KRisTol CroNicAls N#. 5 (34)

Pushing the crystal molecules along the flats of the blade, the darkening blood flowed off, as though on a hydrophobic surface.

A pathetic blue scaled dragon, it’s scales were already beginning to dull, just old enough to conjure illusions, it’s own vast power stores allowing it to simply push them into near complete existence. He certainly had a lot of practice, especially since it meant he hadn’t lifted a single claw to do so. But it did not matter, as soon as it had come out in the open and muttered a single word, it was over. A quick leap through the shadows, to landing atop the slothful blue’s nape, then a singular crystal blade, angled under its scales,, directly into its vertebrae. I had no idea how it had snuck up on me like that but I didn’t like it. Not that it mattered, the dumb creature had wasted it’s element of surprise with words rather than use its breath to turn my host to liquid, and leave me without an anchor.

‘Filthy organic.’ I thought as the blade was reabsorbed into my armor and began to slink through the shadows around the miniature craters the blue behemoth had managed to make in its final seconds as it’s body began to respond to its death. The whole ordeal had been quite tedious, though according to Rumor’s memories it seemed the dragons actions were more akin to the absurd as it’s nerves kept firing even though there was no true life behind it, much like a gecko tail that still thrashed about after being cut off from the main body.

I’d already inspected the small porthole, by dragon standards, and had found a great deal of precious jewels. The creature’s cupboard. It was quite substantial, and it would certainly act as a great way to cover the Tartarusfire’s expenses for some time.

“Failures,” I sighed, the darkness deepening as the cave began to darken past my ability to see as I returned to the city of Bitsburg. As my oculars began to adjust to the unlit alley I stood up from my crouch and began walking through up the club’s front entrance. Even with the sound muffled walls there was still a noticeable vibration to the air as the deafening noise inside did it’s best to permeate the air.

It really was a shame, but to ignore what at the very least looked like an ancient purple dragon was something that should have been mentioned in the file, or that esoteric magics seemed to follow it in it’s wake. In any case such incompetence  was inexcusable. I would not allow them to send me on poor scouted missions if this was their operation method. It would only lead to an untimely set of circumstances that would forever impede my goal of universal peace. Drastic measures would need to be taken in order to remove the causality lines into a more beneficial arrangement.

Stepping in through the doors, passing the line and many calls of unfairness until the bouncer that attempted to block my entrance was beheaded, then the screaming started, not that anyone inside the club noticed as the sound of their thrumming cacophony entered into the streets. The strobe lights flicked far too rapidly for me to grab a hold of the shadows enough to stride through the crowd. I left me little recourse but to end a few lives. So much effort, so many stumps, and it took twelve seconds more than I wanted just because the ponies would rather pay more attention to their music rather than their surroundings. Not that it mattered, more would be saved in the long run, and unfortunately I could not allow the Tartarusfire Club to continue. I would have to punish them for their failure, but by all accounts they would not accept such an action on my own part, so that only left them with one other option, to no longer be. If they would not stand for correction it was the only logical conclusion.

The trip upstairs was swift, especially once I made my way to the speakers and informed the patrons that they would all be summarily slain if they didn’t flee for their lives. Their fear gave them an astonishing speed, especially once the ones on the second floor began to lose their own lives as well. Not that it mattered once I reached the stairs to the third floor, which were walled off by a great green tinged metal door. Attempting to break the door, I quickly removed what was left of my shattered fist as it began to reconstitute. The door had sapped at my magic reserves, leaving my lattice brittle, vulnerable. Moving back one of the circular stuffed ring chairs was uprooted from the ground and thrown at the wall just next to it. The high quality wood shattered as the wall went with it. So much effort to make a durable portal, yet the walls themselves had been ignored.

Looking up the stairs it was plain to see that excess light was coming through as the dust and debris settled to the floor. They were up there, making sure to begin taking away my advantages. But unlike my host, I am not steered by emotions. Knowing they were up there, having gone through all the trouble to lock the door, was enough. Moving towards a darkened corner of the second floor, where one of the more skittish pegasi had taken out a light as they’d tried to fly away, the darkness swelled into a portal and I moved, again, to the dark alley. Moving to the corner of the building I began to let my own energy begin to work as Somnium and Rumor’s magic were soaked into my crystal lattice, becoming denser, harder, stronger. Spikes shot from Rumor’s shoulder blades, hips, and legs both in front and behind as I locked myself into the ground. Focusing more power into the upper limbs they began to swell until they were twice my own size. Knocking them back, the points connected to the elbow joints shot back a line of crystal. Once they hit the ground, they plated, increasing surface area, then pushed back, firing the arms directly into the cornered point of the building, shattering it. Falling back the excess crystal energy was absorbed, leaving the now brittle construct to turn to dust as I flung myself to the shadows and reappearing on the roof of the opposing building, watching as the Tartarusfire’s club began to shake and collapse under its weight, the energy of my hit quickly swelling through the building, as it too began to crumble and dust began to rocket into the air.

The rubble was still shaking as pegasi began to circle in the air, trying to suck the dust away into the air, and away from all the other ponies, of which many of the emergency responders were now quickly arriving. From the rubble, once the dust had been completely taken, I spotted a violet glow from within the cracks of the shattered roof. A sudden burst of energy and the shield expanded, sloughing off the debris, and revealing six unicorns and a single diamond dog within. As the energy vanished I was able to make out a veritable rainbow, save for red for each of the unicorns, and the grey diamond dog Crowly. They were alive, as expected. They were standing in a tight circle, for quadrupeds, all still on high alert, their horns ablaze. That suited me just fine as I appeared within the circle as the darkness vanished behind me, my arms already drawn back, blade tipped, and thrust into the yellow mare and the green stallion. Upon the strike both gave off a last burst of magic, the yellow one attacking my hosts mind with an array of deathly fear and the green with a wave of flesh melting diseases. I had not expected either tactic, though it proved of little use as Rumor’s current form allowed him immunity from disease, and his own mind was locked safely away behind my own shielding which even Celestia had been unable to penetrate.

The violet one was the first to respond, her horn blazed with light, turning the night into a twisted violet version of day as a beam of energy was directed squarely at me. In response I shot off a few shards of myself at her, the missiles given the simple command to absorb the magical beam and grow, it was in my design to do so myself thanks to my creator, and that’s just what they did... for a few moments. The simple spheres quickly grew the size of an elephant as the undiluted energy was sucked out of the air, but rather than continue to grow the light began to grow in intensity in a flash the spheres exploded, sending out a brilliant shockwave of magically overcharged dust that began to float down like the northern lights turned to snow. I continued watching the violent mare as she began to charge up her horn once more as the dust began landing on her, first of all. The effect of her body suddenly being filled with a lattice of microscopic holes as her brilliant violet coat turned a deep red was enough to send whatever few ponies that had thought to stay.

As the dust began to settle around me I quickly absorbed the energy as it flittered down to me in swirling eddies, my crystalline structure continuously reforming into more and more complex patterns as it began to grow in turn, till I was nearly ten feet tall with at least a full foot of thickening crystal near my flexible joints.

It was a bit of a surprise then to see as the blue one who reacted next, by throwing up a steely blue dome of magic over his remaining cohorts as the dust began to settle and turn black. While this occurred, however, his horn began to grow ever brighter until he too shot a beam of magic, of which I quickly began to ready myself to absorb into myself, but instead of my lattice reconfiguring with another burst of power, of which I was more than happy to directly hit my compacted center and allow to sweep the city, it began to lose cohesion, sloughing off me like water. My vision was obliterated as I began to sink within myself as my enhanced armor began collapsing on itself. But it gave me an opening, away from the hateful blue light that the unicorn was streaming into me. Pulling the darkness within the untouched armor quickly together I landed directly behind of the blue one’s position, grabbing a sharpened piece of rubble, the blue stallion began to turn once he caught a glance of my shadow from the corner of his eye, the darkness was streaming off from Rumor’s now uncovered right arm as it slashed across the magic parting the pony’s throat. With no crystal to come in contact with him, there was nothing for him to drain, save for the arm itself which had turned completely black as every last drop of heat was quickly stolen from it. It was only by severing the that the rest of the host body remained unaffected. That left only Trance, Crowly, and the orange stallion standing in the carnage. Looking over to the indigo pony he still wore the same smile he had always worn, taking a single step forward I was able to feel why as a bolt of blue energy struck me in the back, draining away my energy, leaving me without enough power to keep the lattice stable and in a solid form. But it had been weak, rather than flowing off it was chipping, turning to dust.

Opening a hole in the protective mask over Rumor’s face, too weak to vibrate the crystal mask to form words I used his own mouth instead, “You should not have given me such poor information about the blue dragon Trance.”

“And you should know that there is more than one way to obtain eternal life.” He replied, his calm grin mirrored in the faces of both the orange unicorn and the grey diamond dog.

“Your non sequitur is noted, through you will still receive punishment,” I replied in a clipped tone, Rumor’s body was beginning to go into shock and I was concentrating on at least keeping the semblance of outer control of my armor, which was still dusting away.

“How disappointing. And here I thought you could actually see the strings yourself,” Trance replied, his tone finally shifting, for once, and held a tone of mirthful disappointment.

I wasn’t able to reply after that as a lightning bolt fired from above, it seemed that a contingent of the royal guard had finally mobilized against me. Sending the rest of my armor flying, it created enough darkness for me to vanish just as a line of gold covered unicorns began to charge their horns.

Falling out of the portal I began to look over Rumor’s wounds. The stump was already beginning to push out piece of debris from the closed wound. So much energy had gone into that little show, and while it had gone according to plan, a small spark of the assimilated human knowledge began to release a set of hormones that would have been interpreted as a sense of depression. It was an unnecessary use of energy, and was quickly replaced by the endorphin rush as Rumor’s body began to attempt to overcome the physical loss of a limb. I didn’t have time for such things, I needed to stay on schedule and continue to pull the strings ever harder. The universe needed to see me as a villain whether it wanted to or not. I needed to grab its attention so that it would be forced to deal with me. For if eternal night were to be unleashed upon the whole of this particular creation my existence would need to be ended.