*Beep beep beep beep beep.*
The soft, yet unending beeping of medical machinery is a poor company. Not even the less and less frequent doctor’s visits help break the monotony. On the other bandaged hoof, I can sleep as much as I want, and considering I still drift off whenever I close my eyes I think my body needs it. What I need… I don’t even know what I need, quite honestly. Despite the black depression, I’d like to take another walk sometime soon.
Eeh, I’m not even depressed anymore, I think, I’m just resigned to my fate. Deep down I knew what I was trying to achieve would be near impossible and I braced myself for any result. That, or what I was afraid of before, which was not being able to feel much of anything anymore, came true and in the end it was better for me to have a literally broken heart than for Cromach to face the metaphorical version.
Speaking of my wounds, damn did Cromach have an unlucky aim… for me I mean. With one talon, he managed to pierce my lung and scratch my heart, the second one chipped my spine, and the third mangled whatever disgusting tubes my lower body holds.
Yes, still holds. I don’t know how, but I’m still around half a month later and with many more weeks of recovery to go. Nicolai’s agent buddy must have been a magician with a scalpel, though.
The door clicks just as I gradually manage to inch my stick-thin foreleg towards my itchy chin. More doctors? I don’t think there’s anything on my schedule tod-
“How’s the patient?” asks a cheery male voice featuring a slightly choked echo I haven’t heard for a while.
“You tell me,” I croak and give approaching Nicolai a weary smile.
“Eager for some news, I see.”
“More to face the blowback from my stupid expedition request, but I’ll take anything to beat the boredom over the head with.”
“I can have a TV or a radio brought here. The doctors were against it at first, saying it would hinder your sleep, but you look fine to me.”
“When did you get your medicine degree?” I chuckle.
“Sometime during the seventh, I think, experiment on me and my new… company.”
Did I forget to mention that Nicolai now looks completely like a Corrupted without the size? I did? Well, he does. Thankfully, it looks like Suitie isn’t trying to devour him or anything… or he has excellent self-control.
“Speaking of Suitie, how are you two doing?”
“That’s a strange name.”
Oooh boy.
“I was bored during my first trip to the Empire in this age, and I named the Corruptor living fused to me like a bodysuit Suitie McSuitface. She didn’t seem to mind.”
“Thank you. Now I have yet another piece of information I should never under any circumstances share with anyone.”
“Heheh. I hope the scientists weren’t too hard on you.”
“Are you talking to me or to her, because I can feel her reacting. I’d give her control for a moment, but I assume you don’t speak fluent ‘Hisss and Gurgle’, right?”
“I understood her when she was tentacling inside my head, I’m not sure how it would go now.”
“Heh, tentacling around. That sums it up pretty well, actually. Anyway, I was able to dissuade them from any more intrusive experiments. To be frank, I was more worried about their safety than mine, because damn is this lady terrifying.”
“Corruptors can be, definitely.”
The grin on his beak fades when I say that.
“That’s actually the second thing I wanted to talk about. I’ve gathered some… information over time, and I’ve gone over what little I know. Desert Shade and her associates, Flora, Heavy Hoof… they all explained to me how you felt when you were a Corrupted. Was it… Suitie’s fault? The insanity, the hallucinations, the… desires.”
He is scared. Not that I can hold it against him, but seeing the second most powerful griffon in the Empire terrified is a new experience.
“Suitie definitely started it. She… infested me in hopes of corrupting and eating me at first, but eventually we came to an agreement of sorts, if anything as concrete can be said about her. The 'agreement' was that she would stop trying to make me into a mushroom, and I don't blow her up the second she drips off of me. Eventually, though, I think Suitie grew to like the different locales we’ve gone through. As far as I know from my own experience, Corruptors have senses completely beyond any other Corrupted or mortal creature, and I guess something about the Empire captivated her. Oh, and she likes eating meat… a lot.”
“Oh yeah, I noticed,” he laughs with relief, clearly recalling something, “My first real meal back here was quite a spectacle. I don’t think the guards will ever forget that.”
“Guards?”
“Well, I’ve been locked up inside a very secure research cell until recently. Thankfully, my brother insisted on me having at least normal food and access to some ways to amuse myself despite the scientists wanting a purely sterile environment. Let’s just say that my companion pounced at the sight of juicy meat.”
“So, how do you feel? Considering you’re allowed to move around like this it can’t be that bad.”
“I feel… cramped. In my head and in my neck mostly, but she relieves that with those great massages she gives. I think it’s getting better, or I’m getting used to it. Right now, I believe I’ll be alright as long as I occasionally amuse my new… roommate and her own tastes. My real concern is the future. I was wondering if I’ll need to resign from my position.”
“Nicolai, one thing I learned was that focus is the key. My transformation went really bad only after the tainting ‘bomb’ Legius had prepared went off. I… I think you at least have more time before you’ll need to make that decision, maybe a lot more than you’re thinking.”
“How come?”
“Corrupted can live a very long life within their territory. Heh heheh hahahahahahahahaha!” I break into laughter, soon gasping for breath.
Damn I’m so weak I’m wheezing.
“What is so funny about it?” Nicolai raises an eyebrow.
“I realized,“ I wipe tears from my eyes, ”I realized that you might exactly be what Crowley wanted the whole time.”
“Huh?” I now have Nicolai’s full attention.
“I might have told you already, but he wanted the griffons to have an immortal ruler like ponies and Celestia, someone to rise above petty conflict, finally unite the land, and bring peace to the citizens of the Empire. I shattered his dream, but now… I might have given it another chance. I even heard Celestia survived centuries of corruption before returning to normal, there’s Nightshade and other semi-normal tainted individuals. You might one day… bear a lot more responsibility than you do now.”
“Whoah, now that’s something to think about.”
“A bit too much to chew in one sitting, eh?”
“Said the guy who repeatedly saved the world from destructive gods. I might still be a small fry in comparison. Speaking of which, what are you going to do now?”
“Sleep.”
“And after you make a full recovery?”
“Hmmm...”
***
[Blazing’s Entry]
A month and a half of treatment and recovery.
According to the doctors, nopony should have survived the damage I sustained despite the quick surgery in such unsanitary place like old unused sewers. The common ones chalked it up to a miracle, the ones working with me and Nicolai later ‘explained’ it via the effects of divinity (We have no idea why, so let’s blame something unnatural). It is the safest guess, though. However, now I know I possess no divine durability or resistance, but it looks like that if I get some stabilizing treatment soon, I can survive clearly fatal injuries.
Let’s not make a habit of testing the limits of that.
I was a wreck when I was let out of the private hospital within the Holy City, but an alive wreck. While the food was good, it was still patient food, and I was barely allowed even that since I spent most of the first month with tubes sticking out of me. Afterwards, I worked with Nicolai on my physical recovery and in the end helped test the limits of his new form. I haven’t been fed that well in ages, and under the supervision of personal trainers and chefs, I recovered to an amazing degree.
Eeeeh, I gained some weight, heh, which wasn’t all muscle. I kinda disliked all the healthy food, so I ordered some more interesting meals when I could. A hayburger is a hayburger, sue me!
Aaanyway, fast food and a small belly aside, all the time I had to focus on exercise without being chased helped beyond my wildest dreams. Eventually, though, I had to end the physical recovery, and finally see how all the pain I was suppressing would mark me.
Flora wasn’t found after the Drachenberg expedition. Cromach is lost. The five Black Ops agents who survived remained in the service afterwards. I honestly didn’t know what to do and didn’t really have any desire to find something new. However, Heavy Hoof came from Manehattan eventually when he found out about the results of the expedition. It’s kinda funny that he and Shadowstep’s guys were in the Holy City prison all the time while the expedition happened, we returned, and I was in a coma, then they were let out and sent to Manehattan while no one told them about us, and only THEN Bucket recieved a message about me as the current Silver Sun leader.
Bureaucracy at its finest.
So, Heavy arrived, and after some deliberation I decided. I’m done. I tried to do everything, chase every tie to my past life, and I failed. I’m going home. I’m returning to Pine Hills where I’ll serve as a guard since I can now harm Corrupted thanks to my divinity and thus keep them away better than the amazons.
Heavy and I returned to Manehattan where I reported everything to Bucket including my plans. The robot gave me a regular scheduled message for Crimson Heart and supplied me with everything for my trip. Oh yeah, I actually kept the Black Ops sword. It’s awesome. Too bad that if it breaks or is damaged, nopony in Equestria will be able to repair it.
With everything ready, no loose ends untied, and a semi-clear goal in mind, I said goodbye to Heavy, Cross, and Bucket, and set out on my hopefully final trip for some time.
I’m going home. Well, I’m going someplace where I’ll make a home, and then I’ll be home.
[End Entry]
Not even my lazy ass can make me sleep anymore, which I consider about the only viable reason for finally unzipping my sleeping bag and peeking out.
Oh dear god, fresh air!
Spring is almost over, and the morning sun is starting to warm the air up to a pleasant degree. Granted, after the Empire the mornings in Equestria are still somewhat chilly, but that only serves to wake me up faster.
“Aaaah!” my eyes bulge when I hear a quiet grumble and notice that what’s been warming me up throughout the night wasn’t just the sleeping bag.
“Mrrmrmrm...” a chubby female Corrupted with large, round breasts is lying next to me, her side pressed tightly against the padding. She looks up and hisses quietly. There’s no threat in it, mostly curiosity.
“Did you think I was a lost egg?” I mumble, telekinetically gripping the handle of my sword just in case.
“Mrrrmm?” she tilts her head.
I doubt we’ll be getting anywhere like this. The overdeveloped physical traits make it clear the mare is a Breeder, and thus only a little dangerous, so I slip out of the sleeping bag. She only grumbles in disappointment, but calms down when I lean down and rub her belly, taking care to softly knead her teats and avoid any dripping liquid.
Temptation, temptation.
Anyway, I don’t push too far, and stop when she seems to drift off and closes her eyes. That gives me the confidence to pack my things up despite her thin tentacle wrapped around my hind leg just out of need for physical contact. When I’m done, I carefully tug at my living shackle until the Breeder releases me.
I like friendly wild Corrupted, they are cute.
Thankfully, she doesn’t follow me, so I’m not forced to run or threaten her, and I set out onto the last leg of my journey. Pine Hills should be only several hours away, and at this point solitary Corrupted are a non-issue. All I hope for is that I don’t attract the attention of a pack, but so far that hasn’t happened despite me not being able to sense them anymore. I did have to fight off a duo of Hunters at one point in the past week, but as soon as one got seriously hurt, they ran off. I guess they weren’t used to ponies able to harm them as easily as I did, and they acted like animals in pain when encountering resistance during a hunt which was supposed to be for fun.
As for the solitary threats, I met two or three each day, but they all acted the same way. When soft words and taking a non-collision course didn’t work, sword and their newfound vulnerability definitely did. Strangely enough, I felt safe walking through the tainted wilderness, which is something pretty much nopony else can say.
While I’m trudging through the undergrowth dotted with light spots where sun pierces the canopy, hours pass by. Too many hours.
Hmmm…
I pull out a compass and an electronic map Nicolai gave me. That thing is SO COOL! It’s all realistic up to the detail of ground elevation and stuff and reasonably accurate. According to him, their mapping ‘drones’, which are the small high-altitude flying devices he mentioned in Drachenberg do a scan of Equestria every year nowadays. They can’t do it more often, since flytraps get the majority of them and they are super expensive, but the data is worth it. Certainly to me right now, anyway.
The glowing image floating above a silvery disk in front of me zooms out. Pine Hills should by all means be at most fifteen minutes away, and yet I haven’t met a single patrol nor am I hearing any logging sounds.
I start walking faster, then I break into running.
My surroundings turn familiar. Dashed ground, new makeshift roads, a logging camp…
...all empty. Silent and completely empty.
Damn it, no… did Pine Hills get overrun by Corrupted?
Did ponies have to evacuate to Ponyville? The amazons should have had the escape route secur-
I freeze as I pass the main wooden gate in the recently built palisade surrounding Pine Hills.
“No...”
Mangled pony corpses are lying everywhere, crushed or ripped to pieces. A green message is written in blood on the closest still standing wall of a real house. Underneath it lies Guiding Light with most of her head missing.
I realize that someone or something killed Guiding by grinding her against the wall while writing with her blood and crushed chitin. The best I can hope for is that she was dead beforehoof.
The message reads:
You cannot hide. I will be waiting you know where.
"...this will never end," I whisper with chilling certainty.