Imbalanced: New Age

by Nameless Narrator

Balance of Power: Misery

[Blazing’s Entry]

Blades of Balance.

My story always returns to them. Is it because I can’t come up with a better solution to my problems? Clearly so, or if not, then there isn’t a better one. Come to think of it, the only time my ultimate enemy wasn’t a magic user or a divine being was…

...stars above, Valiant Charge, really? THAT long?

I guess I just attract the kind of enemies who try to take the world over by some unnatural force. Or maybe it’s just the magic users who always go crazy before having to be stopped. I guess power just eats their brain away. Well, my abilities have grown to resist these kinds of opponents, so let’s hope someone doesn’t get the bright idea to finally use some minotaur warlord who would simply smack me so hard with a mallet I’d go splat all over the vicinity.

So yeah, keep sending wizards, warlocks, and gods. I’m used to those by now.

To a degree, which is why I think I need the Blades. Two weapons which put together disperse any magic used against their wielder…

...and also kill any decently powerful unicorn trying to use them by literally making their magic boil out of their body. Unicorns with weak magic only suffer headaches and nausea, and actually get a chance to put them down before exploding. Unicorns like me, who can’t use any magic of their own, are unaffected. Funny thing, I recall someone telling me Starswirl crafted them based on even older earthpony anti-magic armor designs from the wars of the three tribes.

Unfortunately, as Bucket said, one of the pair is broken. Why can’t anything be easy?
[End Entry]

Bucket returns, the crystal embedded in his metal forehead glowing as he levitates a tray with some sandwiches and orange juice onto his desk. I put down my journal which disappears as it touches the surface along with the pen, and get to chewing.

I realized how hungry I was from being sustained only by Joy’s magic for the fake time I spent there. In the real world, only two days passed since I... lost against Harmony in the Barrier. Thankfully, Bucket noticed and immediately offered to get me something,

I gulp down and ask:

“So, about the Blades...”

His horn glows again, his saddlebag opens, and one by one, numerous pieces of metal fly out, forming a blade as long as his workdesk. The last thing landing on the desk is the familiar ebony handle with no guard.

“How did this happen?” I shake my head, looking at the shards carefully put down to look like the complete greatsword.

“After your death, the Silver Sun team you fought Harmony with at the sacrificial valley now known as the Barrier disbanded. Fortune married Leo Goldhorn, Straw Basket returned to take care of the Wild Bastion orphanage and become the official Royal Guard responsible for the town, Cromach became a depressed alcoholic, and Contradiction basically ran the Order because Cromach had barely any interest in doing so. I wasn’t there at the time, but I have heard enough stories from Cromach and Contradiction later when the two of them got married.”

I laugh.

“Crom and Connie together, that must have been quite something.”

“They lived together for an astonishing ninety-six years.”

“Whoah!” I choke on my bread, “Connie lived a long life. Did you find the fabled fountain of longevity during some Silver Sun adventure after my death?”

“No. We haven’t been able to pinpoint the precise reason why, but we assumed it was the same as Cromach’s extended lifespan, only on vastly smaller scale.”

“You mean Nightmare’s divinity I transferred to Crom during Crowley’s insurgency?”

Bucket nods.

“In a very roundabout way, we’re getting to the destruction of the Blade like this. As it turned out, the fight with Harmony marked everyone who was there. Cromach and Straw Basket, both filled with Nightmare’s divinity, remained mostly unchanged. Leo and Fortune admitted to having repetitive dreams about strange places, different planets we assumed, gained from Harmony’s divinity latching onto them during the battle. Contradiction, however, got affected vastly harder than anypony else.”

“How?”

“Harmony’s power used her magical veins broken by the thaumic suppression syndrome, settled itself in what normally would have been her magic, and tapped into her fear and anger. It drove her insane within a year.”

“Nopony noticed?”

“She wasn’t exactly a social pony, and as I said, thanks to Cromach’s newfound alcoholism she was buried in work most of the time. Long story short, the third Silver Sun team nearly caused Cromach’s death, which led to Connie trying to kill them.”

“Holy crap, how did that end with Crom marrying her? Was it at swordpoint? It was, right?”

Bucket lets out his special distorted chuckle.

“Connie, pining for Cromach, knew he would break down completely if she, as basically his only companion at that point, became a murderer, so she simulated the same death-arena scenario you did for the second team. Unfortunately, the one of the third team’s members, a mare called Bubbles, was half-demon. Well, two thirds, to be accurate.”

“You enlisted a DEMON?”

“She was a lovely, simple mare. One third pony, one third succubus, and one third some some murder devil. She loved to fetch balls, if I recall correctly.”

“Succubus and a slayer? Whose balls?”

“Tennis balls, though she tended to shred about ten each week.”

Something clicks inside my head.

“Hey, if she’s partially divine or demonic, can she still be alive?”

Bucket shakes his head.

“No, she’s dead. After one team’s deployment to the Crystal Empire, another member, a satyr by the name Astray, returned with some withering curse we weren’t able to dispel. Huh… database access restricted?” The circles in Bucket’s glow bright blue before he smiles again, “I see, sir Cromach’s direct order. Who caused Astray’s condition, I don’t know, but it must have been someone absurdly skilled for a spell no one was able to disable. Anyway, Bubbles loved Astray. She liked everyone, she was that kind of mare, but Astray was special. They found a wizard to link their lifeforce together, and Bubbles’ divinity kept Astray alive for almost another thirty years. Connie, Astray, Bubbles, and Anvil were the longest serving team we’ve ever had.”

“Anvil?”

“Female minotaur, she eventually took over Connie’s duties as a team tactician. Do you want to know about her? She had no significance to the Blade’s destruction.”

Hmmm… no, not now.

“So this Bubbles… she broke the Blade? That can’t be right… the Blades were designed specifically against divinity and magic.”

“From what little I know, mostly Cromach’s recounts of your own experiences, the Blades work well only if used together. Contradiction has never used both effectively. After Bubbles bit through the Blade, Contradiction has always used the shards as a weapon capable of attacking from multiple sides at once while still keeping the minor magic-dispersing properties of the singular Blade. After Connie’s death, Cromach left the shards be as a memento. That’s why the Blade hasn’t been reforged.”

Ooof… so they didn’t lose power or anything.

“Alright, I need both of them then. You said you didn’t know where the second one was, but what’s its last location you know of?”

“The second Blade was taken by princess Twilight Sparkle for examination of its properties in case another attack like the one you averted happened. It has never been returned. My guess is that it might still be in Canterlot castle treasury, completely forgotten. Either there or in princess Twilight’s Ponyville vault. Of course, after the centuries it can be somewhere completely else as well.”

“Canterlot vault, you say?”

“I see we have come to the same conclusion. No, the alternate access route the Silver Sun team used before has not been blocked according to my knowledge.”

“Do you still have the sewer blueprints? I’d like to avoid Twilight as long as I can, because that would lead to meeting Celestia… which can’t be good.”

“I’ll have them printed out for you. One thing to mention - the entryway is protected by alicorn magic reacting only to the divine and thaumic signature of the princesses. However, that will not be an issue for you, right?”

“Oh nooo… powerful maaagic blocking my way. Whatever shall I do?” I sneer.

“I thought so,” Bucket smirks at my sarcastic display of helplessness.

***

I hate long trips from the bottom of my heart. They’re just so boooooring.

On the other hoof, this time I actually had the luxury of taking a passenger caravan thanks to Bucket’s and Silver Sun’s resources. I mean, it didn’t make things vastly better, but I could at least sleep most of the way with nopony bothering me. Other passengers didn’t give me a second look thanks to the outfit I chose from the Silver Sun wardrobe. It’s a simple white robe wrapped around my barrel and covering my flank. This way, nopony would notice I have wings and I’ll pass for a normal unicorn.

It worked well, the trip just took far too long for my liking. Yes, I know that I WALKED this route before, but I’ve kinda gotten used to griffon trains of airships, and this was a clear downgrade. From what Bucket told me, there are some negotiations with Nightshade regarding the restoration of old railroads, but the trains would require constant protection by Corrupted because they are loud, and even just the curiosity of the wild ones would be a threat. It would take a single bigger Protector to possibly derail a train and cause the loss of life.

Anyway, the trip was calm. I had the option of relax while listening to the trouble of other caravaneers, or stories they told to pass time. All in all, less annoying than I expected, but still too much.

Insert Corrupted encounter in 3… 2… 1…

Just kidding, nothing happened.

Several Corrupted happened to show some interest, but it seems the roadside packs are getting used to increasing number of caravans and are leaving them alone, especially if they get a corrupted berry out of it.

Yeah, as it turns out, the bigger travel companies put these freezer-like boxes which can store up to two synthetic berries for several weeks into their caravans. Granted, compared to Desert Shade who had a pocket-sized one able to hold ten real ones so that she and her group could resupply if they noticed some growing in the wild, it’s a joke, but it’s significantly better than nothing.

I really gotta ask where she got her gadgets. They are on a level I haven’t seen even in the griffon Black Ops labs.

So, the trip was alright. I spent several hours checking out various sewer entrances all over Canterlot afterwards just so that I could get my bearings and see if the sewer system changed over the years. In the end, I had a good idea where I should descend into the sewers in order to spend the least possible amount of time there. First, to avoid Corrupted who supposedly live down there. Second, to avoid the smell.

Putting the standard-issue Silver Sun scented bandanna enchanted to block foul smells from the environment or alchemical bombs, I find the correct manhole and climb down the ladder. Hey, the bandanna looks cool and I can't see a thing in a gas mask.

Perhaps now that Canterlot hosts about a quarter of the population I remember it having, the smell might not be that bad.

The heavy, sticky stench of rot and waste assaults my nostrils, almost dripping down my muzzle and neck, crawling inside my throat like a cold, rancid goo.

“Blurgh!” I take the bandanna off and put it back on again quickly.

Nevermind. Sewers are sewers.

Also, screw unneeded magic resistance breaking protective equipment. I guess I’ll just have to resist the urge to leave a gruesome snail trail behind me.

“Bluurgh!”

That’s gonna be difficult.

Levitating up a Silver Sun flashlight, I turn it on and let the bright cone of light illuminate the wide tunnel with a trough in its center and two walkways on its sides. I try its secondary function - shooting a very focused beam of light able to at least temporarily blind any normal creature. Granted, I don’t exactly need it thanks to my tracing spell showing white outlines and edges much further than the flashlight can reach, but it’s helpful in case I need to refresh my memory by looking at Bucket’s blueprints.

And so, I set onto the repulsive part of my journey. At least the vault entrance shouldn’t be far.

Pew pew pew pew!

Shining the focused spotlight at some rats who refuse to get out of my way, I snicker as they run in circles, occasionally ramming into the wall or each other.

Hey, they should have run and not stared at me like I was food.

“Hisssss!” a female Hunter bares her teeth at me as I pass by, several tunnels later.

“Shoo!” I wave my hoof at her and slowly, very slooooowly move past, not letting her out of my sight, “I’m not gonna hurt you or do anything. I’m just passing by on my way to the possibly only artefact capable of making sure you stay alive,” I keep talking in as calming manner as I can.

The Corrupted follows me for several minutes, eventually-

“Haaah?!”

-she pounces like a shot bullet far ahead of me, and I hear skittering and panicked squeaking.

Everything goes silent besides a quiet crunching in the distance.

I shrug and resume walking. It looks like Nightshade’s orders are valid even here in the sewers, and ponies are off limits for Corrupted. Raiding the rat population must be the main way to pass time down here.

Heh, it’s nice to see the few dozen or so Corrupted who prefer living here to joining others in the streets can keep the rat infestation contained.

“Grrrr! Hissssss!” the Huntress flails her tentacles menacingly as I pass by again, some still holding torsos of dead rats.

“Calm down, I’m not going to take your lunch... or toy,” I chuckle.

I don’t look at her anymore. I don’t need to, since my tracing spell gives me a complete vision of the surrounding area. She stares, then crunches down another rat.

After some dreadful moments of walking on a rusty iron walkway high up on the circumference of a circular room several stories tall, I’m finally in the long corridor where the secret entrance should be.

Something like the sound of metal hitting stone resonates through the sewer tunnels.

“Probably just a repairpony dropping his bag of tools.”

Do you actually believe that?

No.

“Ah hah!” I notice a metal door covered in a faint purple glow bearing the same brick pattern as the other parts of the wall. An illusion spell making the door look and feel like a wall to any common pony, “Hmm, no handle or a keyhole. How does one open- ah, here’s a hole.”

Looks like one for a horn.

I shove mine in there, and feel some complex magic react, twist, bend, and dissipate.

The door clicks.

That’s about it, though.

“Damn,” I kick it. It shakes slightly.

Did it move before?

No, it was rock solid, as if fused into the wall.

Presing my hooves against the door, I push as hard as I can. It gives an inch, then it gradually opens with deafening grinding echoing through what must be half of the sewer complex.

I hear hoofsteps. Considering how my ears are ringing from the cacophony of the rusty door fighting against me, I’m shocked I can still hear anything.

So far for secrecy. Do we close it?

I look behind at the still shimmering purple outline of wall where the open door is to my eyes.

No, the mental magic is still working. I just broke the locking spell. Let whoever is out there fumble around alicorn-made illusion. From the feel if it, I’d say it’s Twilight’s.

Anyway, with no reason to stay here, I follow the new, dry tunnel sloping upwards until I reach thin stairs ending in a white door with lines engraved into it which upon quick examination prove to be rays of sunlight. Another hole sits in its center.

Alright, let’s do this again.

This time it’s Celestia’s magic which breaks under my influence, making the door quietly slide into the wall and disappear.

“Nifty, and definitely easier on my ears,” I rub my head still aching from the previous opening attempt, “Ouch...”

With that behind me, I’m finally inside Canterlot castle vault. It’s a short, colourful hallway with walls of white marble decorated by golden suns. On its sides, there are pedestals harboring various items still glowing with magic. From what I can see, there are no plaques or engravings explaining what the artefacts are supposed to do.

“Hey, I know this one!” I rush over to the third pedestal I examine. A black and red, curved, crystalline horn lies on it, “That’s Sombra’s horn. Must be the one Twilight killed in this reality.”

One by one, I check the other pedestals. Each of them holds something doubtlessly priceless or absurdly dangerous - amulets, bracelets, rings, daggers… but no guardless oversized greatsword.

“Damn it! I guess this mean I’ll have to deal with Twilight after all.”

Short, dark laughter fills the vault.

“Looking for this?” the voice is deep, clearly female, mildly amused, and is coming from behind me.

My tracing spell shows nothing,

Voice projection?

No, she… they just appeared out of nowhere.

Panic apparent in Mistake’s voice, I turn around. Once again, I feel the icy grip of dread. This time, though, it’s offset by growing, slowly boiling rage.

My tracing spell doesn’t show them, but I immediately click the third button on the levitating flashlight, turning it into a three-sixty lamp, and drop it on the floor.

How did I miss them?

The spreading waves of Nightmare’s divinity are overwhelming, making me stumble and blink.

This must be the creature Bucket described, a unicorn mare bigger than Bloodrage seemingly made of darkness and stars. Her bright white eyeholes focus on me, and her mouth curls into a sawtoothed grin.

It’s different from Harmony’s avatar. This is… this is like last time in the sacrificial valley. This is the real Nightmare, the real god. Right here. Definitely on a smaller scale of power than full Harmony who killed me last time, but the “sister” from the divine trinity is here.

In the air around her levitates the ashen greatsword with an ivory handle I’ve been looking for.

That would be the ‘dread’ part of the situation.

Next to her stands Guiding. Not my daughter the dreamling queen, but a Nightmare changeling queen I remember from my reality jumping days, dark power practically oozing from her. Long claws adorn her forelegs, her fangs are covered with dripping venom, and she’s snarling at me like a feral beast, holding off her pouncing on me as if she was on an invisible chain fastened to the spectral collar on her neck. This is what the Nightmare changelings originally used to be, the monsters which overran an alternate version of Equus and devoured all life under Nightmare’s command.

I can’t see even the faintest sign of her recognizing me. None whatsoever.

“So this is what you’re doing. Resorting to your only plan which hadn’t failed?” I stop my tracing spell. Both Nightmare and Guiding are invisible to it, so there’s no reason to distract myself.

Nightmare chuckles.

“I’m resorting to a plan which I know WILL work, Blazing Light. I have learned a lot over the last few years, mostly from Discord and... you.”

“Still not making sense, I see.”

“Everything will make sense in due time,” the collar around Guiding’s neck disappears, “IF you live long enough.”

Too fast, BACKWARDS!

I barely manage to drop on my back in time, using pouncing Guiding’s weight and speed to make her fly past me with just a push of all four legs.

Standing back up, I turn to face Guiding opening her mouth-

“SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

-and letting out a blood-curdling screech.

Yeah, that doesn’t work on me, honey. My head just hurts.

Without a second thought, I punch her muzzle as hard as I can.

She stumbles backwards. Before I can press the attack, her whipping tail cleaves the air in front of her, giving her a second to recover.

Spawning a burning tentacle, I grab her tail with it, tug at it so hard her entire body spins around, put my both forelegs up, and bring them down onto her pelvis.

“Ooof!” I slide down from the opposite wall, spikes of pain running through my back and barrel. The spin did confuse her, I just shouldn’t have given her an idea where I was by hitting her backside.

I rub the spots on my barrel where she bucked me with her hind legs.

I can still breathe, that’s good.

I can-

Roll!

-roll to the side, narrowly avoiding Guiding who crashes into the wall, shakes off some plaster, and growls at me.

Back on all fours.

You can’t just keep dodging. I know she’s your daughter, but...

Shut up, Mistake!

I back off to the side. One step, another step, jump to the side when Guiding charges…

...ramming into laughing Nightmare at full speed.

Her laughter turns into a choked cough, as the two attempt to disentangle from each other. Using the moment of reprieve, I get a firm telekinetic grip in the Blade of Balance now lying on the floor.

Nightmare is standing up a short distance away, grinning just like before.

“I know what you want,” I growl at her.

“No, you definitely don’t, Blazing Light,” she points at me.

Guiding lunges for my throat again, jaws open and ready to end me.

I just line up the sword and ram it through her head while I dodge to the side. Guiding gurgles as on some last instinct of her scrambled brain she tries to drag her unresponsive body towards me with her claws.

I can’t help.

I can’t watch.

I can’t allow this to continue.

I sever her head with a swing of the greatsword. It doesn’t go off on the first try, making Guiding’s body jerk and twitch.

The second attempt leaves the separated head glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.

I… never thought you’d be able to do this, Blazing. I’m sorry you had to.

I said my goodbyes in Pine Hills, Mistake. That’s all. If Nightmare had this planned out, then there was no way for me to save Guiding at this point. She knew Harmony attacked Pine Hills, she knew I would come here. She must have been tracking events more closely than I thought. I’m just glad she didn’t make Guiding beg me for her life.

I’m sorry.

Giving me false hope and then shattering it? The oldest trick in the book, Mistake. Been there, done that.

I’m still sorry.

Guiding’s body turns into a cloud of dark mist which returns to Nightmare who absorbs it into herself.

“Hmph, weaker than I thought.”

“She or I?” I flourish the Blade. Nightmare just raises an eyebrow.

“Both. Maybe I was wrong...” she mutters.

“Engaging hostile entity,” a red beam of light from the entrance hits Nightmare square in the chest, making her stumble backwards, “Divine power: Immeasurable. Threat: Absolute. Recommended action: Cover the target’s escape. RUN, BLAZING! Get back to Manehattan immediately!” screams Bucket by the end of his analysis.

“No,” I just say, raising the Blade.

A wing grows from her back and she folds it to protect herself from Bucket’s beam. The robot, seeing further assault would be a waste of energy, stops.

Nightmare laughs.

“Heh, that was not the real Guiding, but don’t worry. You WILL meet her, I made sure of it. I want to see what you’re going to do then, stone-cold killer.”

A quick burst of energy hits Nightmare in the eye, making her stumble again.

“You’re getting annoying, machine,” a bolt of black lightning hits Bucket who completely stops moving. Nightmare looks at me again, “Now, Blazing Light, you amuse me, so I’ll let you live for now. It’s not as if you could even scratch me without the third Blade of Balance anyway.”

“Third...?”

“You don’t- Starswirl didn’t- dear me, you ponies are pathetic. Death is too good for you.”

Nightmare scowls-

“Hmph!”

-and disappears, leaving no marks of her presence other than the overturned pedestals and scattered magical items lying around.

Third… there are supposed to be THREE blades, not two?!

I haven’t even heard any mention of the third one.

First things first, Mistake.

“You okay, Bucket?” I rush over to the seemingly stuck robot, and tap him in various places, “Buckeeeet?”

I smack his head.

“Reboot sequence completed,” he drones, then the circles in his eyes light up, disappear, and appear again, “What the hay was that?”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank stars at least you’re okay. How did you get here so fast anyway? WHY are you here?”

Bucket shakes his head.

“Mission priority - zero. A message and a… package arrived for you at the headquarters thirty-two hours after you left. I tried to reach you in time, but despite not needing to sleep, I was a bit too late.”

“Priority zero is a really top one or a really pointless one?”

“It means it’s of the utmost importance.”

“Alright, what package?”

“I’m not allowed to tell you. I just need you to come with me as quickly as possible.”

“Bucket, we DEFINITELY aren’t being spied on right now, or if we were it would be by a god whom you can’t stop from doing it anyway.”

“That’s not it,” Bucket raises his foreleg, “This is different. Do you trust me? I couldn’t send Heavy Hoof or anypony else because I needed them to guard the mansion in case anything went wrong.”

Actually… yes, I do. If there’s anypony without a side-motive then it’s Bucket, I think.

“Yes, Bucket,” I tie the Blade onto my back. It’s really far too big for a pony to carry, “It’s not like I need to do something more here anyway.”

“Good, then let’s move. Oh, one last thing,” he pulls out a small piece of paper from his saddlebag, “For you.”

I levitate the flashlight up, and turn it from lantern mode to a normal one.

There’s only one sentence written on the paper which is clearly a torn off piece of some longer text. It reads:

We always keep out word.

“Bucket?”

The robot grins.

“I think you deserve at least some good news. Forgive me for the secrecy, but I discovered that I indeed DO have a theatrical streak.”

Comments

[Lex4art]

8558508
Oh, nearly forgot about another way for illustrating your own books: G-MOD (here is that people do there for example https://www.deviantart.com/popular-1-month/?q=MLP+GMOD&offset=24 or this https://shaboodleguitar.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=/ and many more other authors). It's relatively simple (just download ponies & content from G-MOD database sites/deviantart and place em, setup lighting, emotions and poses for pone (changing materials/colors is two-click deal there) and, after some fun and artistic frustration maybe something nice will be created. Have fun ).
pre00.deviantart.net/8fbe/th/pre/f/2015/197/8/2/upgrades_by_shaboodleguitar-d91lg4h.png

[Nameless Narrator]

8590294
Nah, I really dislike 3d. It either looks downright weird, or true-to-show cute, doesn't fit my stories at all. I think I like the pixel art style I added to Exercise In Management, although I've got a lot to experiment with. I'll se how far I can go with it.

[Lex4art]

8590323
Yep, seen that - may work too )

[Nameless Narrator]

8590326
It's bad, but cute bad :D

[Lex4art]

Weee, dreamlings not dead ). At least 2/3 of them -_-"

[Nameless Narrator]

8606105

3/4 actually. Muhahahahahahahahaha!

To The Skies!

[Two_Madmans]

“Do you still have the sewer blueprints? I’d like to avoid Twilight as long as I can, because that would lead to meeting Celestia… which can’t be good.”

Um... Why Twilight suppose to call Celestia for that? And you was in ponyville several times and talked to her son, she definitely knows about you, so Celestia must too.

I can’t allow this to continue.

I sever her head with a swing of the greatsword. It doesn’t go off on the first try, making Guiding’s body jerk and twitch.

The second attempt leaves the separated head glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.

I… never thought you’d be able to do this, Blazing. I’m sorry you had to.

“Heh, that was not the real Guiding, but don’t worry. You WILL meet her, I made sure of it. I want to see what you’re going to do then, stone-cold killer.”

STOP PLAYING MY FEELINGS!