Author's Note

I will be using === every time a long amount of time passes or a character is switched between. Please let me know what you think.

Crystal Constructs

Making the Changeling’s a home had been harder than I had first thought it to be but I could feel my control getting better as I used my power so I powered through the exhausting use of the ability. I built a one hundred foot long, fifty-foot wide, and thirty-foot tall room with large crystal double doors. As soon as I had completed the construct ten of the larger Changelings who possessed green sacks of unknown fluid on their bodies entered. These Changelings began spitting a black and green goo on the floor and walls reminding me of a xenomorph hive. I decided to leave them to it and returned to the throne room where I sat my heavy weight upon my throne.

“Dart tell me how our crops are growing in the hydroponics room,” I said only to get an odd look. “The magical gardens.”

“Oh, they are doing quite well with the addition of time acceleration runic arrays and growth enhancement potions that were in storage. We should have a harvest close to a month before the stockpile runs out but unfortunately, after that we will have no more growth potions and the time acceleration runes will begin to degrade as we don’t have the needed materials to maintain them,” explained Dart.

“After they fully degrade the garden will work like any other garden correct?” I asked her.

“Yes, sir that is correct but by that time we will have a large stockpile and most likely have more gardens.”

“Dart do you know what ley lines are?” I asked her.

“Yes, sir magical lines that cross over the planet intersecting at different points like beneath the spire. I believe that I learned in history that a few hundred years before Sombra’s takeover the spire was connected and used the magic from the ley line intersection along with a crystal artifact to protect the kingdom,” she explained with a smile.

“How would we go about reconnecting to the ley line?” I asked already mentally devising different methods of use for such a large amount of magic even if it had degraded over the past millennia.

“Well, first you’d need to dig to the caverns which the magical energy rests within and pulses through like blood through a vein. Then you’d have to find a way to absorb the energy most likely using gold-infused runes mithril would be better if you have it. The final thing would be to set up magical batteries and connect them to each different array that you wanted to power by using gold or silver wire,” she stopped. “You're not thinking of doing such a thing.”

“I most definitely am but we are missing the required metals.”

“The empire was known to have the highest deposit of gold, silver, and mithril in the mines not too far from the main city. They are most likely caved in and would need to be cleared of rubble but if you are certain then it would be very useful.”

“We will work on this project later once the first harvest is complete for now please write down a note for it.”

“Understand sir also what do you plan to do with that,” she pointed at Sombra’s soul.

“I’m going to do experiments on it. Do you mind leading me to some form of workshop so that I do not have to put it in my room?”

“Oh sure thing sir,” she said walking down a hallway while I floated the soul crystal into the air and walked behind her trying to keep my eyes forward and not letting them drift downward.

‘She's not human, she's not human, she's not human,’ I repeated in my mind.

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The walls were covered in a black substance that held holes from which large blue eyes stared out. Pillars covered in sacks of green goo stood within the large room that was undoubtedly the new Changeling hive.

I had decided to meet my new neighbors who while not ponies and slightly frightening had still been quite friendly so far. I watched as one of the smaller of their kind spit a black goo on the wall which quickly hardened into part of the hive walls.

“Um hello I’m Glittering Jewel but you can call me Jewel,” I said to it only for it to stare at me emitting clicking sounds.

“Do not be offended if my children do not return your greetings they have been starved of emotional energy and it has caused them to go slightly feral. Only I and some of the stronger of my children have kept our minds,” said a voice from behind me.

“Eep,” I jumped and spun around to see the smiling face of the Changeling leader. “Oh really that's so sad,” I said.

“I believe that if we stay here they will eventually regain their higher mental functions but never to the extent that a normal Changeling has,” she explained while the smaller Changeling flew off.

“So there are others who possess the same amount of intelligence as you?” I asked.

“Yes, there are specifically the Warriors and Breeders who are responsible for the hive’s protection and expanding the number of Changelings that are present. I believe that should we be allowed to stay in the kingdom with your kind then our people would flourish here. The very air is full of emotion which your species of pony seem to give off in greater quantities than any other species I have met.”

“I think that is a compliment.”

“It was don’t worry,” said the queen. “Would you like to meet some of my Warriors they’re very friendly and would love to meet you,” she said as we moved deeper into the hive and through a tunnel just large enough for the Changeling queen to fit through.

As we entered a small room I saw three large Changelings each at least as tall as King Jekyll who towered over most ponies including the Changeling queen.

“Don’t worry they don’t bite...much,” said the queen.

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I sat in the new workshop with Sombra’s soul and the unused parts of my broken arm that were leftover from the construction of my new one. My current project was to harness the power of Sombra’s soul and turn it into energy that would be used to power runic arrays. I had with me one of the only male unicorns who had lived through Sombra’s reign and that was only because he was very adept in the making of rune arrays and magical constructs. He was forced to help make Sombra’s crystal golems which he admitted to sabotaging. This meant that the golems I had fought were not his best work like he told his former master and were instead something that a ten-year-old training to be a runesmith could do. That admission made me laugh at the stupidity of Sombra so I asked the Unicorn who I had learned was oddly named Runestone. He was Runsestone the runesmith but he insisted on being called Stone as if he was called by his name in the workshop it would confuse anyone working and they might grab an actual runestone.

“Jekyll about the only thing this would be good for is a large golem because of the power uses that high-grade golems require,” he said.

“Really dammit I had hoped to fule the time acceleration runes in the gardens with it.”

“Definitely don’t do that the soul magic would corrupt the plants and change them into horrific monstrosities,” he said quickly with wide eyes.

“If I design a body for the golem can you help me size it and engrave the runes in it that will eventually give it life?” I asked him.

“Yes sir I can definitely do so is there anything you have in mind?” he asked.

“Clear the table and I will make a small model,” I said and reached out with my left hand to the now clear crystal table causing something to slowly form on it. The thing was black and bipedal with claws and a body that looked like a biomechanical skeleton. It had tubes sticking off its back and a mouth filled with teeth along with an inner jaw. Its head was a large curving dome-like shape lacking eyes or ears. Its hands possessed five long claws, two of which acted like thumbs but on either side of the hand instead of just one side. From its rear sprouted a long tail ending in a large spike. “I give you the Xenomorph,” I said to Stone.

“By the maker what is this horror,” he said.

“As I said this is a Xenomorph a beast with no equal in battle and this is one of the smaller versions of their species,” I said my hands spread wide as I looked at the large full-scale warrior model that measured eight feet in height and sixteen feet long towering over my height of six foot five inches and even taller compared to the ponies who the tallest excluding Chrysalis so far had been at most six feet. “So can we make it into a golem?”

“It will be an honor to make such a magnificent creation for you my king,” he said with a smile that looked like it belonged on a shark and not a pony.

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It took a few days but eventually, we were able to move every one of my people to the inner ring of houses allowing me to begin the process of constructing the new walls. I walked down the halls of the spire to a balcony that gave a perfect view of the surrounding area. The interior ring that made up my city looked more like a star but I preferred it to be a circle so it would be easier to defend and have more room inside. I walked out into the wind which swirled around the tip of the spire and raised my left hand, the crystal on the arm glowing with power as every building outside of the chosen area shattered into pieces of crystal.

“By the makers,” I heard Dart say as hundreds of thousands of crystals twirled and danced in the light which filtered through the clouds above creating a rainbow of color.

I clenched my fist forcing the crystals to jam themselves in the ground in a rough circle. After the circle was complete other crystals began to fuse with those already in the ground until eventually there was a twenty-foot tall wall that surrounded the spire and my city with a radius of close to two and a half miles. I felt the magic muscles within my body straining as I carved out a doorway to the outside and formed a crystal door in it. As I finished the massive project I fell to my robotic knees, my body shutting down as I had drained myself of magical energy.

“Boss!” I heard Dart yell as I once again passed out like I had done when fighting Sombra.