Cogs and Crystals

by TomatoFace

Interview

It had taken a mixture of pestering and convincing for Twilight to get Gears to sit down and answer a few questions for her, but after a day of it, she had gotten him to sit down with her in the royal library. Well, she sat down. He towered above her, intimidating even in his restful stance. "So, I'd like to clear up a few things about you in this interview. Shall we begin?" He nodded, and she scribbled down his reaction on the parchment she had floating before her. "How did you get all of those minerals back in the caves?" She asked,dipping her quill in ink.

"In Leviathan caverns? Gears mined them." His voice was flat. After writing down his response, she continued.

"Who built those buildings in the 'Leviathan caverns'?"

"Gears did." He acted as though she should have known that already.

"Who built you?"

"Wortvat the Smart." There was almost pride in his voice.

"I've never heard of this 'Wortvat the Smart'. What race was he?" He leaned forward, and after a few seconds, he slammed his fist into the floor, causing Twilight to jump in surprise.

"Do not play game, pony. Wortvat most famous goblin in world." He sounded irritated, had she struck a nerve?

"I don't know much about goblins, not many do. They went extinct a long time ago, when queen Chrysalis rose." The guards, who remained outside during the interview, stormed in, horns glowing and weapons raised, and Twilight signaled to them that she was fine.

"Goblins never die out. Goblins strongest race to ever live. Quit lying, pony." He moved closer, and the guards rose their weapons again. She wasn't concerned, however. She knew that as soon as she prepared the freezing spell and her horn started glowing, he would back off.

"It's true. There isn't a single goblin remaining in the world."

Not a single goblin. Surely, this couldn't be true. They were the the strongest race, the toughest race, and the smartest race. They were the creators... It didn't matter. Once the princesses let him leave, he could see for himself. "If pony is lying and I find out, pony will die." He relaxed into his previous neutral stance.

"Very well. Now, what is your favorite color?"

Ever since the pony had said that goblins were extinct, Gears had continuously scanned the city from one of the towers for any hunched bipeds. All he saw were ponies, ponies and more ponies. Of course, there were the occasional other creatures, such as what he learned were griffins, horses, and goats, but not one goblin. He didn't give up hope, though. For the entirety of the day, he stood on the towers of the castle, watching, hoping to catch at least a glimpse of just one goblin. There had to be one. He heard hoofsteps behind him that were too far to be one of his guards, and when he turned around, he saw the head of Twilight as she came up the spiral staircase. Her, a dragon, and five other ponies poured into the room, and he instantly recognized some of them, the other three that came in his cave. He made grunting sound and went back to watching the streets below with a spyglass Celestia lent to him.

Gears was still intent on finding a goblin so he would have a reason to rip her in half. Or try to, anyways. Twilight cleared her throat to get his attention, but then realized it was something he probably didn't recognize. "Gears, my friends would like to apologize for our intrusion into your home. I have already done so-" Not that you care, she thought to herself. "-so I'll just sit off to the side." First up was Rainbow Dash, who looked genuinely sorry.

"So, uh, I know we broke into your house or whatever, and I'm sorry, but can we just let bygones be-" Turned around and pushed her off to the side, then descended down the staircase, followed by his guards. "Hey bub, what's the big idea?" She said, throwing her hooves into the air. He ignored her, and she clenched her teeth, then flew after him. "Rainbow Dash, don't waste your time." Twilight said as the group followed her, but she would have none of it. "You are gonna accept my apology whether you like it or not!" She yelled. Gears grabbed the pony by the neck and held her up, staring her right in the eyes. It was obvious that she could breath, as she began to yell every dirty word she knew at the automaton. The guards raised their weapons and told him to put her down. Just as Twilight began to prepare her spell, he let go, then continued on his way. Rainbow Dash almost went after him again, but Applejack bit down on her tail, allowing Twilight to talk to her.

"It'd be best not to provoke him any more than you already have. He's from a much more primitive era, and in top of that, he was built by a very barbaric race, so he's a bit violent. I'll make sure the princesses hear about this." Twilight said, almost sounding as monotone as Gears. Dash grumbled something, probably obscene, and the group went on their way.

"Ooh, what's this?" Pinkie Pie asked, holding up a jar with the petrified remains of a gremlin.

"That's a gremlin, Pinkie." As soon as the group entered Twilight's room, Pinkie started asking a myriad of questions, all of them relating to the strange objects Twilight used to keep around, like an old religious griffin scroll or a prehistoric wyvern skull. Spike enjoyed being back in the castle he spent the majority of his life in, and was sitting happily on Twilight's back.

"So, Twilight, what's the big metal guy like?" Spike asked, changing positions on her back to get more comfortable.

"Well, he hates ponies, he hates dragons, though \that's because apparently goblins were fond of slaying them, he thinks this castle was poorly built, he hates the sun, his favorite color is orange, and I have a sneaking suspicion that every time we see each other, he's looking for some reason to kill me." Twilight said while scratching her chin, very casual about it considering Gears wanted to do unspeakable things to her, because she knew he'd never try, for fear of being frozen forever.

"The princesses shouldn't have woken him up, he's a ticking time bomb ready to go off at any moment." Rarity sounded almost disgusted. "He's such a... a... a savage!"

"I would agree, but there is so much we can learn from him. The information is just too valuable." Twilight picked up the parchment she had written their conversation down on an began to read. "Like what he said about this 'Wortvat the Smart' character. Goblins were supposed to be not that bright, but this one was able to make a sentient automaton. Perhaps if I can learn more about him, we could learn more about automatons, and this could push the entire world of technology forward a great amount. And if I can learn about that glow of his..." She began to ramble on about magic, her friends now only pretending to listen.

Stupid ponies. A constant annoyance. It's bad enough there's these guards, but that blue one... Stupid ponies. Twilight told the princesses, and they were peeved. 'You should not act that way towards the ponies who broke into your home and attacked you. It was all a big misunderstanding, so it's okay.' They didn't have the authority to do this to him. They weren't his rulers. Why was he even listening to them? If he could just evade their magic...maybe he could just run off? He was certain there had to be someone willing to give him something to defend against ice magic. Perhaps one of these newer races had shamans. He began to think of an escape plan while mentally mapping the entire castle as he walked.

He had been told the princesses were going to host a ceremony where he would be introduced to the nobility of Equestria, as well as several famous historians and archaeologists, by the end of the week. This would be the perfect time to leave. All he needed to do was take someone important hostage. They wouldn't dare fight back if he threatened to kill an archduke or two. It looked like the political lecture the blue princess had given him when the ceremony was announced to him was actually useful information after all. With the hostage in hand, he could break through the castle walls and escape, killing them as soon as he left the city limits. The stupid ponies wouldn't know what hit them. Then he could go back to the caverns to properly equip himself, and find someone to give him something to fight back the ice magic. It was perfect, and he almost shuddered with excitement.

He couldn't be more delighted. The princesses were making his life a breeze by organizing this ceremony. And apparently this machine was built by something called a goblin, which he learned were quite violent creatures, so it seemed obvious that anything they built would be quite capable in combat, which was perfect. Nopony but his flank-kissing servants had any idea of his intentions. Well, save for that pesky unicorn marquess Silver Shield. Of course, he had no proof that Loyalty was a conspirator, but he could present quite the problem in the future with his suspicions. If his plans were to succeed, he would need his watchful eyes off his back, and the only way to do that would be to kill the marquess. But assassinations in Canterlot nobility were surprisingly rare, and if Shield were to suddenly just drop dead, all hooves would point to him. Loyalty was the only one he didn't like, and the feeling was mutual. The marquess was quite active in charities and the like, so the common folk loved him. Even Loyalty had to admit he was very charismatic, and Loyalty was extremely morose, even by noble standards. So, he would have to have him killed on the night of the ceremony, giving him time to do what he wanted without being watched and without time for an investigation.

Twilight wasn't much of a drinker, everyone that knew her knew she could barely hold her liquor. So, when Rarity produced a bottle of expensive wine form her suitcase and suggested everyone have a drink, it took a bit of coaxing to get her to participate. And, just a single glass later, she was practically drunk. Granted, it was quite strong, but still, her friends teased her about it, all of them a bit tipsy themselves. Their conversations were those you'd expect teenagers to be having late at night. Spike was managing to sleep through their antics through the use of earplugs, far too young to partake in their drinking and venereal talk.

"You've never even kissed a stallion?" Rarity was in a giggling fit at Twilight, who had her forelegs crossed.

"Oh, leave her alone Rarity. There probably ain't a stallion yah haven't kissed, among other things." Chirped Applejack while Twilight shook her head.

"I don't think you can make of a mare's romantic pursuits when you've probably seen more of your cousins than you have of yourself." Rarity grinned as Applejack turned the same color as the apples that were her cutie mark. Just as she was about to release a slew of insults, all of which aimed at the looseness of her intimate parts, Pinkie Pie spoke up.

"Where'd Rainbow Dash go?" She said, looking around the room. Come to think of it, Twilight hadn't seen her since before Rarity opened the wine bottle.

"Well, um, she said she was going to go talk to mister Gears a little while ago." Fluttershy murmured, and all Twilight could manage was an 'uh oh'.

This pony didn't stop, did she? "You've got ten seconds to accept my apology, or you'll be scraping your flank off the floor!" The mare yelled in her annoying, cracking voice.

"Why pony think Gears won't just grab her like earlier?" He questioned, and she started to fly in circles around him.

"Cause this time, you can't surprise me!" She chopped at the air with her hoof.

"Go away." He didn't feel like dealing with her right now. No matter what happened or who was at fault, the princesses would no doubt punish him if he lashed out, and the guards he had around him were already preparing themselves for when he did. They allowed the pony to taunt him and threaten with violence, but as soon as he fought back, he was some sort of violent animal. Figures.

"Five seconds, you'd better apologize now or you're in for a world of hurt!" She shook her hoof at him, attempting to look intimidating.

"I do not feel pain." He said simply, turning away from her. As he did, she slammed her hooves into his back, and he spun back around. A few guards were already reaching out to pull her away, but he had his hand wrapped around her sides before they could get to her and he threw her against the wall. She didn't even have time to react before she slammed against the stone with enough force to break most of the bones in her body. Most of the guards had never actually experienced combat, since Canterlot citizens were very orderly and crime was incredibly low, so they broke away from the group and ran off. The others were all either raising their weapons or too paralyzed with fear to move. He sat down, picked up a book that he had been reading before she came by, and continued where he left off.

Twilight was at a loss for words. Gears was staring straight at her, sitting with his legs crossed and holding an open copy of the Mare of the Flies, all of the guards were shaking under their armor, and Rainbow Dash was laying in a bloody, broken heap, cracks in the wall behind her.

"W-what in the name of Celestia did you do?!" She yelled, getting ready to freeze him.

"Pony attacked. Gears fought back." He said, then looked back down at the book. Twilight grabbed the book with her magic and yanked it out of her hands. The rest of the group had rushed by to tend to the unconscious RD, unafraid of the construct as they had way more experience than the guards in handling these sorts of things. Gears looked up at her again.

"Gears was reading, give it back." He commanded. Twilight didn't hesitate and unleashed her spell.

Of course. That was what she chose to do. Obviously it was his fault. And it would be his fault when he slaughtered them all like the animals they were. Hours passed, and he wondered how the book he had been reading ended. It was a good book, about a bunch of fillies of various ages stranded on an island after a zeppelin crash. It was just getting good, too. He'd probably never get to finish reading it now that he had been trapped in ice again. Damn these ponies. Damn them all. His thoughts were interrupted when he was suddenly unfrozen. And back in the dungeons. The princesses stood past the bars again, as well as the guards that were with him when he lashed out.

"Explain thyself." Luna demanded in a voice so loud it almost overloaded what could be considered his ears.

"What is to explain? Gears defended himself. End story." He said when his hearing recovered.

"We have witnesses, it would be in your best interests not to lie." Celestia's voice was softer, but it still angered him. This pony he hated the most, always acting like she knew everything, always acting like she was fair. "This is your second incident with the element of loyalty in a 24 hour period. We were lenient last time, but this outburst requires harsh action."

"Pony demanded Gears accept apology. Gears did not. Pony kick Gears. Gears throw pony. Gears defended himself." Celestia looked at the guards behind her, who nodded.

"It was still a huge overreaction, and the injuries you inflicted on her were severe. So, as punishment, you will be locked in here for the remainder of this month and the next. The ceremony will be pushed into some time in the future." He lunged at the bars, his face level with Celestia's. They didn't have the right to do this to him. Worse yet, she thought she was being just.

"You not have right to do this!" He yelled at her, but she remained adamant.

"You are lucky you don't get a harsher punishment. You aren't receiving a standard sentence only because of your origins."

"Pony take Gears from home! Pony imprison Gears! Pony force Gears to stay! Pony pick fight! Pony is one that is at fault here!" The guards raised their weapons, and Celestia sighed.

It seemed Celestia could be reasoned with on at least some level, otherwise he'd be trapped here for months. He'd still be confined to the prison for a few weeks. And afterwords, he would be held in the castle for an extra few weeks. Though, it's not like that last part mattered. As soon as he would be released from the dungeon, the ceremony would take place, and then he'd finally be rid of this place. All he needed was time, and time was something he had plenty of.