//------------------------------// // The Shadow King: Sombra's Lapdogs // Story: Imbalanced // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// [Choking's Entry] Blaze was able to speak few days after his parents' visit, not that there was much to say. I suspect he was able to speak earlier but just didn't want to talk to me. With his quick recovery I know I did the right thing... I just hope he'll see it my way soon. Last few times I tried to visit he was either asleep or pretending to be. Aside from my coltfriend refusing to talk to me things are somewhat good. Heavy's been visiting Blaze as well but got the same treatment so he didn't press the issue and has been just helping me deal with Blaze's recruits. Thanks to my warning, princess Luna stationed a unit of soldiers in the vicinity of the Tree of Harmony with a heavy support ready in camps in the Everfree forest. The Tree itself is being watched by Nightguards who have the best ability to blend in and are nocturnal in the same way as many local creatures. So far no threat has been observed from changelings or the enemy although the unit on watch presumes the changelings know of their presence. I'm not sure whether the waiting is the most annoying part but it's the most important one right now. If nothing happens then the possibility is that Scream was plotting something again and trying to use me and if the rift opens, then there's Twilight Sparkle in the old castle itself ready to limit its effect to minimum. From what I know the biggest problem is that we can't use the Elements of Harmony with the Element of Magic being held by mirror Twilight and that we have no clue how the destruction of the Corrupted Heart affected Sombra and his position in the mirror world. How do I know that? I told Sharpie about my vision and he's been feeding me information about the situation. He said that I, as a VIP, should have no problem asking the princess herself but since he's responsible for recieving the information from the elite Nightguard unit I prefer coming to him. He's also helping me deal with my current personal issues. To be frank, I desperately need to bone somepony and I'm going crazy about it. I tried fighting it but with Blaze being bedridden for way too long it just gets on my nerves and Sharpie is the only pony who knows about my little problem. I suppose I should tell Blaze about it and ask him his opinion about me sleeping with somepony else for the time being but right now that would probably be the worst possible thing. Damn, I have to do it before I go crazy and just hump some guard in a broom closet. [End Entry] "Blaze!" I shake the probably-not-sleeping changeling. No answer. "Blaze, I need to talk to you right now!" Still no reaction. Could he really be asleep? "Alright. If you're fine with me having sex right here and now with both of your guards say nothing." His eyes open. That was way too easy. "What is it?" he groans. "Oooo, you're finally awake. I kept coming and coming and you've always been sleeping," I say in the most innocent voice I can muster which in itself is telling more than enough. "Just get on with it," he says flatly. "Blaze..." "Don't bother explaining yourself, I may be stupid but not that stupid. I had a reason for never wanting to come home again... ever." "Hey! Your mom was the nicest lady-" "I said leave it!" This was a really bad idea, really really bad idea. The thing is that I don't have a choice here. Either I tell Blaze or he'll find out sooner or later some other way and explaining will be impossible. "I need to ask you something... sensitive." "Well, I can't turn my ears off so spit it out." He is way too agressive. "You're gonna hate yourself when you calm down and start thinking so why don't you stop and listen." He takes a deep breath. "There is nothing, NOTHING I wanted less than what you did. Whatever you want from me can't be worse." "Are you sure? Does it mean you don't have a problem with me having sex tonight with somepony else?" Just like taking a shot, better to get it over with quickly. "No problem." "Really?" I want to make sure he heard me. That lack of reaction was completely unexpected I have to admit. "If I'm not enough for you then why should I stop you from finding somepony better?" Suddenly it's clear and all I want is to punch him, hard. Well, that's not true... I want to get a mallet and beat all that nonsense out of him. Why does he have to make everything so difficult? Why can't he admit that I might be a cheating bitch instead of turning on himself? Damn him! That's one of the reasons I don't want to lose him though. "Blaze, I'm a sex addict. I've known you for long enough to tell you that. Aside from you only Sharpie knows and I wanted to keep it that way but knowing you it would end up with you blaming yourself and other nonsense. Why do you think I kept going through coltfriends faster than princess Celestia through cake?" He waves his hoof. "You don't need to say anything... just do whatever you want to. I'm at least good enough to admit I'm not good enough." My blood freezes. "You... you don't believe me?" I have no problem lying, cheating and tricking others but... him? "I'm saying I don't care whether it's true or not. It's your life." I just wanted to make it OUR life. Last time I lied to him I got him killed. How could he think I would do it again? Does he think I don't begin shaking every time I remember it? "You think I don't care about you?" "Just... go away and do your thing." BLAZE YOU STUPID, MORON, STUPID, IDIOT, IMBECILE, DUMMY, WORTHLESS! If I wasn't so on edge I might have been able to deal with the situation better but right now I can't so I stand on the bed with my front legs. "NO, if you don't trust me just say so!" I bark at Blaze. "I know you enough to know you don't care about little white lies and a bit of manipulation here and there to get what you want. You don't need to bother with trying to spare my feelings." "YOU-" I stop, realizing I don't know what to say to make things better. Running out of the room sure can't be the best solution but I can't think of anything better. I can read Blaze like a book and the whole thing would have ended with me blowing up and him feeling even worse. Things like this often ended with a lot of making up in fun ways but sometimes they didn't. Things like that are easier to deal with when my head is able to think about more than just the painful emptiness in some of my parts. The real problem is that nopony has ever been able to deal with it when I finally decided to tell them. I'll think of something, I always do. Maybe I could tell Blaze I was thinking of him the whole time? Probably not. It's been four days since my last visit and I've been... working out stress most evenings. I mean Sharpie told me to see a psychiatrist but there's no way I'm letting some shrink annoy me for hours with making me look at various black and white blobs. With the day almost over, the castle is empty aside from its residents when a sudden confused yelling catches my attention. It's coming from the direction of the throne room as far as I can tell from the sounds echoing in the high halls. Normally I wouldn't bother with noisy guards but the beating of hooves on wood is enough to make me pick up the pace and have a look. The sight of unicorn guards trying to open the throne room door and the loud clanking from the inside prove that this isn't just some prank. "What's going on?" I ask the commanding officer. It's really nice knowing that I'm high up in the command structure to be recognized but I don't have the time to enjoy the feeling. "Somepony attacked princess Celestia about five minutes ago then she kicked us out and sealed all the doors." "Did you send somepony to get princess Luna?" it's unlikely he would have forgotten to do so but it doesn't hurt to ask. "Yea... no time for that. Betty?" comes from behind us. Blaze, still trailing blood from where presumably the medical machines used to be connected to him, touches the door which glows and then Betty in a crowbar form opens. The guards rush inside without thinking and are rewarded by a flurry of steel when a flying knife stabs every single one of them. Apparently, dealing with a flying weapon with no apparent weakness and immense agility isn't something they expected when joining the Guard. Blaze rushes in after the guards are lying on the floor and groaning. Their interruption apparently gave princess Celestia covered in deep cuts a brief respite. "Fools, you let it out!" yells the princess and the knife materializes behind her held by a pink hoof. "I'm right where I want to be. Smile, princess!" the pink hoof is followed by the rest of the body and the knife cuts deep into the side of princess Celestia's face. Celestia teleports randomly few times in an effort to create distance but the pink attacker is always right behind her. "I knew you'd love party games, Celly, but I'm better at hide and seek," the pink earthpony appears a split second earlier in a spot where Celestia tries to teleport and buries her knife in the princess' chest and twists. A wound of such scale isn't enough to threaten an alicorn but when the knife slides out, ripping out a chunk of flesh, it shows it transformed from a common kitchen tool into a twisted and spiky weapon associated with pony sacrifice altars from movies. The white alicorn groans and drops to the floor, conscious but obviously in agony. "Wanna join the celebration, old friend?" a whisper from next to my ear makes me almost lose control over my bladder and a pink hoof with a kitchen knife appears under my chin, ready to slice. It's stopped by a chain wrapping around it and I'm kicked aside with a force probably enough to crack some ribs. "GET OUT!" Blaze interrupts my coughing fit. I would but every attempt to move my legs makes little sparks flash behind my eyes. Damn Blaze could have been a bit more gentle. "Princess, can you stop her from moving all the time?" Blaze yells at Celestia who just keeps twitching on the ground. He doesn't have the time to wait for an answer because the usual attack in the form of a kitchen knife to the neck is aimed at him this time. A quick jump backwards and a burst of steel spikes from all around him catches nopony. "Betty, plan B!" barks out Blaze and all steel spikes and the Element itself disappear. The pink earthpony with pink mane and a cutie mark of three grey baloons appears within jump distance from Blaze and grins. "Got some fight in you, traitor? Good, this would have been so booooring otherwise." "THAT WAS YOU?!" I scream, remembering what Betty told me about the attack in my bedroom. Charging straight at her means nothing but I still want to do it just to somehow vent the boiling rage. All this is HER fault. None of this would have happened if she didn't exist. That mare is the reason Blaze is pissed at me more than he's ever been. Those are the only things I can think about right up to the point where she just moves her leg and trips me up from a fair distance away. Somehow she can bend space is what I realize when I end up on my back with her knife pinning me to the floor through my wing. "BLAZE!" I scream when a tearing noise makes me sick. As much as I try to ignore the burning pain and not move the earthpony keeps slicing through more and more of my wing. "BLAZE HEL-" my plea ends in a wordless scream when the knife suddenly changes direction and shreds the wing along with bones. Through red veil and tears I see that Blaze is just watching me. Everything is cold all of a sudden. That's probably good, at least the pain subsides. Then it all returns when the pony's knife tears through my other wing. "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!" I scream out again, this time not aimed at anypony or anything. I pray to Luna for help in fading away quickly but my torturer keeps tearing and cutting wherever she thinks I'm not paying enough attention. "Now for my favourite game, pin the knife on the batpony!" giggles the earthpony sitting on my chest happily and picks up the knife with both hooves. All I'm able to do is watch the knife gain height and then rapidly swing towards me. "NOW!" comes from somewhere. Hmmm? Suddenly all I can see is red as everything upwards from the earthpony's belly turns into red mist. I turn to see Blaze clutching his head and groaning. "I might not be fast enough to hit you but you still have to breathe, bitch. Breathe little shards of steel from Betty and not even your Element will help you. BUCK YOU! YOU'RE DEAD NOW! DON'T EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN! EVER! EVER! EVER! E-" Blaze keeps yelling at the lower half of the earthpony's body. "Shhh. Everything's okay," I wrap my front legs around his neck. Blaze freezes on the spot. "I wouldn't be so sure," says a different voice from behind me. It's soft but possesses a hint of finality and inevitability. Turning quickly I'm pushed to the side by Blaze who struggles to say: "Don't... look her in the eyes." There is nothing I can do. My legs are shaking and failing to keep me standing, blood is streaming from my shredded wings and I'm caught in the fight between forces too big for me so I just drop to the ground and cover my eyes with my forelegs. My whimpering is completely unintentional, it's just my body and my head that are failing me. "Over five seconds of resistance, that's a record. Now, however, say goodbye, my new pet, the king wants to see you." "Goodbye," says a flat, out of body voice I think is Blaze. A gust of wind, an echo of hoofsteps and then nothing.