//------------------------------// // I KNEW It Wasn't Just My Natural Charm // Story: The Third Diary // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// [Blazing's Entry] I woke up the next day without any interruptions so I have to assume whatever Mistake told Hamilton was enough to let me rest. Now, as much as I could wonder about the mystery of a griffon using divine power and controlling time I feel not involved in any of this. There are power struggles happening in the Griffon Empire every day and this has to be one of those. Nightmare's power is also not a problem. If I get enough rest I'll be able to obliterate the griffon in case he shows up again. Not to mention that, once again, this isn't any of my business. Well, since Mistake is still gone I have nopony to talk to and a break from my duties. Perhaps it's a good idea to deal with Rock Candy and see who she really is. Her friendliness is unreal and she seems to know something I don't. Also, cleavage. It's a weird feeling being alone in my head... I almost miss having somepony to watch the area around me, to talk to when bored, or to second guess everything I do. Scary. I haven't felt this unsafe in a long time. Once again, I'm SO HAPPY I LEARNED TO WRITE USING MY MOUTH. [End Entry] It might be crippling to a unicorn or an alicorn having no access to magic or telekinesis but after all that's happened to me I just don't care. Controlling the stolen divine power is coming back to me despite Harmony's power making it more difficult. The point is that I now have Nightmare's power without having any of Discord's to prevent it from destroying me like I had in the past. I believe Harmony's stolen power is allowing me to do it at the price of it being a lot more complicated and taxing. All in all, time's all I need to ease into it. Soon I'll be able to control divine energy and counter magic like I used to. Soon enough? Now that's the right question. I cannot wait and hide for that long though. With that in mind I'm now standing in front of a reinforced wooden door undistinguishable from any other of the fortress leading into Rock Candy's room. I'm still woozy from the day spent in bed but I should be able to at least run away from a minotaur in case of trouble. *Knock knock knock* I'm not sure about the afternoon soldier schedule because I've always slept through all of it after my night shift but I'm willing to wait to put my mind to rest. *Click* "Hello, Frostfire," smiles Rock Candy. "How did you recognize me? I'm more bandage than pony now." The explosion burned away all the feathers of my wings so I now just have two long coat hangers wrapped in gauze on my back. Once again, no real problem. Screw flying! Screw heights! I'm more worried about my face, neck, and big part of my torso which have suffered the same fate, making a rather acceptable sarcophagus filler of me. Well, at least I don't look like a raw chicken. Don't judge me! There are griffons around and they have to eat meat. "Come in, please. I hope the soldiers didn't bother you too much." The room is very spartan and almost a copy of mine. The griffon fortresses usually don't offer much variety in soldier lodgings. I sit down on the bed while Rocky sits on a rug on the floor so her head is lower than mine. In her purple eyes I see something I've never seen before... ...aside from when I helped Heavy Hoof deal with being bullied in the Guard as a recruit. It is devotion and respect. It makes sense I'm not used to it. "Not as much as how you act towards me." "Huh, what did I do?" "You are too nice. Nopony's ever been that nice to me for no apparent reason. I'm just not the... type." "I see. It makes sense you wouldn't remember me." "Still drawing blanks." "In Rift?" "Rift? Never heard about the name." "Oh RIGHT! My bad, sir. Sorry. The name was decided after you... left. The runners up were Crevice and Rupture. Still nothing?" "Eeeerm..." "A LOT of minotaurs?" "The northern city inside of the mountain? WAIT! How do you-? What do you-? Who are you?" "I am one of those who owe you everything, Prophet. One of those who would have been left to just pass on clan lore to other generations. I'm not really what minotaurs look for in a girl, I'm weak." She's right. Female minotaurs are usually way bulkier, at least those whom I met during my stay in the frozen wastes. On the other very... arousing hoof, I can't help drinking in the curves of her body clad only in a loincloth. Her short, creamy fur only accentuates curves of her breasts- Do not stare, do not stare, do not stare. -followed by every abdominal muscle leading down to her waist. Her shoulders are wider than I am and her arms ripple with rope-like strands mirroring her ability to carry as much as a normal earthpony. I've seen her wave a griffon zweihander around. She is by no means a pushover. "I know you minotaurs. Your 'normal' girls look like they could rip a unicorn in half." She chuckles. "As I said, I was considered weak so before you came and united the clans all that awaited me was either becoming a shaman, running away through the wastes, or being traded to some other clan for pelts. Then you came and made others see us as more than savages to exploit. Both griffons and ponies are now looking for minotaurs willing to join local forces and a lot of us are seeking to find what the world has to offer past the next blizzard.-" She stands up and hugs me. I groan a bit, then a lot. "-For that I love you, Prophet, I respect you, and I adore you. You are my future and my hope. There are hundreds of others out there who would say the same given the chance. I got the chance to serve a tour in the GFL and I gladly accepted. I've been here only for a month." She sits on the bed next to me. "Erm, I... you're welcome? WAIT! How do you know it's me? As far as I know only Darkhorn knows how I look." "You've just admitted knowing the warchief's father so there's that. Plus, there's a huge statue of you at the entrance to Rift. After Darkhorn returned from your secret journey to Equestria he ordered it made and remade over and over to fit his memory. At first, I couldn't believe it was you, especially after Darkhorn said you died but I was willing to offer my company just on the off chance of him being wrong." Great. So now it's Luna's statue in Hollow Shades, Scream's statue at the changeling hive, Celestia's statue in Canterlot castle gardens, and mine in Rift. I wonder if there's a statue of Void somewhere. Rocky's words sparked a little something inside me. I'm not sure what but the world seems different now... just a tiny bit... brighter. The stuffy air of the room is easier to breathe, the boiling chaos of power inside me a little easier to subdue, the weight on my shoulders easier to bear. "It's nice to hear I did at least something right," I smile, "although you give me far too much credit." "I don't, Prophet... Frostfire." "Ehm, my real name is Blazing Light." "A strong name. The torch of hope." "Oh shush. I'm just a normal pony, not some hero. I go to the toilet like anypony else." "And are mesmerized by these," she wiggles her chest suggestively, "like every guy in this fortress." "I don't know what to say." "Compliments always help." "You are very pretty." Excellent! Now I sound like a grade school colt. "Thank you. I didn't get to hear that much back at home. So yeah, that's all I wanted to say. I mean I didn't want to put myself forward and bother you but after I found you charred and still smoking in the hallway... I had to. I had to tell you how important you are." Cuddles! Ask for cuddles! About time you showed yourself. What happened? I passed out after the interrogation. I materialized myself... partially. Will it knock you out again? Probably not. Check it out! I feel tugging inside me and a brief moment of lightheadedness. When yellow dots stop dancing behind my eyes I catch Rock Candy looking at the pink-eyed, blue-maned, black-coated unicorn standing in front of us with fists ready to strike. "Do you see him too?" I ask, trying not to sound like a lunatic. "Who are you?!" she barks at Mistake who looks from me to her, slightly startled. "My name is Mistake, miss. I'm a little piece of Blaze's head with extra privileges." "Oh yeah, you talked to Hamilton, didn't you? I was wondering where you came from." "Yes," Mistake bows and looks at me, "Speaking of which, you don't have to worry about him. The griffon doesn't care about you whatsoever as long as you don't cause trouble. Well, from what he told me they have no idea where the guy who attacked you went. He just ran away through the hall and then his trace disappeared completely." "What's on that floor? Could he have flown away through a window?" "The top floor is the same as the rest of the fortress. Rooms for soldiers, all searched, and some storage rooms, also searched. As for the window, none seemed to be closed in a hurry and there isn't really anywhere to fly from here. No matter the griffon's stamina he wouldn't get anywhere inhabited without survival equipment." "I doubt Hamilton would tell you everything." "True, but he seemed genuine. I don't think he's got any idea what happened." "That makes two of us." "Perhaps that's why the new guy is here," Rocky snaps her fingers, "to investigate." Mistake disappears. "Mister unicorn? Where did he go?" Rocky turns her head around. "It's exhausting for him to appear like that. Just let him rest. So what about this new guy?" "A griffon appeared yesterday night. I was on watch and he arrived riding thrusters through the desert. I think he was rushing here all night because he had almost nothing packed and only enough fuel to last the way here. Big guy in a black jacket with golden pin of the Black Ops. The two weird things about him were some strange weapon, looked like a claw of some sort, strapped on his back and an arm prosthesis I haven't seen before, a really complex one." "Black Ops are always trouble," I mumble, "but maybe they know something. The timing seems too precise to be a coincidence." "Do you want me to knock him out and bring to you for questioning, Prophet?" "You do have a mischievous streak in you, don't you?" I raise an eyebrow, well, bandage brow, "Of course not. I don't want Hamilton to shoot me out of a cannon back to the desert." "Well, that was all I wanted to say. You always look so lifeless in the morning so I wanted to cheer you up. You're welcome to stay, I don't have a watch tonight." Take it. "I-" Take iiiiiiiiit! "-suppose it's better than lying in my room alone, waiting for my shift to start." Yay for boobies! Dammit! "Are you hungry?" *Gurgle gurgle ROOOOAR* "Just a little," blood rushes to my face. Thankfully, Rock Candy can't see through the bandages. Unfortunately, she's not deaf and she giggles at the protest of my stomach, "I don't want to be a bo-" She positively jumps and runs to a small room adjoining the main one. "-ther." She likes you. She likes the idea of me, the idea of what I did. She doesn't like ME me, she doesn't know me well enough to do so. Nopony can like me on the first glance. Chokey did. Rocky rushes back with some fresh apples, bread, and cheese. Strings of drool leave my mouth as soon as my bandaged nose catches the scent. "Come on!" Rocky jiggles her chest annoyedly, "The food can't be better than this." "I haven't eaten anything in over a day. Here, have Mistake!" Wait, what?! Knowing how it felt when he left willingly, I give the divine power inside me a little push. Wait you can't do this to- The black unicorn appears, shaking his head so fast the blue mane swirls around like a little tornado. "-me Idon'tknowwhattodoI'mscaredshedoesn'tlikemeandthinkI'mnot-MMMF?" Rocky picks him up and puts him down on the bed right next to eating me. I can't help smiling as she does the same thing to him she did to me and suffocates his muzzle between her fleshy orbs. Feeling what can only be described as a shadow of emotion, I wonder whether that is how Mistake feels what happens to me. It's weak, detached, and... resistable, something quite new to me as I'm not too good at subduing my head in a crisis. Well, if this is the only way he knows things then he must be having a blast now. Rocky's warmth, softness, and the smell of soap with lingering faint hint of sweat... I know all of it. Oh damn! Before I even finish my my portion of food Rocky is lying on her back with Mistake snoring softly with head unceremoniously lying on her chest. For him, this must be heaven. For me, this is a useful knowledge. Putting the now empty tray on the table, I leave the room and let both of them rest. So, if I give Mistake a portion of my divine power I can temporarily give him independent life. It's similar to what happened when I was brimming with power after the Golden Sands incident but at the time Mistake was practically untouchable considering the amount both of us held. This was the first time he could touch something by himself and feel it fully. It knocked him out like a guard baton. Considering how wide his grin was I doubt he minded. There's a plan of action growing in me. If the top floor is the same as the others then I could have a look in the storage rooms in case one of them served to hide the griffon at least temporarily. There is a chance the attacker left a trail in the dust I wasn't able to mop at the time and- There isn't any. The entirety of the floor is messed up from the previous search attempts. Well, it's come to the tedious part then. Looking into every storage one by one, I go through the whole floor and return back to one room where I felt something strange, something familiar, but couldn't exactly say what. "Crates with," I pry one open, "clothes. Damn!" More crates, furniture, nothing spectacular. In a fit of vanity I look into a mirror hanging on the wall to see just how bad the damage to me is. Surprisingly enough, without removing the bandages I have no idea. I close my eyes and shake my head. Stupid idea. The world doesn't disappear as it should. I got used to blinking and seeing the white outlines of everything in the vicinity but this time they move. With eyes closed, I see the mirror wobble and distort, continuously moving like grass in the wind. To my open eyes it's just a window-sized square of glass but if I focus I can feel a touch of magic emanating from it. Seeing nothing smarter to do, I touch it and my clawed arm passes through with no resistance. Heh, a portal leading somewhere. The mystery of the disappearing griffon solved rather quickly. The mystery of the place on the other side took its place even faster. I'm not willing to go to a possibly hostile territory without backup and my backup is currently mumbling incoherently in his sleep and- A flickering image appears as I focus on Mistake. -suckling on one of Rocky's nipples. Well, if he returns to me with half of his teeth missing I'll know what happened. *Sigh* Perhaps I should join him. The minotaur girl seems to hold me in such high regard she might not mind another warm body in the bed and I could use the company. Strolling lazily out of the room I clear a corner- -and by breathing stops, -my heart stops, -my mind stops, -my movement stops, -my jaw drops. The figure in front of me reacts in the same way. I recognize the Black Ops agent Rock Candy described. I recognize him better than she could ever describe. With the way his green eyes go wide and he begins shaking I know that despite bandages, despite time, and despite memory he recognized me as well. I can't move, I have no control over myself. Through blurring eyes I see him take a hesitant step towards me. The Black Ops agent sniffles, rubs his wet, emerald eyes, opens his shaking beak, and whispers: "I pray to any and every god listening. I'll do anything you want of me... just... if this is a dream... don't ever let me wake up."