XXII. Results (unedited)
It took an hour of non stop running, admittedly not that long for me, to get back within the confines of the Crystal Empire. Nopony was waiting for us and I admittedly didn't want to see anyone for the moment. My thoughts were swirling around since I had learned why I was X and why I was here.
It had been a game. A simple game of temptation that I gladly followed through with but still a game nonetheless. I quietly placed Mist Mane on Rockhoof’s back who quietly nodded and raced off with Magnus to get her warmed up. That left me with Star Swirl.
“What will you do with these… objects X?” Star Swirl looked towards me and I could tell even he wanted to investigate them… though that glint of fear in his eyes from knowing the future and having it written for him made him keep it out of hoof’s reach.
“I admittedly have little use for them… at least for now. I'd probably just seal them in the box and wait for the opportune time they would assist me.” I answered keeping it vague on whether I would use it or not. It wasn't that they wouldn't be useful… it was more that I didn't really want to bring anything more to this world. If my thoughts were working right then those six I fought to hunt Corundum down were extra dimensional threats and only privy to his realm, not mine. I placed all but the Decade card in the box, laptop included, and had Star Swirl seal it up. Physically though, not magically.
“A shame. Their creation would have expanded ours.” Star Swirl lamented though I did sense a little sarcasm in his tone.
“Let's just make sure you all survive then we can talk about advancing.” I chuckled as I crossed my arms giving him a faux stern look. He took it all in stride though I could tell he was still thinking about something.
I decided not to pry at the moment. There were other important moments to deal with such as Flint’s punishment, which I would head up, and the search for any of the Amore line. I was hoping Concerto wasn't the only one left. The succession of royalty never went smoothly even if the other branches were culled.
“So now comes the most difficult part. I'll need to have Somnambula help me out in finding where the rest of the Amore family. She’s good at finding things, right Star Swirl?” I muttered off handedly hoping that it would be true.
“Yes… she is good at that but this might be too much for her. She still is unused to seeing dead bodies.” Star Swirl admitted as he led the way to the southern part of the city.
“This is a bit much overall already. I've had to fight off a giant shadow mantis monster that enjoyed torture and other crazy things. I think she'll be fine after all this. After all you are all the central pillars of Equestria right?” I waved my hand towards him as if to emphasize my point. “I'm certain she can handle this… situation. It wouldn't be too bad at this point, would it?”
“Be that as it may we must have tact when we do so and I'm certain Meadowbrook will also tag along just so you know.” Star Swirl added as if it was an afterthought.
“That's fine. We just need to find out what happened to them. That's all.” I mentioned quickly though I could have sworn that my hands were fidgeting slightly. It wasn't a glitch either as Nana helpfully informed me, internally.
With everything that had happened including being skewered through the gut… again, I was not exactly in the best of states. I had been reckless… extremely reckless since I couldn't feel much pain. That… that wouldn't be the case forever most likely. I needed to be more attentive to dodging attacks more often than relying on bait tactics. My body may have better defenses and an auto repair function but that didn't mean I was invincible.
Suffice to say, I was not a god amongst man, or ponies in this case. I was lucky. I was lucky that this body was so resilient to damage. I was lucky that the Suffering Circuit protected my mind from any and all brainwashing techniques. I was lucky that the other important reploids of the X series acted as cyber elves to assist me in combat. And while I could place all my success on my physical abilities it paled in comparison to how well my mind adjusted. Somewhat adjusted… the fact that there were multiple universes was disorientating. I pushed those thoughts away after finally coming to terms with which world I was displaced to.
Star Swirl kept quiet as we reached the first of the troops on the southern quadrant of the city. He remained a stoic figure as I followed beside him… in a somewhat subdued manner. I had been carrying the box with me after Star Swirl had used a spell to melt the edges together. A crude but effective measure to keep others from looking within.
The Crystal Guards that were held up by the copious amounts of medical tape all looked at me with a heavy dose of fear and in some cases smiles. The fact Corundum wasn't here, nor Liquid Diode, might have been the catalyst for most of them remaining where they were. Even the least injured, who could in fact still fight, remained in their position.
“I see you've returned X. Corundum?” Hurricane stepped into view from what looked to be a makeshift office. It was a section of a ruined house that had a sheet draped over the hole to act as a door.
Hurricane looked tired. His wings drooped down further than they did when he came to assist with Corundum. He looked older than he ever did and that was saying a lot since he was older than most of the ponies I had met. The lines on his face were far more creased. His mane had turned a bit paler.
I didn't even know if he was the same stallion with how much more calm his eyes were. They looked at me not with the farcical hostility he showed when I first appeared before him, but now with a calm understand of a leader and his soldier.
“Dead. Made sure his body was completely destroyed. If he had any other contingencies though… well I don't know at this point. I'll search around for anything but for now… he's dead.” I responded keeping my arms at my side.
Hurricane nodded and slowly tilted my head towards his office. Taking the hint I stepped into the office and had to catch a giggling unicorn who immediately glomped me.
“X! You're back!” Concerto cried out as she held onto me bearing the slightly muttering of ‘ow’ as she tearfully held on to me.
“It's fine. It's fine I'm back.” I wrapped an arm around her keeping hold of her so she could rubbed her cheek with her hoof. “You need to remember not to lunge at me. I'm still made of metal.”
“Bleh! What fun are hugs if you can't lunge at somepony?” Concerto asked in her princess tone, the one where she is stating a fact in a questioning matter to indicate she was right. I merely felt my eyelids droop signifying not agreeing with her bullshit. She ignored that and merely hugged me more while I rolled my eyes and acquiesced to her ministrations.
“Ah there's the golem of the hour. X, we need to talk.” Platinum immediately gathered my attention as Puddinghead took her seat as well with Commander Hurricane.
As if on cue the other Pillars came into the room. Meadowbrook and Somnambula looked extremely tired and their fore hooves were covered in what I could only assume was blood. I didn't know how badly the battles went out there while I face Corundum but I didn't like seeing it.
I wasn't afraid of blood but it made me uncomfortable for some reason. I didn't really know why and Cinnamon wasn't online just yet. I had done all I could and retired all the Crystal Golems that were on their side… as many as I could while fighting my way into the Crystal Palace. I pushed it to the side for the moment since the line of thinking wasn't helping.
Rockhoof, Flash Magnus and Mist Mane entered standing near Star Swirl. The three looked cold. They were covered in a light layer of frost but their shivering was muted. If I didn't know better I could have sworn that there was a small magical field surrounding each of them. Perhaps a spell, I pondered as Hurricane took charge of the meeting as he was want to do.
“Good news everypony. With the siege accomplished Goring Corundum has been shunted off the throne and we can reinstate the Amore Family, Concerto to be precise, back into power. No more crystal golems will be released from here ever again.” Hurricane announced to muted cheers. Everyone looked oddly satisfied, as if they had never expected this to happen in their lifetimes.
“Unfortunately, we must also state with the good… comes the bad.” Platinum quietly stated as everyone braced themselves. “With the fall of the Crystal Empire, ponies are now at a very precarious position. We've launched ourselves into civil war technically and have been seen by the world stage. In their eyes, we appear to be crumbling at the seams and I can't fault them for thinking that to be true.”
“Suffice to say as a race… we are in a horrible position. As it appears if we aren't careful with holding our facade… well, I don't think I need to explain it to anyone here.” Puddinghead explained. “Deers and Buffalo are our main concern at this point, Griffons and Thestrals secondary and the rest are tertiary. Those four are our closest neighbors and while Magnus might shout out about dragons, it seems there have been reports of something striking out at them whole slaughtering them by the pack. That is very concerning.”
“Should I take care of it?” I immediately responded ready to head out to handle things… only to get a stern look from Hurricane.
“X. We are grateful that you have stood by us but we can't send you without probable cause. All we have are spy reports detailing that they have noticed, that's all. While that may be enough to show concern… it isn't enough to send troops to fight over it. We aren't ready for another fight until we can reintegrate the Crystal Guards back into position to protect the Crystal Empire. Our own troops are still reeling from the battle and while we lost less than we imagined… there are still many injuries amongst them. We can't support you on these quests.” Hurricane warned as I weighed my options.
“It might work out better if we handle this in a small team either diplomatic or otherwise, we might just usher in a peaceful resolution.” Mist Mane informed us.
“I think we have to look into something a bit more important than that. Don't you all remember that there were more dangerous thing happening right now. We all know that several supplies from the Crystal Empire were stolen for their respective races.” Magnus brought up bringing our attention to him.
“What do you mean by supplies?” Concerto asked hesitantly knowing something was wrong.
“We've gotten reports from several of our informants that supplies were stolen while on route to those Crystal Guards that made their way into Equestrian territory. All those supplies included red crystals… several of them.” Magnus further explained as several eye shot wide open.
“So the same crystals that turn others into crystal golems and they leaked out to all nations of the world. Great.” I mumbled as I looked at their concerned expressions.
This was more a problem if those nations decided to take the Crystal Empire for more of that magic for their own purposes. It wasn't hard to see that there was trouble brewing far before Goring Corundum came to power but his coup d’etat over the Amore family pushed it to the limelight. I could head into those places but… that would require something drastic so that no one would trace my origins back to the triumvirate before me. That, in no small feats, would require plenty of smooth finagling to make certain I was a lone agent in the bluntest of terms. I said nothing about it though. As much as I wanted to handle it immediately, these ponies weren't ready for any new conflicts so soon after their last.
The three leaders regardless of how well they kept themselves up were showing fatigue. Platinum couldn't hide the lines forming on her face. Puddinghead looked pain whenever she had to make sudden movements. Only Hurricane seemed more spry but after fighting I saw the facade crack before me. The Pillars, on the other hand, with the exception of Star Swirl, looked well enough to keep going. Their eyes belied how tired they were though.
“A topic for another day.” Star Swirl spoke up. “For now we should focus on a more important task. Concerto we must ask you to take up the mantle.”
“Mantle? I don't want to be placed on a hearth!” Concerto cried out as she hid behind me.
“They don't want to hang you above the fireplace. It means you need to wear a crown.” I quickly explained as I pulled Concerto back to the forefront. “You are Princess of this land which means you need to be their rock.”
“But… but I'm still so little. Nopony would listen to me.” Concerto clenched her jaw slightly. It wasn't anger that flowed through her… it was fear.
“You'd be surprised who they would follow. All you need is a little boost and some help… but for now you should discuss with these three what needs to be done.” I explained as she reluctantly trotted up to the triumvirate. There were tears in her eyes but they didn't fall. I don't know how much of that was self control and how much of it was stubbornness that made her hold back.
I looked towards Star Swirl who quickly gave Somnambula and Meadowbrook a quick sign as the three of us left the building.
“So you want us to assist you in finding some ponies?” Somnambula asked as we quickly moved to the castle.
“Yes. I have one of the lieutenants or whatever rank they were secured right now. He owes me.” I mentioned as I opened the doors. The golems that had formed from the castle guards were still shattered and still.
“You needed us in particular… you have hope they are alive.” Meadowbrook stopped and looked up at me. While I could control my emotions I sometimes couldn't stop those minute motions of my jaw clenching or my eyes hardening or softening whenever I did think of the consequences of things.
“Yes.” I stated not going further into detail.
“And this lieutenant?” Somnambula started. “Is he trustworthy?”
“For now… I think so. I gave him back something he wanted so badly that he has to owe me. Also I doubt he could lie to me.” I shot back though I crossed my arms as my thoughts immediately jumped to what I could do to make him talk should he be uncooperative. Still, I gave him back his sister.
“And you have him under your custody?” Meadowbrook cautiously added.
“Yeah… I was planning on keeping him under my custody. I think I could use him to help with some future projects. Whether or not he's reformed isn't much of a prerogative at this point. I need him for his talents and knowledge he possesses.” I explained my reasoning. I didn't know if I fully bought that though.
In all my time in Magical Pony Land, I hadn't actually killed anyone who deserved it. It was muddled though with the mercy killing back in the Windigo’s tomb. They had been dead for ages but that still didn't mean that I was okay with it. Even then… I hadn't killed Diode. I was ready to take him into custody. Nature decided to change that. I hadn't killed Corundum either. Fate let another finish him off.
“You are hopeful. I am glad.” Somnambula broke me from my revelry.
“That is a good trait to keep. Where is he then?” Meadowbrook calmly stated as I led the to the room where I had left them.
After knocking a small little tune the door opened revealing Flint with Diamond Shard on his back looking a bit more lucid. He noticed the two member of the Pillars and slowly opened the door for us to enter. Several of the victims were roused from their rest and could move… albeit stunted and slow.
“My Faust…” Meadowbrook held a hoof to her muzzle as she went around checking on the new patients.
“X… I take it that it's done?” Flint asked as Diamond looked up at me with a sense of wonder. I noticed that even in different dimensions children love giant robots. In comparison I stood taller than most so to a child I could be misconstrued as a giant robot. Concerto certainly seemed to think that way.
“Corundum was killed. He is gone as far as I know. Now though I need your help.” I succinctly stated and waited for him to process my words.
“Yeah. Yeah I got it. What do you need?” Flint looked up and seemingly braced himself for whatever was going to be said.
“Were there any other Amore’s that are around?” My words echoed out causing a lot of the ponies in the room to swivel their ears towards us. Flint looked around and ushered me out the door… Somnambula followed while Meadowbrook remained to look over the patients.
Flint looked around a bit before realizing that Diamond Shard was on his back looking expectantly at him. He braced himself even more before he could start speaking.
“Go ahead Flint. I need to know.” I calmly added keeping my voice down. Somnambula nodded as well adding to the urgency.
“I don't know. For as long as I've been under his hoof Corundum never trusted us with much information. Diode was the closest and knew more but he's gone now. But… from rumors I heard I think the Queen was kept alive even through Geode’s protests.” Flint quietly explained.
“So she might be okay? And that's a big might there.” I stated as I leaned against the wall next to the door.
“If the Queen is fine then we could make certain Concerto won't go through this alone.” Somnambula smiled as her eyes seemed to shine with that same hope she seemed to hold so high.
“Maybe. In all my time working her I've never seen hide nor hair of her. Only Diode knew. Still… I think he kept something on him. Something important that I saw only once when I first worked with him.” Flint muttered as our faces grew closer. The significance would be more dramatic had Diamond Shard not joined in with all the glee of a filly who just got out of the hospital.
“So he always had it on him?” Somnambula pointed out making certain that Flint was on the level.
“Thanks… have Meadowbrook check on her while we go get the key.” I mentioned as I turned to head out for the next place.
“But wasn't he… “ Flint started only for a sharp look from me to silence him. I clenched my jaw and appeared to take a deep breath. Somnambula noticed but said nothing yet.
“Just get your sister checked out to make certain that she'll get better. We'll handle things from her but after this we’ll need to talk about you. I'm sure you know why.” I calmly stated as I relaxed my arms once again.
“Right. I'll get to it then.” Flint muttered and entered the room as Meadowbrook was working on another patient.
“Meadowbrook, we are searching a lead. Will you be alright?” Somnambula called out.
“Yes ma chere. There is plenty to do here. When you find what we need come back to get me.” Meadowbrook answered as she pulled a few more things from her saddle.
“We'll be back then.” I called out and started walking off for the basement… where I left him as he died.
“Do you understand what we are asking Concerto?” Platinum asked.
Due to the touchy subject of succession they had left the hard conversation to Princess Platinum. It hadn't been an easy topic as the other ponies shied away from dealing with the situation especially Star Swirl due mostly to his horrible tact.
“I… I have a feeling I know. Isn't there another way?” Concerto paused as Platinum ran a brush through her mane fixing it up.
“If there was we haven't found it. As much as I want to say we have something else planned… we just don't. As it falls now you are the only one who can handle this.” Platinum cautiously stated.
“But… I'm still a child… I couldn't even get away on my own. I'm not ready… “ Concerto broke off before she could continue.
“You are much better than you give yourself credit. You are a survivor. You managed to get back to your home and you will get it back.” Platinum advised the small filly. “While it isn't how you thought it would happen you will have your home back.”
“I suppose… still doesn't feel good though… “ Concerto hissed. “I can't do this alone. Would… uh… would X stay here?”
“Have you asked him?” Platinum quietly mumbled under her breath.
“I… I want to. I do. I just… I just know that I don't think I should. I can see it. I can see it when you mentioned the crystals that every nation had stolen. I want to ask him to stay. To help me. But I can't. I won't.” Concerto broke off as tears started to stream down her cheeks
Platinum wanted to say something. To assure that everything would be alright. She didn't say anything though. There wasn't anything she could say so she merely hugged the crying filly who seemed to bear the weight of a nation.
“If… if it would help I could stay until things settle. I know it's not ideal but it could at least help you.” Platinum offered trying her best to keep Concerto up.
It was the only thing she could do. The lack of any sighting of any relative of the Amore family meant Concerto would be burdened with the crown. She would be forced to carry a nation that had been brought to its knees and there were few ways to truly bring it back.
“I… if… if you would. I'd like that.” Concerto sniffed as she rested her head against Platinum’s shoulder. It wasn't what she wanted but she was a big filly. She could handle it.
It had taken us a while to get back to the room where Diode laid to rest. The guards he had beforehand had rushed off after I had broken the Crystal Dragon Golem. It laid broken and riderless while Diode’s body laid a short distance away in a pool of his what looked to be frozen blood.
“You had quite the battle here, did you not?” Somnambula mentioned as she slowly flapped her way over to the body. She also quietly checked the ceiling making certain that there weren't any accidents waiting to happen.
The sight of the stalactites covering both the body and ground made her nervous. It made me nervous as well because I didn't know if they were capable of piercing me. Regardless, we began searching the body… which had seized up already in the later stages of rigor mortis.
“If I pull anything I might rip something off… that might be a disservice to him.” I muttered as I grabbed his wing and slowly pulled stopping when I noticed the cold had got to him.
“Hm… give me a minute. I have an idea… we just need heat.” Somnambula trailed off as she flew up breaking off one of the stalactites bringing it down to me.
As I held the long shard of ice she pulled out a small bowl and held it below my hands. Expectantly, she waited as I readjusted my internal heat letting the ice melt into the small bowl. When it turned to water I placed my heated hand within it and waited. Somnambula hummed a small tune as we waited for the water to boil. It was a surreal moment honestly.
“Ready. I shall pour you shall pull. Slowly.” Somnambula quietly stated as she gingerly picked up the bowl with her wings.
“Got it. Let's see what he has.” I mumbled as I grabbed his right wing.
As Somnambula poured the heated water on the frozen wing as within a few seconds I started to pull the wing up. Tension built up as cracking was the only sound between us. When I felt things weren't moving anymore we repeated the process of getting more heated water. Tedium was our work ethic… though in some regards I think he did it on purpose.
Somnambula and I didn't exactly speak at length for any amount of time. Her eyes remained wary of me. I did my best to not invite anything untoward our tenuous relationship. The Suffering Circuit had made numerous scans that they were dealing with something. Most of the time it was grief… sometimes sadness. I didn't pry though… there was no reason to.
As I managed to lift the wing higher I started to brush the feathers aside. He supposedly kept a key on his person at all times. His right wing had nothing on him though.
“Nothing… you don't think…?” Somnambula stopped as her eyes widened in shock.
“I suggest you look away… I'm going to have to pick him up…” I muttered under my breath. I was glad I didn't have a stomach and the ability to turn off my sense of smell.
With a firm grasp I pulled the stalactites that had impaled Diode during our confrontation. The one lodged into his face was difficult to remove as his whole head moved when I moved the stalactite. I grimaced as I placed my other hand on his frozen face and slowly started to pull it out. The sound of it being pulled out was disgusting to listen to. I'm certain that Somnambula had to hold back since she folded her ears down and turned away.
With some effort I had managed to pull the sharpened ice out. The heated water around the body had thawed it enough letting me pick up the body and turn it around. With a dull thud it unceremoniously hit the floor and we repeated the process with the other wing.
When I pulled back the wing far enough it could see a small obsidian key lodged between the third and fourth primary feather. Somnambula pointed it out though since she wasn't touching the body at all she didn't reach for it. I gingerly yanked it off accidentally pulling one of the feathers as well… which turned out to be a fake crystal like feather magically altered to appear like a normal feather if my thaumic sensor was right.
“As much as we should search you need to clean yourself. The byproducts of the dead should remain with the dead.” Somnambula smiled as she took a few steps back from me and towards the door. As soon as she cleared it she immediately began gasping for air.
I didn't need to be told twice… I switched to Ground Fire and shot out a small pyre which I raced into. It overheated my body but I would be cleansed in fire before I let anything else touch me. I'd rather nothing get sick. Before I entered the fire I placed the key in Somnambula’s bowl and overheated the water as well in the off chance an earth pony wanted to carry the key. They used their mouths sometimes so my precautionary nature took over.
With the small key Flint mentioned it was time to see what befell the rest of the Amore family.
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Dead also the Crystal saga has ended.
I don’t think you should kill X. Personally, I’ve been expecting you to end the whole Crystal arc. X then sees that he isn’t needed and decides to go into a stasis thing until he is needed again. 1,000 years later, NMM returns and X comes out of stasis to fight her and protect Equestria. Please don’t kill X.
8917641
What? I'm not killing X. I barely got him past his first arc. I'm talking bout the other pony he's looking for. The one who would be important to Concerto. The one who could help lead Concerto. The Queen, remember? Right now I got one vote for her to be dead and I take it from you you would like her alive? Maybe?
Also I can't tell you the plan. That would give it away. This is far from over.
8917668
Ooooh. I thought you meant should I kill X or not, from the top author comment. My bad. Sorry.
8917779
It's fine. I should make it clearer but that would ruin what the chapter is about.