The Third Diary

by Nameless Narrator

The Complete And Utter End Of Enditude

[Blazing's Entry]

Dear diary,

I don't need you anymore. One day that might change again but for now there are those with whom I'd love to spend more time rather than locking my thoughts into a book.

Might?

I'm sure we'll meet again. After all, I'm not the most stable of all stallions but I'm getting better.

Blazing Light.

[End Entry]

My focus is sharp as steel as my blind-o-vision reveals I'm in a completely unknown place. Since my head is the only thing I can move without passing out again, I carefully measure the area.

Door, short plank of-

*Ding!*

-metal serving as a bed.

Note to self - don't try to use head to assess the hardness of materials.

Well, now I have a minor headache.

So, door, bed, table. Since I live in a black and white world let's just say the door is pink, the table is midnight blue, and the bed is white with red polka dots because why the hay not?

What now? Right! Healing.

"Buuuuuuckkkkerooni!" my curse ends in a groan as the divine power I pour into my legs turns out to be much stronger than expected. Apparently, being visited by Void even in my head gave me quite a lot to manage.

The problem was mostly the surprise, not the volume of power. I dealt with far worse in the past. After several deep breaths the divinity in me listens and starts realigning bones and mending torn ligaments.

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"

It doesn't feel much better.

After an eternity of pain and unfettered misery other ponies would call at most five minutes I spit blood from my mouth and stand up, cursing every deity imaginable for not having a sexy nurse to inject me with so much morphine I think I'm a rubber ducky.

On the other heavily drugged hoof, this way I will remember my goal to kill Crowley instead of trying to make out with him.

Stumbling around the small room, I knock on the walls only to see that they are made of metal just like the bed. I don't really need to explore more to know that the door probably won't be chocolate.

Tiny rooms, metal but light furniture, distant humming of...

...silent turbines allowing an airship to hover above ground without being noticed.

Since I doubt I've been rescued by mirror Twilight's army or Icy Gaze's barely-legal airspace protection company slash mafia, I have to assume I was right during the raid on Ironclaw and Crowley indeed does have a stealthy airship.

No time like the present then to start blowing holes in the hull...

...and become the world's fastest pizza delivery. I turn my head to my empty wingbones.

"Nope!"

With the sole image of a thestral and a griffon in front of my mind's eyes I decide to test how far my recovery got while I was unconscious. Since healing myself was, while painful, simple I focus the cold part of my power me and others dubbed Despair on the door and pull.

The door obediently rips part of the nearest wall out as well right before crumpling like a piece of paper. The shocked griffon soldier standing on the other side and now staring right at me with beak wide open through the hole gets to play dodgeball, I mean dodgedoor, for one brief moment. Unfortnately for him, he loses and the impact of a metal ball thrown at a velocity known only to sleepwalkers from clifftop villages smears parts of his ribcage on the other end of a small corridor.

"Yep," I mumble after seeing the corridor with the same looking doors leads to staircases on both sides heading up and down, "Definitely just like Lightbringer. Either a stolen blueprint or a ship from the same assembly line."

Let's say the corridor is light blue and the griffon's insides dripping down the wall are green.

Knowing the layout of the ship way too well, I head straight to the captain's cabin which should be on the port... bow... starboard... the front damn part of the ship's inner deck. Strangely enough, me stomping through the corridor ready to blow somepony up doesn't bring any attention.

I rip the captain's door from its hinges, mostly for fun rather than testing purposes. I have far too much power for any normal being to stand against me so I have to use it while I can. All I can hope for is that this isn't just some random surge caused by Void's presence but a sign that I'm recovering if not physically then at least mentally.

I sigh in annoyance as the cabin proves to be empty. I was hoping to just slam Crowley's face into the wall and then throw him into a turbine but the entire room lacks one ex-Black Ops griffon.

FINE! I'll see what's going on first.

A quick search of the rooms on the inner deck reveals the ship must be almost empty. Almost, however, means not completely.

"WHERE IS EVERYPONY?!" I slam the head of who must be the ship's navigator into his controls.

"Mmmmh!"

*Thud!*

"Speak!"

*Thud!*

"You should be in your cell!" he squeals.

*Thud!*

"I'm not. I'm standing here and asking you where the hay Crowley is!"

*Thud!*

"I'm not telling you any-"

*Thud!*

"In case you haven't noticed I'm just a tad peeved right now, griffon. Do you know what happens when a demigod is tired of all the crap happening to him? Do you like being a donut? I'd sure go for a donut right now."

"Nnnnnngh!" he's shaking but refusing to talk.

I don't want to be mean to that guy, I really don't, but there's only one thing running through my head right now and that is:

"I WANT TO GO HOME!"

In short, I am an alicorn who desperately wants a hug and this griffon is in the way.

Four armed soldiers aim at me as I walk to the outer deck while dragging the navigator by his leg with my twisted arm. A quick one-two gets rid of all of them.

In this case it means one gets thrown against a railing with such force the steel bar splits him in two. The second soldier suffers a concussion which an experienced doctor would describe as 'caused by a thrown navigator'. The third turns to a pillar of ash when he starts shooting, something I only feel as splatters of molten lead on my coat, and meets a gust of flame from my fire wing. The last one assesses the situation well enough and jumps down from the ship himself.

You're not warning Crowley so he can run.

His wings freeze in mid-flap and he falls...

...and falls, and falls.

Only the navigator and the stunned soldier remain, both looking at me and trembling.

"I will ask one last time - where is Crowley?"

"H-H-He's d-d-d-down there," the navigator points at the wooden deck, "In the Grand Cathedral."

"We're hovering above the Holy City then, right?"

"Y-Yes."

"Why is he there? No matter how well armed you guys are the Imperial Guard will wreck you."

"He intends to-"

The soldier punches him, grabs a knife from his belt and both the arm and the knife hiss shortly before evaporating. A blackfrost shard impales the soldier's head to the deck.

"Keep talking," I unsummon my wings, "and if you promise to run really far then I'll let you live."

"Crowley wants to kill the young Emperor and the servants who know him personally. If he does that then he'll just assume the Emperor's position with those loyal to him relaying the orders."

"Nopony will follow him if he does that."

"Not if he does that in secret. There are only few of those who have met the young Emperor. If they die then Crowley will easily say he's been the Emperor since his brother died."

"Brother?"

"I assume you don't know much about the Empire, do you?"

"Emperor dies, royal families choose the next one, big festival, life goes on."

"Exactly, but the Empire is vastly larger than your Equestria. Just the Holy City oversizes your Crystal Empire. The logistics and bureaucracy are unimaginable. One griffon can't rule that so the Emperor is mostly a figurehead who decides what needs to be done and those orders get passed onto his servants on lower levels."

"The SHORT version, please!"

"There are at most twenty to thirty griffons who have met with the Emperor personally and most of them are his servants. If Crowley kills those and threatens the royal families who chose the new Emperor after Emhyr's death then noone will stand against him."

"Won't that cause a civil war more than anything?"

"Not if Crowley offers them what they want and didn't get under the old order."

"But... can't any politician just do that? Gain the favor of the families so they would choose him to be the next Emperor."

"NO! What do you think Empire is, a democracy? Crowley isn't just some nobody. He's Emhyr's brother, his own flesh and blood. He was supposed to be the Emperor after Emhyr's death but he refused in favor of his younger brother, Vargaz. Unfortunately, Vargaz was too outgoing for the nobles so they chose the next possible candidate - Emhyr's son. Crowley was against it but since he'd refused already he lost his right."

"So, Crowley is down there, in the Grand Cathedral, killing a small griffon who got sucked into things he didn't even understand?"

"This is all for the future of the Empire."

He really believes that. All the soldiers believe that. Their devotion wasn't something one could simply buy. Griffons die every day just because local rulers want a bit more territory and know the Emperor doesn't have time to deal with them.

Oh, what an unaging Emperor could do...

And that's all Crowley really wants - a brighter future for his kin.

The memory of shadows hunting in the darkness for the few stragglers still resisting the rule of eternal night resurfaces. As much as I love my daughter the circumstances of her birth must never happen again.

"Run," I tell the navigator firmly.

"You-You're really letting me go? No freezing mid-air or anything?"

"No, but I still need to stop Crowley. His existence threatens the entire world in the long term. If you still want to stop me then give it your best shot."

"I'm not stupid."

"Then go."

"Okay," he hovers above the deck for a moment, "You know? You're not that bad for a villain."

My wicked grin mkes him fly like an arrow into the distance.

"Yeah, I'm the bad guy here. Oh well..."

Stuck on an airship hovering in the clouds above Holy City, I ponder whether I'll have to fly down there. The idea of empty space below me makes my stomach tapdance instantly. Having no idea what to do, I return to the navigator's post.

Various screens, dozens of buttons, and levers all around the cockpit don't make me much wiser.

"Can I drive this thing?" I pull a lever experimentally.

The entire ship shakes and stops. Apparently, the way to move this thing is by a combination of controls which would take weeks to learn.

So, about the whole flying thing...

Taking the stairs down to the engineering deck, I follow my sense to a room full of condensed energy. There were some locked doors in the way but they disappeared while I was making sure my power still was flowing as well as before. A huge pink crystal lodged between four pillars in the middle of the room levitates on the spot and the cables leading into the pillars hum with tapped power. A red arrow with the words 'EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN' pointing to a big red button behind a square of glass greets me.

I focus my power on myself and answer the button's greeting with my hoof.

The dying humming of failing machinery is my only companion as black ice covers more and more of myself. For a short while I'm cut off from the rest of existence.

The room looks rather different when I wake up among melting ice fragments, Who would have thought? Slightly less engineery and more OH STARS THERE'S NOTHING LEFT OTHER THAN MANGLED MESS!

Fortunately, one of the holes in the walls leads straight out.

Spares me the effort of making one myself.

I walk out straight to a scene of a fight.

A completely frozen scene of a fight.

Several dozen Crowley's high-tech soldiers seem to have been fighting standard griffon soldiers pouring into the building through shattered windows and...

...a barricaded entrance which I unbarricaded rather meteorically.

I've never been one to marvel at architecture but the gigantic throne room decorated with gold, gems, and priceless paintings on the pillars on its sides makes even me nod my head in acknowledgement.

Dusting myself off, I take my first step onto the gold and red carpet leading through the center of the hall towards the raised dais bearing the throne and four figures, two of which I recognize. Unfortunately, the muffled sound of my hoofstep ends the temporary stop of time and Crowley's soldiers immediately start shooting at me.

Hidden behind my flame wings, I question their intelligence as several screams prove that Legion soldiers don't waste their bullets on me but snipe the heavily armored soldiers fighting for Crowley. The sharp smell of vaporized lead leaves the air while the sounds of fighting pick up again. Crowley's soldiers are using pillars and tower shields to create pockets of relative stability but it's obvious they will eventually lose. It is clear that Crowley didn't expect such resistance since the navigator's explanation clearly stated this was a stealth mission. As soldiers of both sides realize I have no intention of turning against any of them they decide to deal with the pressing matter of dodging bullets of the other side.

"BLAZE!"

For a second I wonder whether it's the image I see every time I close my eyelids but the quickly approaching silhouette of Cromach doesn't go away when I blink so I choose to be happy.

"ALICORN!" Crowley roars but has to defend himself from a flurry of quick stabs coming from the unknown adult griffon standing between him and a cowering young one who must be the new Emperor.

"Oh yeah, sorry I wrecked your ship... and your defense position... and most of this place... and some of your troops but it was either that or flying... I hate flying."

Crowley's incoherent scream as he moves too fast for eye to see and shoots three times at the opposing griffon is my only answer. The griffon seems to be ready for Crowley's time manipulation as, while much slower, he predicts the attack and escapes with only straps of his bulletproof vest getting tattered and falling on the floor.

Breathing heavily from the deflected blows, the defending griffon can't finish Crowley off when he clutches his chest and coughs up blood. I flare my blackfrost wings to end this but Crom's talons stop me.

"This is a duel between Vargaz and Crowley. I'm not letting Crowley kill the kid but until that's on the table this is Imperial business."

"Well, when Crowley uses the timeshift thingy again your griffon... Vargaz is going to die. Can we just skip to that part?"

"Crowley can't use the Clockwork Blade too often. It drains its wielder's life force. Plus, the Blade was being researched by Black Ops scientists so Vargaz knows its limits. Trust me."

"How did you get here anyway? Unless I was unconscious for weeks then you really shouldn't have gotten here before me."

"Heh, the mirror world long-distance communication is ways ahead of ours so Antares lent me a glider which took me to the nearest city with a working telephone-"

"Whatnow?"

"It's like telegraph, only you can hear the other person and communicate directly. Think of a long-distance two-way radio and you'll get the idea."

"Cool."

"Heck yeah! So, I called an emergency number which serves for agents stuck in the mirror world, evil Twilight answered, and when I explained things to her and told her you were in danger she immediately shut the main portal down which resulted in me getting spat out in the Everfree forest without weeks of travel. By the way, you should see what mentioning you does to that girl. I think she likes you. After that I sent an express letter to Vargaz and took the first train here. We got this place fortified yesterday and when Crowley just waltzed in unimpeded to kill the Emperor he got surrounded pretty fast."

"ALL IN VAIN!" laughs Crowley, standing over groaning Vargaz with blue fire coursing through his feathers.

Thanks to my reflexive response Vargaz has the chance to roll away when Crowley's rapier buries itself into the tiled floor. I now know what Crowley can do and it's terrifying.

"Hey Crom, how do duel rules work around one of the fighters being immortal and using that to not take damage from overusing a magical artefact?"

"I'm not exactly sure but- hey, is that a giant claw?"

My world blurs when a massive blue arm made of raw energy comes from the ground and its talons wrap around me.

"Help Vargaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaz!" I scream as the arm swings me from side to side.

"...this is the end..."

"...alicorn..."

"...you have defied me but that ends here..."

"...finally, I have an avatar worthy of my might..."

"Oh no you don't!"

Inside my mind I pull and pull and pull. The ethereal arm lets go of me but a set of black and white chains bind it to my horn.

...oh, so you finally wish to fight?...

...you wish to steal my power?...

...THEN TAKE IT!...

I was expecting Nightmare to fight me for control. I was expecting tricks. I wasn't expecting the full brunt of a god returning to this world through a pinhole.

My throat burns and as I shield myself with my wings there's nothing aside from the wingbones. Through blue flames pouring into me I see Cromach interrupt Crowley and Vargaz's duel by swinging at Crowley from behind with his battleaxe. The swing is dodged using the time rewinding ability and Crowley collapses on the floor. Crom gets ready to strike again but Vargaz points towards me. Crom's eyes go wide, he drops his axe, and flies straight to me.

The tension of a balloon ready to pop lessens slightly when Crom steps into the flow of blue flames forming the arm holding me. The moment of respite is brief but long enough for me to realize several things.

As long as I hold the Nightmare at bay Crowley can't use his divine power.

Holding it for too long will destroy me right when my goal is within reach.

I must not let go. I can't let my own happiness threaten the world.

I close my eyes not to see the griffon I failed.

The griffon who has got none of my inhibitions and no loyalty towards the world.

The griffon who grasps my disfigured arm with his real one.

The flow of power stops.

Blue fires are raging all around us but for now there's a little spot where there is a griffon and an alicorn holding hooves-hands-talons-something.

"Eye of the storm, eh?" Crom grins.

"What are you doing, you idiot?"

"Well, I figured that if Crowley can hold all this stuff then you can, I don't know, pour some of it into me until you're able to."

"Crowley's existence is just giving Nightmare time to come here through him. He controlled nothing compared to what I'm doing now. You are a mortal, I know what the stuff does to you. I felt it when I fought Luna in Ponyville without Discord's power. It will kill you."

"Can't say that without trying first," he lets go of my arm and jumps backwards into the flames.

Moron moron moron moron moron.

"...feed me more of your friends..."

"...struggle..."

"...fight..."

"...lose..."

I can't focus due to the voice whispering in my head. With seconds passing I know that my every breath brings Crom closer to death. Perhaps I should just submit to the Nightmare. It might give Crom time to run and the princesses could call Void and the others to destroy me.

I must. Crom can't die here. As I close my eyes the howling of voices drifts away.

Then save him instead of whining about how impossible it is!

My eyes snap open. The eye of the storm is back, wider than before, and a lone black unicorn is standing in front of me with brightly glowing orange cracks running through his horn.

"...you cannot win..."

Mine and Mistake's mouths move in sync.

That won't work this time.

That won't work this time.

In my mind I grasp for the feeling of a soul slipping away and divert a torrent of power choking Cromach. I don't see anything past blue fire all around but I can sense what's happening.

Control the flow... don't give in... when it's too much just let Crom bear a piece of this burden... over and over... he can take it... he will bear it as long as I don't give up and keep holding the god at bay.

I know it.

Suddenly, it's all over. No fire, no sounds, no feeling in my legs, nopony to lean on-

My fall on the floor is stopped by a white wing leading me with an irresistible strength as I drop like a wet rag on Crom's back. His fast heartbeat and heavy breathing tell my exhausted and sluggish mind he's alright, hurt but alright.

A bit of both. Perhaps things are not only black and white.

I smile as colours return to me and my blind world turns back to mundane one.

Yeah, yeah, I get it.

Vibrant red blood is dripping from a longsword Vargaz pulls out of Crowley's chest. With his last strength the dying griffon puts both arms on Vargaz's shoulders, smiles, and says:

"I... knew... it should have... been... you."

Nightmare's voice whispers through the demolished cathedral.

"...you mortals will never learn. I have agents everywhere..."

"...there is no victory..."

"Buck... you," I mumble, "I'm half dead and drooling on my pet griffon's neck. I call this a bucking victory."

"Blaze..."

"Let's go home."

"Yes, buddy."

---

And that was it. Vargaz's forces didn't press charges about me destroying the most sacred place in the Griffon Empire but politely asked us to go back to Equestria while ensuring us that our next visit would be far more pleasant as long as it took place several centuries later.

Hah, joke's on them!

The train ride interjected by a short boat trip took nearly two weeks but in the end we arrived back here in Canterlot.

The warm air of coming summer is nothing compared to the heatwaves in the Empire so I let the wind pleasantly flow through my coat.

"What now?" I ask uncertainly when we're down on the platform. Truth be told, I have been thinking a lot about what to do now but I have no clear result despite the time.

"Waaaait for it," Crom holds his real arm up and starts counting.

.

.

.

.

.

A trio of white unicorns wearing gold-plated armor surrounds us, slipping from the crowd of ponies leaving the train.

"Six. That was quick," Crom grins and turns to me, "I was sure Vargaz would send a letter explaining what happened and estimating the time needed for us to get back."

"We are to accompany you to the castle," says one of the unicorns while eyeing me suspiciously, "And you are to wear this."

I look at the suppression ring and grind my teeth, making all guards take a step back, but Crom's wing on my back is all I need to just sigh in complete exhaustion from everything and slip it on my regrowing horn.

As the guards take a deep breath I let my wings change from orange plumes of fire blending with my coat to creaking black ice. One chokes on his own spit and starts coughing, one levitates a spear which Mistake immediately rips out of his mental grasp, and the last one just stares with eyes wide and mouth open.

"New recruits?" I ask Cromach while the suppression band levitates cleanly back to the leading guard.

Crom nods and snickers.

"Come on, guys. You have my word nothing bad is going to happen."

"But-but-but-but-but-"

"Private Riot Shield, are you mouthing off to your superior?"

"B-b-b-but the princesses-"

"The princesses surely know that it is not in your power to stop Blaze from doing what he wants and this is just another test for both him and you. Let's go, that's an order!"

His firm voice makes even me take a step forward before my mind catches up. Without as much as a word and eliciting a surprised smile from Crom, I nuzzle his neck and follow him to the castle.

The large double door to the throne room swings open and both royal sisters look up from the servants they were talking to.

Those are not friendly faces.

Hmmmm...

What are you planning?

Oh, nothing...

I feel Mistake sigh inside my head.

I'll watch your back.

Thanks.

As much as I need to hold back not to throw my chance for peace away I'm way tired of not being in control of my life.

Ignoring the guards and everything around, I walk straight towards the throne.

"Blazing Light..." the sisters say in unison.

Time to put into words what I've been planning during the trip back here.

I bow.

"Your Highnesses, I have no doubt you have recieved some sort of report about what happened in the Empire and I am sure you want clarification. However," I step back to be able to see both of them at once, "Ever since I came to Canterlot I've been killed, resurrected, betrayed, mind-controlled, and asked to deal with things far beyond my control or power. Due to sheer stupid luck I got here and now I HAVE the strength to stop it and move in my direction. What is more important though is that I do have said direction. The two of you might want to worry about politics and other big words like marmelade but I... I want to spend a day outside to walk off my wooden ass from sitting in a train for far too long. After that I want to eat something that didn't come from a tray and wasn't served using the same gloves as a fried chicken. To end all this nonsense, I WILL curl up in a bed with the griffon I love to my overused horseshoes. That is all that will happen today whether you like it or not. Tomorrow, you can have your audience."

The sisters stare at me but I don't look away, not this time.

"Blazing Light, since we do not wish to provoke any incident we will not force the issue as long as you don't cause trouble," says Luna, "Agent Cromach, on the other hoof, has responsibilities to both Equestria and the Empire which he-"

"I do not," says Crom firmly and both sisters gulp.

"You are the main link between-" starts Celestia.

"And I can assure you nothing major will happen today as the Empire has got enough of its problems these days. If that is not enough for you then," he takes a deep breath, "then you can consider this my resignation."

"What?"

All three of us are looking at him now, eyes wider and wider. He smiles at me.

"I made a promise and I intend to keep it. I will stand by this pony's side no matter what and his word means to me more than any royal order from alicorn or a griffon. If that means I have to choose sides then my choice is clear."

Luna leans her head to Celestia and whispers something.

The solar princess answers and smiles.

"I believe you if you say the matter can wait. We will arrange a table for you in the Gilded Hall for this evening and cover the bill."

"Thank you," Crom bows, walks over, and nudges me, "What about Darky?"

"Does she know I'm alive?"

"Nope. How about we make it a surprise?"

"Deal! Seating for three then, please."

Smiling again at the sisters, I bow and we leave the throne room.

"Kinda anticlimactic, eh?" asks Crom as we stroll through the marble halls.

"I'm still waiting for the meteor strike."

"Well, is it possible it's really over?"

I shake my head.

"Nightmare will return, the only question is when."

"Soon?"

"Probably not."

"Let somepony else deal with it next time then. We're not paid enough for this."

"I'm not paid at all."

"Moocher."

"Enabler!"

"But seriously, did you have plan in case the sisters disagreed?"

"Actually, I did and I intend to go with it anyway."

"Oh?"

"Harmony showed me a vision Heavy Hoof becoming a baron and taking over Order of the Silver Sun. I would like to talk to him about helping us train ponies who could stand up to enemies possessing divine power and other special traits. As far as I know Shadowstep and Cross are in Manehattan with him and they have enough experience as well. The Order is a semi-government organization anyway so you would still be working for Vargaz and Luna as well."

"That's... actually a good idea. Antares went there as well."

"So, are you in?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"I guess not."

"Trust me. I will be by your side as long as life allows me to," he wraps his wing around me and several blue sparks run through his feathers.

Comments

[KVFFour]

So, what exactly is this? Judging from the coverart is this going to lead into what the French call melange a trois or something?

[Nameless Narrator]

11660268
The Imbalanced storyline is ridiculously complicated at this point in time, and starting here is a bad idea. If you go by the reading order, the cover will make sense.