[Blazing's Entry]
Bucket's treatment idea was a miracle.
It was originally meant to be some kind of meditation where I would be on the bed with six unicorns sitting around spinning some protective spell or a regenerative aura. However, that changed when even that was too painful for me. My magical nerves were completely trashed, and even the weakest forced manipulation of outside magic by me was like searing fire rushing through my whole body. As I stopped trying to take what wasn't mine and just let the unicorns do some of the most basic spells like dancing coloured lights and freshening the air, my body started absorbing everything like a sponge. I think I managed to stay awake with that happening for an hour at most before I drifted off.
I sucked all the ambient magic like a black hole, slowly but without stopping. The unicorns remained by my side throughout the whole night. Not that they had much of a choice, because when I woke up I found all of them entangled by black tentacles which were soft enough to make them comfortable and yielded just right so that they could change position if needed while providing back support. In short, I somehow spawned rather creepy but comfortable chairs/prisons overnight. I was worried, but they told me nothing happened other than them being creeped out at first. Nothing shoved anywhere it shouldn't go, just them being restrained in place with all possible comfort. They had contacted somepony to bring them some food and drinks during the night so that they didn't have to destroy their prisons and wake me up.
During the next morning, Bucket checked my vitals again and the results didn't surprise him. His exact words were "After knowing your story, nothing about you can surprise me anymore". I recovered to a magnificent degree. After real food topped with corrupted berry and a real rest, my body was physically in top notch shape. Unfortunately, the damage to my magical neural network would take much longer to regenerate but the unicorns' nighttime efforts made me feel stronger than ever. "Firmer", as I learned to call the state of my soul. In short, I felt like a new pony and I KNEW I would stay in the real world far longer than I could until now.
I really shouldn't try to use my energy manipulation like I used to, but I might be strong enough to disperse or absorb some weaker effects for now.
Of course, Bucket noted everything about the methods of my recovery which made things unnecessarily (maybe) long. On the other hoof, I had time for a proper breakfast and we made sure the artificial corrupted berries really didn't harm me in any way. Then came the business at hoof - him having to cancel the golden tickets and credit card I had on me during the trip to the Empire so that no one would drain the Order resources using it.
Anyway, my goal remained after the recovery - the trip to Pine Hills. Bucket provided all the supplies I could need including money, a lightweight sword even I could levitate, combat horseshoes, long-lasting food, water and some energy drinks, first-aid kit, anything that could fit in the two bulging saddlebags I left the Order with.
Oh right, and a technomagical storage unit for corrupted berries with the astonishing capacity of A SINGLE ONE. When I told him Desert Shade had a small one which could store over ten, he explained (well, that's a strong word) that Des has been known to use several pieces of technology both griffons and ponies would kill to get their appendages on. The better known ones being the storage unit and a heater seemingly not needing any kind of fuel or batteries other than a unicorn to start it. Where she got those is a complete mystery. The strange thing is that she and her associates over the years have never used any unusual weapons, only these utility-based technological miracles.
After everything was sorted out, I left Manehattan. While I felt vastly firmer, I didn't dare use the long and safe route of taking a caravan to Canterlot, then Ponyville, and then pass through the Everfree to Pine Hills. The weeks of travel could prove too long for me to stay around. However, the less than a week the direct route southwest would take now that I knew it was my decision. I knew that being able to sense Corrupted from a long distance would be invaluable to the trip.
I must admit leaving Manehattan via the west gate I passed through so long time ago while fleeing from Crimson Heart and Veronica Redtalon, and being on the exact way back felt a little surreal.
I had several brushes with Corrupted on the way. As it turns out, my ability to sense them is NOT greater than that of the others, and I can be mostly sure that if I know about them, they know about me. So, I had few groups trailing me, and I had to pass by some solitary Corrupted during my quick escape. The problem with the Corrupted sensing is that I don't know where EXACTLY they are. I can pinpoint them fairly well, but it's not perfect. I realized that when I was going this way the first time, I had my tactical vision which was excellent at night and very useful at spotting Corrupted among the trees. Now that I wasn't able to use it, I had a much rougher time which escalated into a fight.
That happened when I accidentally basically walked over a sleeping Hunter. He clearly wasn't interested in me but after my intrusion by stepping on his tail he attacked me. Now, fighting common wild Corrupted is still a chore due to their incredible stamina and resilience, but I now know that they do not always seek conflict. I didn't have enough telekinetic strength to make efficient use of my sword, and a Hunter in his home could easily regenerate the slashes I cold inflict while retreating. HOWEVER, my ability to spawn tentacles caught him off guard. Well, me too. In the end, I stopped trying to harm the pouncing and snarling Hunter, but just repeatedly grabbed him with the tentacles sprouting from the ground underneath him and tossed him away. It was less tiring than using telekinesis.
Yep, that's how I passed that stretch of land. Eventually I got too far from the Hunter's territory and he stopped chasing me. I think that by the end he actually enjoyed being thrown around without any real damage done. I'm pretty sure that even solitary Corrupted really like company from time to time.
Oh, I almost forgot! I found Bucket's courier, or he found me to be exact.
I was about to flee as fast as I could after spotting that a single Corrupted was trailing me for over a day of quick walking, but when I realized it was another Hunter I decided to repeat the tentacle toss that had worked so well before. It was definitely less exhausting than long-distance running. Even as a Corrupted, I suck at it compared to others. The Hunter turned out to be friendly and wearing a pair of saddlebags. It took me a while to realize he wanted me to open them, and after going through the contents I found a sealed scroll case with a letter describing Crimson Heart's situation. With the letter delivered to, well, anypony, the Hunter ran off. My guess is that the courier had to be caught by a Breeder and immediately transformed, but a little part of his mind regarding his mission remained and he accidentally fulfilled it by giving the letter to me.
Well, at least there's one Corrupted on the way who isn't going to attack ponies. It's not much, but it is a bright side. The letter contained a list of supplies remaining on the expedition's side, and the report of being repeatedly attacked or suffering unexplained panic attacks whenever venturing into the Pine Hills ruins. That's definitely Guiding and the dreamlings defending their home. Thankfully, no casualties for now.
Near the end of the week, I started having bouts of dizziness. I was pretty sure my time in the real world was up, but I hoped I would last long enough to at least find Crimson Heart and talk to him. Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly the case. In short, I collapsed in the middle of a forest.
When I woke up, I was being held down by something heavy, and realized it was somepony's plot. I, being the pony that never complains about random bouts of good luck mostly because they are so rare, tried to escape, but I was too weak. As it turned out, my unconscious ass was found by a female Breeder who tried to warm me up during the night. Knowing a little about Corrupted anatomy, I took a risk and drank from her oversized teats, not without enjoying myself, ehm. Two absolutely fantastic things came out of it. One, I am now absolutely certain that corruption is having no effect on me anymore. I must have achieved some sort of mental balance like Nightshade or Mana Burn have. I was expecting Breeder breast milk to do at least something to my head, but while the situation was incredibly hot and I spent far more time suckling her than I originally wanted to, it was from my own free will. That stuff is delicious. Two, the milking and subsequent "returning the favor" to the mare put me back on my hooves. It seems that making a mare who likes me feel good is a part of things which raise my spirit as much as a night full of absorbing magic. To be honest, I felt as if I was back at home relaxing with Chokey, everything was alright, and all the horrors I've gone through were just a bad dream. I felt warm, safe, and... loved.
Crom, Chokey, I will never be a complete pony on my own, and with Crom more and more out of the picture with each passing day... I don't know. Guiding Light is the little beacon of hope remaining to me.
Anyway, I should be reaching Crimson Heart's camp tomorrow. I have no intention of going on through the night due to being a little tired again, and I am sure a Corrupted like me will be attacked if I get caught by a patrol. During the day, I should look less threatening and the ponies might talk. I have persuaded Bucket, so Crimson Heart shouldn't be too difficult. With the artificial berry and a few pressed hay wafers inside me, it's time to go to bed.
Heavy Hoof, having no real body, is keeping watch as usual. He's a treasure.
[End Entry]
Huh, what am I doing in the Final Sanctuary? Why is everything blurry?
My point of view is a little too low for some reason. Raising my hooves, I realize it's because I'm in my alicorn uncorrupted form.
Is my body around?
Switching between the individual 'places' within the pocket dimenion, I fail to see either the mask which spawned the body in the first place or the magical body itself. The map room is empty beyond the white mist which I go through and curiously try to zoom in onto a single soul. Before, I couldn't go further than a white clump with a outstanding soul in the middle while now I am able muster a little more mental pressure and push towards a random dot which grows larger and larger and eventually turns into a zebra.
"Hey, Heavy," I call out, "I think I've worked the map out. I just needed more power to zoom further onto a soul I didn't know well enough."
Where is Heav-
I see, this is a dream, at least partially. My best guess is that some part of me is in the real world and a little bit of my consciousness is still here. That's why Heavy is nowhere to be found.
Good, would hate to waste all the travel time through Equestria.
Hmm, but if this is at least partially real, then I should be able to find any single pony on the map when I get back.
As I unsummon the map, I'm left in the usual empty room with a throne.
Waaaait... what is that?
Rubbing my eyes, I trot over to the pillars separating the desert from the temple and stare outside. No, I'm not crazy. The empty desert of silver ash is still there, but there is something more. In the distance where there usually was nothing, I see... buildings? Flickering outlines of broken skyscrapers bent in broken shapes, which disappear when I strain my eyes to see.
I shake my head. Half-dreams are weird.
How do I wake up?
I punch myself in the face. Nope.
"Heh... let's see if this works."
Calling the map into existence again, I focus on Heavy's spirit and soon it stands in front of me. As usual, the white doorway appears right next to it.
Jumpy time!
***
Peeking from under the bush where I went to sleep, I can tell it's late morning already from a single look up. After packing my sleeping bag which I use purely for comfort because the corrupted body doesn't really care about minor weather conditions, I check my compass and resume my journey southwest. Crimson Heart's lost report contained the exact location of his camp, and I should be there in few hours at most, but likely sooner.
Much sooner, as it turns out. After some half an hour, I hear talking voices. For a second I ponder if that is wise from the patrol, but it makes sense. They aren't trying to catch anyone, their goal is to scare random Corrupted away.
Well, let's go. Hope they don't go crazy at first sight.
The ground around me shimmers and the air shifts.
"Huh?"
A circle of glowing magical runes surrounds me. Interesting. It's an imprisoning spell, a fairly powerful one. A quick tap on the suddenly solid wall of air in front of me reassures me about my first analysis. I weave my will into the complex magic bound within the self-sustaining circle, and can immediately tell that I'm in no shape to break the spell. However, I press my hooves against the invisible circular barrier, I can absorb just enough of its magic to push through using the semi-liquid form of my body. Few seconds later, I'm out with the spell happily humming behind me.
"Do we shoot?"
My triumph is cut short as I open my eyes which I closed to help me focus, and see that instead of a magical circle, I'm now surrounded by seven ponies - a unicorn, five earthponies carrying hoof-guns and firebombs-
I sniff the air and smell an acrid stench.
-and acid vials, and -thank stars!- Crimson Heart in the flesh. Makes sense the crazy noble would take part in the patrols himself.
"Wait for it to act, but be ready," Heart whispers, "Physical shape doesn't mean much to them, but this is my first time even hearing about an alicorn-looking one."
Welp, even I've only heard about corrupted Celestia, so I can't blame him for being careful. My desire to shout 'Boo!' loudly kind of evaporates after yet another look at the bombs.
"Call me 'it' one more time, Heart, and I'll go home and complain to Bucket. I could also mention that I'm the reason all these ponies are here, but that might make them a little too trigger-happy. So, how's life?"
Ice successfully broken, right?
Collective jaw drop engaged.
"How? Who? What?" Crimson Heart stutters.
"Where? When? Which?" I can't help taking one more jab at him, "Anyway, while I find your shocked faces quite amusing, I'm not sure how much time I have left so let's get straight to business. I've already gone through this with Bucket, so here goes," they all twitch as a small tentacle sprouts from my back, opens my saddlebag, and tosses a Silver Sun badge toward Heart, "It's me, Blazing. Bucket was worried when he didn't get your last message, I found the courier and he's currently about two days north happily humping the Breeder who turned him into a Corrupted. The last thing he knows about you is that you got hurt during the first attempt to get into the ruins. I'd tell you all the crazy stuff that has happened to me after we split in Manehattan, but as I said - possibly short on time."
Crimson Heart's horn brightens up and the badge flashes in response. He just shrugs and tosses it back to me.
"Must have been a crazy trip to Zebrica, Blazing."
"Griffon Empire," I correct him.
"Just checking," he grins and nods to the others, "Continue the patrol without me, I have a report to give."
They all agree, albeit a little hesitantly, and soon I follow Heart through the forest. In just few more minutes, I begin to hear more and more voices and some noises which might be the chopping of wood. Crimson Heart talks while we walk:
"There isn't much to say, to be honest. We got here with thankfully not much trouble. This many ponies were enough to dissuade most aggressive Corrupted from attacking, and the one group we had to fight fled after we greeted them with firebombs and accidentally set a part of the forest on fire."
"Huh, I didn't notice any charred bits on the way."
"Did you go in a straight line from Manehattan?"
"Pretty much. I just avoided the mountains."
"We took the caravan route until we were straight north from here and then went south for nearly two weeks."
I got here in just under a week, but caravans are always slow even when they don't take detours.
"So, have you tried to get into the ruins again?"
Heart clicks his teeth and sighs.
"Yes, we have. Each attempt ended the same - our ponies either suffered a massive panic attack and fled back to the camp, or were attacked by some three Corrupted-like entities and had to retreat after suffering some wounds. Still no casualties, thankfully. I didn't want to keep forcing us there en masse in case we got to a direct fight we could win and somepony was too eager to toss a bomb. From your description back in Manehattan, I assumed those three could be the dreamlings we are here for."
"Good guess. What is your plan now?"
He shakes his head as we enter an encampment in a forest clearing with five caravan wagons in a half-circle in its center. Between them lies a wide firepit, and there are ponies either talking or sitting around. There's a mare playing with a young filly nearby, both stopping when they notice me. It must have been tough job getting the wagons through the forest, but they somehow managed. Worked wooden logs are strewn all over the clearing, serving as places to sit or improvised workbenches. In short, it's slow chaos.
"I made sure to gather enough supplies of all sorts to sustain all these ponies, but we need to start producing something otherwise we'll have to be on our way back in a week, two if we tighten our belts a lot. Any day later than that and we might face the possibility of the few young colts and fillies with us starving. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and didn't count on us having to spend this long outside of Pine Hills. All the easily transportable means of production are one use only, and they need to be planted in the town itself."
"Alright. I'm not going to waste time then, although I would appreciate some sort of lunch. Got anything better than hay bars?"
"There is some fruit sustained in stasis if that helps. I could send some ponies to look for corrupted berries within the patrol perimeter."
I shake my head.
"Nah, just give me what you can part with, and I'll be on my way. I'll try to talk to Guiding and maybe persuade her to let you guys in."
"Do you think she will recognize you looking like this?"
Buck... I completely forgot.
That's bad, extremely bad.
A shiver runs down my spine when I realize I might find myself in a situation where it is either the life of Guiding or one of her dreamlings... or mine. The thing is that if I die, I lose this body. If I lose this body, I am just a spirit that will fade into nothing pretty soon. Then I can say goodbye to both Crom AND Guiding.
Don't make me choose. Even I can't be that unlucky anymore, right?
Shit.
***
A chill runs down my spine at the first sight of the broken masonry remaining of Pine Hills houses. Cold wind whispers through the Everfree leaves, and a branch cracks nearby. I can't make out whoever did that in all the greenery, so I squeeze myself between overgrown trees which used to be the town's palisade, and enter yet again, careful about the inevitable ambush.
I can't help feeling like I'm being watched. Teeth are about to snap my neck, claws will gut me in the next second, and I will choke on my own blood as I get the faintest glimpse of the horrible monstrosity whose jaws will crush my skull.
Hmph... rather vivid imagery. Is that Guiding's nightmarish influence which caused the panic attacks in any intruders? I felt something like that last time, but vastly weaker. Anyway, I guess that feeling themselves die in various ways, losing all hope of ever achieving one's goals and seeing their loved ones, all that aided by the slight touch of mind control magic would make unprotected ponies and maybe some Corrupted flee immediately. For me, it's just another day of my life.
Unless faced with a physical attack, I'm definitely not leaving. It's sort of funny how completely numb I've become to mind control and altering effects over the years, and corruption only finished the job.
"Hostile to the right, extremely fast."
I turn and duck under the pouncing black blur. Just like before, the dreamling is completely noiseless, even more than me. Thankfully, Heavy's got my back now, since my magical all-around vision doesn't work on them.
"To the ground, roll to the left."
Doing so without hesitation, I feel wind pass my back, and spot an explosion of dirt in the spot where I've just been.
"Kick upwards."
Nope.
Instead, I roll away again and wince as claws score a groove into my side. The good part is that I'm finally back on all fours.
"Why?"
I can't attack them if I'm to have any chance of proving I'm me. It would only make them less likely to listen.
"He'll rip you in half eventually, and he's alone. He's drastically faster."
I've got a plan, just warn me in case I miss a dodge chance or something.
"Will do."
The lack of any noise is a horrible feeling to somepony so used to assessing the situation from the smalles clues like I am.
"From behind."
As usual. This time I jump aside while spawning a tentacle underneath me which trips the dreamling mid-jump. He just rolls and jumps back up in one fluid motion. Nightmare Moon sure made horrific killing machines in the dimension where she won.
"Hey, I'm your dad, remember?" I try with no real hope. I need Guiding to be here. These guys share their minds, but she's the one with the most memories and ties to me.
The dreamling hesitates for a fraction of a second, which gives me time to prepare. As he pounces, jaws full of sharp fangs able to sever a Corrupted's neck about to catch me, I just take a step back and he slams into a wall of quickly sprouting tentacles which entangle him completely.
Suspended in the air in front of me, he turns his head and snaps his maw at the black tendrils, but I keep them away and gradually wrap him so tight he can't move. I'm not restraining his breathing or anything, so I hope he stops struggling eventually. What is sort of terrifying is how weak he is. Nearly literally stick thin, starved, covered with poorly healed scars, and with protrusions underneath his skin from wrongly healed bones. The sight makes me choke up just like last time.
I will make this right. I'm sorry I might hurt you now, but I will make this right. That's why I'm here. I can't change the world, but I'll do my best to just fix my own mistakes. I'm not saying it'll work, but I'll try.
"Shhh, shhh," I walk closer to the dreamling, raise a foreleg to touch him and immediately withdraw it when his jaws snap shut right next to it, further movement restrained by a tentacle around his neck. Okay, they might not be the strongest physically overall, but they are still crazy fast and apparently have the mouth muscles of a dragon.
Unable to touch me, the dreamling goes limp, takes a deep breath, and HOWLS.
For a second, I lose all control of my body and just stand there, paralyzed. I recover before my tentacles dissipate, sweat on my forehead and trembling. The dreadful mental pressure of the dreamlings is still quite something.
"Two hostiles behind you. One circling from the left, the big one straight from behind. Guiding and another dreamling."
Yep, that'll be all of them. Now how do we survive this?
I need to catch the other dreamling just like I got the first one.
Heavy, warn me about Guiding's movements. I'll focus on the small guy.
"On it."
Another howl crossed with a screech comes, this time from Guiding, but I can ignore it now. Pretending to lunge at the second dreamling, I stop as he dodges backwards, coiled like a spring about to shoot straight at me.
Aaand he slams his face into the ground as another of my tentacles sprouts behind him and grabs his hind leg.
"Dodge to the left."
WIthout seeing anything, I jump as far as I can with no preparation and feel a swipe rip my side to ribbons. As a pony, I would be likely bleeding out by now, but the Corrupted form just allows me to go on, making the blow feel more like a hard scratch. Thanks to that, I can focus well enough to spawn two more tentacles around the second dreamling, turn him in the air so that he's facing the sky, and-
"OWOOWOWOWOWOWOW!" I clutch my head which feels like splitting in half.
"Move left, now!"
I can't, and warm droplets of blood splatter my muzzle hidden behind my hooves. I stumble backwards, fighting against Guiding's feather-grade weight, but as I rear on my hind legs, adrenaline temporarily putting the crushing headache on the back burner, I can keep Guiding's maw from snapping around my neck with my shredded forelegs. In the end I gather myself enough to heave and toss her away from me.
The fact that I'm still alive means that my two tentacle traps are working, but my blurring vision and pounding of blood in my head tell me I shouldn't try to use more.
The brutalized form of Guiding hurts me more than her blows, but I realize I have no time to talk or pity her when she jumps up like a marionette pulled up by strings, legs bending in unnatural angles until she's face to face with me.
In the next instant, she's in front of me, about to bite my right foreleg off. I twitch backwards and shove her with my left foreleg so hard she keels over. The claws of her foreleg simply dig deep into the ground, and with one movement of her leg she tosses herself at me from the grass.
"Jump upwards."
What?
"JUMP!"
Listening to Heavy's advice, I just jump upwards as high as I can, narrowly avoiding...
...Guiding's spread forelegs with sharp saw blades growing on them and maw open.
Damn, if I tried to go left or right she'd have gotten me. This has to stop soon, though. I don't think I can keep the other two restrained for too long.
Luckily, my maneuver makes me land straight on surprised Guiding's back, and I shove her snapping head into the grass. She thrashes around, but I'm stronger and far heavier so I just sit on her, wiaiting for her to stop.
"Uh?" I look down to see why my body suddenly jerked forward, "Damn..."
The barbed tip of a tail is poking through my barrel. It pulls backwards, and everything goes grey.
*Thump!*
*Thump!*
*Thump!*
"Uuugh..."
"GET UP! GET UP!"
Vision swimming, I stand up on my wobbling legs. Through the haze, I can make out Guiding's bladed tail retracting and turning back into a normal one. The bleeding hole inside my chest is slowly closing in front of my eyes.
That killed me.
"Should have, yes, and if somepony knows something about having their heart destroyed completely then it's me."
As it turns out, shrooms don't really rely on blood flow that much. I am exceedingly thankful for that kind of regeneration, but damn does that go a long way to explain how hard ponies got fucked during the original conflict.
With piercing chest pains, I take a deep breath. The blow must have scratched my lungs or something too, but at this point I'm not going to start thinking about it.
"Sorry for this, Guiding, but I've got to dish out some parental guidance. As much as I hate to."
Guiding's eyes lock on me, and I pretend to lose balance and sway in the air. As soon as Guiding lunges at my neck, I rear on my hind legs and right hook her straight into her muzzle. The blow sends her into the air, and I follow it with another one into the cracked corset armor around her belly which breaks completely, leaving her barrel exposed.
Heavy, watch out for the tail trick this time.
When Guiding hits the ground, I jump onto her again, sitting down on her barrel.
"Guiding, you know this voice."
"HISSSSSSS!" she struggles, but I'm shrugging off all attempts at terrifying mental pressure and keeping her pinned down in the grass.
"Shhh. Shhh. Your dad's back as he promised."
*Growl!*
It's kind of difficult to keep her still while avoiding her teeth, but if I let her go I lose this opportunity. So, I just keep talking.
"Come on, Guiding. It's me, Blazing, your dad. You remembered me last time and I didn't look much better. Heck, I was more crazy than I am now after what Nightshade did to me. Too bad I don't have any divine power you remember like I showed you then. So just focus on my voice. I know that deep down you aren't this feral monster. You are my daughter. I told you last time I was sorry for what you had to go through, and I will repeat myself every day if I have to, just let me close to you again."
I keep talking and talking. About my previous visit, how we walked through the ruins, reminiscing. How Twilight Sparkle visited her long long time ago, worried about the peace after Luna going crazy in Ponyville. About the time she spent in Canterlot by Celestia's side, learning about this world and what it means to be a leader. I talk just about anything, mention names she might have heard, and some stupid little events like a birthday party Chokey and I arranged for her. Damn, she almost ate me before I had time to jump out of the cake.
Good times.
Halfway through a story about her and Chrysalis playing a prank on Cromach, I realize she's not struggling anymore, just carefully watching me, ragged and torn ears perked up.
"-and you know how griffons are taught to fear changelings. I'll never forget his face when the gorgeous pegasus mare I took to the ball, and whom he tried to seduce in front of Celestia turned into the queen of changelings in front of him. Anyway," I lower my voice, "feeling better, Guiding?"
No response.
I move my forelegs holding the dreamling queen away, ready to restrain her again and start over at any second, but she doesn't move, only stare, mouth slightly open. Not in the friendly way yet, I feel.
"Look, I know you likely want me to leave, that you are confused beyond belief. After all, you spent your last two centuries mercilessly killing creatures who look like me, but it's really me again. I promised I would come back and bring ponies here to help. They are nearby, but you keep chasing them away. And I know you remember. How do I know? You nearly gutted me now that I'm a Corrupted, but the ponies who ventured here were just a bit scratched and bruised. Even the amazons said you killed some of them when they came to this place. That stopped after we met before I went off to Manehattan. I know you remember, and I know somewhere deep down you understand that this is still me."
I stand up, and take a step away from Guiding lying on her back.
"I had to go last time because of myself. Don't make me leave this time because of you."
As I raise my foreleg to take another step backwards, jaws wrap around it. Already saying internal goodbyes to my fetlock, I try to pull away with no other effect than dragging Guiding's head along. Sitting down next to her, I pat her rotting, dead mane, and smile.
"I knew you would come around."
"Losing the tentacles might help."
Right, right.
My two tentacle traps move, each putting its victim safely down onto the forest floor. The black, thick tendrils retract into the ground and dissipate, which makes my headache go away.
Now I'm the one restrained by Guiding's jaws, and the two dreamlings come over, sniffing me all around. When I close my eyes in anticipation, I can sense weak probing inside my mind. Eventually, Guiding stands up.
"D-aaaah-d," she gurgles, and tears of relief burst from my eyes.
I hug the corrupted abomination, my little corrupted dreamling abomination.
We sit there, Guiding in my embrace, the two dreamlings pressed against my sides. I've stopped bleeding a long time ago, but I doubt they would mind if I haven't. In the end, though, I have to take another step. I could stay like this, but that wouldn't change anything.
Guiding gives me a questioning look when I break the hug and stand back up.
"I promised you a better future than this, and I intend to keep it. Come with me, please," I wave at her to follow me. She gets the idea after a moment, and I take her a little way north through the hole in the 'town' palisade through which I came.
The dreamlings whine and hesitate when we pass the wall of trees, and I stop.
"What now?"
Now we hope... blindly.
"Anypony around?" I raise my voice.
No answer. Of course, it's not like I was expecting any. The point was to make Guiding and the others get gradually used to me being louder so that I can shout.
On the sixth attempt, I hear the breaking of twigs and wood, and call out again:
"Come out SLOWLY!"
The dreamlings are hissing and baring their teeth at the greenery, but don't move from my side.
Crimson Heart's blond head peeks out from behind a tree, followed by three other ponies who freeze as soon as they see us. One of them gags and chokes, shoving a hoof into his mouth not to throw up. Yeah, poor dreamlings aren't a pleasant sight.
Step by step, Crimson Heart walks alone towards us.
"Calm down, Guiding. He is a friend. A good friend of mine... for some reason. I need you to let these ponies into your town, so that we can make it a home again. Just like it used to be. Maybe even see some little dreamlings one day."
"Oh stars," I hear a choked whisper from one of the ponies following Crimson Heart, "Who the hay would touch that monst-"
He shuts up when Crimson Heart turns his head, pure fury etched on his face. Only firmness and dedication remains when he turns back to us, and walks over to Guiding herself who growls.
The unicorn offers his hoof. Guiding sniffs it. Finding nothing to eat or be afraid of, she stops growling and just watches.
"She'll get used to you guys, I believe-"
Lord Heart puts his hoof to his muzzle, silencing me. Then he sits down on his haunches in front of Guiding, takes her forehoof into his forelegs, and guides it upward. I expect her to grow claws and swipe at his muzzle, but nothing of that sort happens.
The the idiot presses her hoof against his lips and kisses it, not even flinching when touching the rotten flesh, dead hair, dirt, and decades of mess.
"I have a mistake to atone for, and I will be your personal guard as long as it takes, lady Guiding Light. I will stay by your side until you recover, and nothing will stop me from performing my duty. That I swear on my honor as a noble, both to you and your father here."
Guiding goes gurgle gurgle. Crimson Heart shoots me a questioning glance, as if I should somehow know what that meant. I just shrug, safe in belief that since he still has his head, and in one piece as well, he must have passed the 'friend or foe' test.
He lets Guiding's hoof go, and nuzzles her torn and scarred neck, smearing dried blood over his face.
Seriously, this guy is unbelievable.