//------------------------------// // Making Things Right-ish: Hope // Story: Imbalanced // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// [Blazing's Entry] Now I know that AJ and Rainbow weren't really on Sombra's side but when I told them everything I found out that the crystal king's power was enough to get them one by one and eventually it was too late to fight back. I also know one more thing, this time from Twilight, and that's that the Elements don't break somepony's will and then twist them completely to their image. The bearers here, while a lot more... adult than their good counterparts aren't bad ponies as such. Applejack was about as happy as Rainbow when she visited me and Rarity hiding in Ponyville and eventually devised a plan to get me into Sombra's ranks. It wasn't too complicated and explained what Sombra was doing in the arena during my last match with AJ. Visiting the arena once a week is his passtime. Even evil overlords have hobbies, I guess. In a half-staged match I beat the reigning arena champion and found my way into the king's personal guard instead of her which suited us both. She had enough time to improve my plan even further. When the invasion is about to begin, she will take Rainbow Dash and go protect Ponyville from an arranged attack by dragons who will be supposedly looking for Rarity. It's a bit of a stretch but our hope is that Sombra won't look too much into it with his goal so close. Fortunately for us, Twilight provided magical protection against Scream's prying eyes for them and I was moving around too much to be easy to spot. Once again, all I have is hope that seeing through dimensions is as difficult as Scream said. There was one thing I wasn't able to force out of my mind. Damn Void! [End Entry] Watching blood slowly leave the body of my mirror self... again, I turn to the horrified and confused batpony who has been watching the entire scene without moving a muscle. It was much more difficult to stay patient and listen to the entirety of mirror Blazing's 'I got the girl' story for more reasons than just me already knowing it. "Go and get the deed to this house and some official stationery, please," I say and mirror Chokey limps away. I keep looking around at all the things my successful self managed to get and when Chokey gets back I write the necessary document to leave it all to her. Her every step with her badly healed leg as she goes away to hide the paperwork makes me bite my lip. "Tying up the loose ends?" asks the Element. "Yea." "Once again I have to ask you why don't you stay here with her?" "The answer is exactly the same and he's currently turning the carpet red." "Why are you defending your Equestria? You said that you didn't care about the world last time and now that you know Void just used you here we are again." "Well... Void didn't exactly use me." "Fine then. What are you hoping to achieve here? If you wanted to just end things then there was a safe way to do it and instead you saved the Elements and are here again to give the love of your life a chance at living her own." "I was the one who took it from her." "No. You. Weren't." "Details." "Details are important. To me all of you four-legged creatures are just ponies - frail, mortal and fleeting. It's the details that make the difference. So let me ask you again - Why are you trying to save Equestria when there is nothing for you there?" "Because I'm the only one who can!" "Really? If Void managed to get his powers back in time then he'll easily be able to deal with danger." "And what if he didn't? Then it will be up to me again to blow everypony up and if I'm not there then it's over for-" "For whom?" asks the Element quietly. "Equestria?" "You got yourself into a circle which doesn't end where it begins. Trying to save a world about which you are adamant in saying you don't care at all." "Fine. I can't stand seeing Chokey unhappy and I can't stand the thought of her getting hurt. I saw with my own eye what happens if I fail." "Ummm-" interrupts the suddenly returned batpony. "Be quiet for a second, Chokey. I'll sort this out and then-" I begin. "But-" "Listen, it's gonna be alright-" "NO, YOU LISTEN FOR ONCE!" deafens the Element both of us, "For once in you life listen to somepony other than yourself, you idiot. You keep talking about how stupid and useless you are and yet the only one you listen to is the dumbest pony in existence! You've said enough, now open your ears and for once listen to others, not just hear the sound leaving their mouths... listen. Go on, girl. Say your piece." I don't know what is scarier. The fact that I made an Element of Harmony angry or the fact that its sword form is nearly stabbing me in the face. Chokey slowly walks up to me and leans closer to my face and I take a step back on instinct. "You aren't a bad pony." "I-" I begin and immediately shut up when the shimmering sword passes my peripheral vision. "I don't know who you are but you aren't the pony I know as Blazing Light. Truth be told I used to like him but eventually he proved who he really was. You are trying to give me back a life I haven't had for years and I though I never would. You - a pony who has never seen me before. I don't know anything about myself from your world but I know I'm not her. No matter what led you to writing the will giving me all this you did it for a pony whom you've never met before, that's not something usual." "You just know me from this one thing. You don't know the bad things I did to get here," I say when it seems she's done talking. "From what I understand you're trying to make things right and that's all that matters." Yep, no matter what she says she's definitely Chokey. I just wish she would stop oversimplifying things. Maybe you should stop overcomplicating things. What... you as well? You should know the most about me. Yes, I do. And with all that knowledge and all the facts I say you're wrong. You said that you are saving Equestria because you're the only one who can. When Void leaves with Scream then who's going to show your bat a little bit of what Void in our world did? I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO THAT! Really? A fragment of an ancient god is telling you so, your own split personality is telling you so, a millenia old alicorn thought so, twice, and even THE MIRROR SELF OF THE PONY YOU ARE SO TERRIFIED OF IS TELLING YOU SO! What more do you need? Do you really think you are smarter than all of them? No I'm not. I'm just some trash- That's a reflexive response you're not even thinking about. Try again. I... I don't know. I'm just so scared of failing her expectations and hurting her somehow that- That you're not gonna even try. But- Unless you're going to say that her butt is incredibly mountable then there isn't anything relevant you could say. It didn't take more than few seconds but here is me, looking at the floor and shaking slightly. "Your butt looks incredibly mountable," I mumble. The burst of laughter from the Element and the snorting from Chokey tell me that I said that out loud. Needless to say, I just keep staring in horror at her and opening and closing my mouth. "You don't look half bad as well," she says when she regains control, "although your pick-up lines could use some work." "I... eeh, well... not much experience?" "Pfff. Kiss me, mister Light," she grins and then closes her eyes. Is she serious? Me making the first move? She's crazy, she must be crazy. Just go with it. You'll make her sad if you refuse. I kiss her softly on the nose. She opens her eyes, smiling widely, and turns to the Element. "He really has no idea." "No, he doesn't," the Element replies. "You pass, somewhat," says Chokey, "I hereby ask you to be the best pony you can be for myself in your world." "She's got you there," adds the Element, "If you don't then you'll make this one unhappy and you can't bear even thinking about it." I grudgingly mumble something about manipulative mares and even more manipulative Elements. With both of them laughing and Betty telling Chokey that he can transform into various tools for leisure time I get ready to leave. "I hate to interrupt the very interesting and educational exhibition of dildos throughout the ages but there is a world to save," I comment. "And a butt to mount," adds Chokey, leaving me feeling that my hooves must be melting holes in the floor. When we walk outside and aim towards the train station I have only one thing to say. "I hate both of you." "We hate you too, buddy," says the Element. We hate you too, buddy. Twilight trusted me enough after saving her friends to promise helping me at the right moment. Sombra's minions once again broke through the dimensional barrier and while the defenders looked much better prepared than last time it was still completely pointless. And just like that, the moment of truth is here. Princess Celestia sends a beam of energy towards king Sombra and I jump to block and disperse it. This time it's really easy but I make the showing of it tiring me out because I need to stay unnoticed until the right time comes. "WE ALMOST HAD HIM!" yells Chokey, tears in her eyes. "You had nothing. He connected his soul to the corrupted Heart so you were free to waste as much energy on him as you wanted to." Sombra breathes out. "Victory." A burst of golden light reveals that the final actor of today is finally here. During Scream's evil monologue I watch both parties carefully. Twilight is waiting for my command, Sombra is watching Celestia greedily and the eyes of my 'enemies' are glued to Scream. What now? No idea. I thought Void would think of something but the situation seems exactly the same. I guess I'll have to end it the same way then. Sucks to have gone through so much self-discovery just to become a cloud of dust. I dunno. Considering the explosion, it's gonna be more vapor than dust. Hey! Yeah it sucks. For few days I actually believed there was a chance. Look on the bright side though, Scream will blow up which means the best result for Chokey and that's all I've wanted. You really are an incurable optimist. Yep. I'll die as I lived, with pieces of my head all over the place. "Alright. Time's up, let's do this," I say and pick up Betty with my arm. The eyes of everypony suddenly fixate on me. "Good. Take care of Celestia first and then you can have fun with your batpony," says Scream. "Can you give her two more breasts and a dong that would put Big Mac to shame?" I ask. "What?" "Nevermind," I grin and swing the Element towards the Heart.