunnels. And he stopped. Voices. Voices speaking something similar to goblin, but not quite. Then he saw a purple glow, and the face of an animal he had never encountered. The animal charged, it must've been attacking. The plates on his body shifted around until the most durable materials were on the outside, and his fingers were replaced with sharp-jagged pieces of gem and steel. And he charged, too.

Author's Note:

I would greatly appreciate some criticism, I'm not much of a writer and need some tips.

Comments

[general grievous9995]

So AWESOME