//------------------------------// // Chapter 14. // Story: A Cold Ending. // by Knight of Crows //------------------------------// "That's enough, Jason Wright." Silence. Not one creature dared to speak, just as many didn't even dare to move. Recognition, reverence, awe, these would be the words to best describe the faces of all the viewers. All except one, who looked at her with annoyance as he kept flipping a knife while she restored the worldwide broadcast. "Would you care to run that by me again? I simply must have misheard you." He said with a hint of aggression. "You heard me correctly." She stated. "Really? And who are you to tell me 'no'? Who are you to deny what is owed to me?" "The only thing that was yours was justice against those who wronged you, nothing more. Instead, you demonstrated brutality and barbarism never seen before." He pointed the knife at her. "I don't think you're in any position to tell me what I can and can't do when you knew from the start what my end goal was and still allowed me to abuse the Gjallarhorn to my non-existent heart's content. The fact you haven't done anything about my punishments also implies you're going to let my punishments stand." "I am not all-knowing-" Jason clapped his hands together and smiled. "Thank you for admitting you're not a Goddess! Either that, or you're such a fucking failure that the world would probably be just as well off if not better without you. I'll let the past 1,000 years speak for itself." "Omniscience, omnipotence, all common misconceptions thought up by mortals. As for the past millennia? You can blame Discord's vines for that." She said while glaring at the draconequess. "You're not really helping your case here considering you basically just admitted that a Spirit was more powerful than you. At the same time, you also just revealed to everyone here that I can beat you now that I have his power. What exactly are you hoping to accomplish by giving me the opportunity to claim the title of Godslayer?" He asked. "You misunderstand. Those vines severed my link to this world, a process I was unaware of until it was too late. As for why I'm here? To put a stop to this madness. To offer you mercy." "... Do you want to run that by me again? Like before, I must have misheard you." He chuckled darkly. "Madness? Mercy? You COULD NOT have chosen a worse time to try and do your job." "If you believe this to be a joke, I assure you I am quite serious." "I'll humor you for a moment. Let's say I accept this 'offer', whatever it entails; what's in it for me?" He asked as he kept changing the size and shape of his knife. "I can heal you." She offered. "And what if I don't want to be 'healed'? To be saved? Which is a very broad term by the way." He questioned. "I may not be what you would define as a Goddess, but I still created this world and all its children. I can restore your body, your heart. All you need do is ask in this moment." "I might have accepted that right then two years ago, but there are a few teensy teeny tiny itty bitty little details you're forgetting: I just tried to commit mass genocide and almost killed two rulers after dishing out the cruelest, most inclusive punishments I could think of to ensure the world suffers incase I lose. Not to mention I basically just toppled an entire country that is now infected with a VERY dangerous virus and gave everyone else just cause to wage war against said country." He reminded her. "What the fuck do you think is going to happen if I accept your 'mercy' when the entire world now has a reason to kill me anyway?" "I cannot sway the hearts and minds of this world, but if it's retribution you fear, I could give you a new start." She added another offer. "... Explain." "A new body of your choosing. A second chance at life, with or without your memories. Put you to sleep and dream only of what could've been." She listed several choices he could make. "... Either you don't know mortals as well as you think you do, or like Twilight, you have underestimated my capacity for malice. How well do you think your children will react to you basically pardoning, even rewarding me of all people for pushing the world to the brink of destruction? Or is word from their loving Goddess, who effectively abandoned all non-ponies, all that's needed to keep the world in line?" "Their choices are their own, just as this choice... -" her horn lit up and banished the Wendigos in the courtroom, causing Jason to collapse. He struggled to breathe as his skin returned to what it was before he encountered them. His eye restored, his scars faded, his wounds mended in seconds as he clutched his chest. "- is yours." Once the process was finished, he glared daggers at her. Noticing his weapon was gone as well, he made a new one. He wasn't expecting it to work, but he was done playing around. He snapped his fingers and what looked like a short lance with a golden hilt and point, between them were three spinning black cylinders with red markings appeared in his hand. "What... The fuck... Was that?" He growled. "I was releasing you of the Wendigos' influence over you, and in addition, I healed your body." She answered. "And what did you hope this would change? There's not a single-" "Whatever your choice, it NEEDS to be yours and yours alone. Please, let me do what I can to make this right?" He raised his weapon as his eyes narrowed before questioning her. "What if I don't want to be saved? What if the futile defiance, the cries of anguish, the screams and wails of misery, the shouts of hate and rage, and the pleasure of taking away everything this world holds dear all interest me more? What if I want to kill you just to truly shatter any semblance of hope this world might've had for life and a better future?" His weapon began to glow as the cylinders spun more rapidly. A red torrent encased it as the ground was slowly being torn apart as he continued. "What makes you think they'd even give me the chance after these past few days? At least every other monster they've dealt with can honestly say death was at most a result, not an intention." "I can't tell you with certainty. But what I can tell you is that you no longer need to be afraid. As-" "Why would I fear dead men?" He interrupted. "As few as they are, you still have friends who care about you." Jason felt as though she were grasping at straws at this point. "Friends who abandoned me at the non-existent mercy of that town of arrogant liars, cowards, sadists, hypocrites, and murderers no better than myself." The castle began to tremble as the pressure from his weapon intensified. "If there is even the slightest-" The floors cracked as many in the courtroom began to lose their balance. "SHUT UP!!! JUST SHUT UP!!!" He shouted. "I'M DONE BEING FED THESE LIES!!! I'M NEVER GOING BACK TO THAT PITIFUL EXISTENCE FROM BEFORE MEETING THE WENDIGOS!!! WHAT YOU WANT. ISN'T. POSSIBLE!!!" For the first time in years, tears slowly built up in his eyes. "There can be no reconciliation. No forgiveness. No mercy. They gave me a better chance at Salvation than any of you ever did." "Honesty only exists to h-hide the greatest of Lies. Loyalty exists only to create an op-portunity for Treachery beyond compare. Generosity exists on-only to create an illus-sion to hide one's Greed and Arrogance. Kindness exists only as an e-excuse for Cruelty later. Laughter exists only to hide P-Pain and revel in a-another's Misery. Hope exists only so it may dr-drown in Despair. Love exists only so it may burn in Ha-Hatred. And Life exists only to meet Death." He said as clearly as he could, but without the Wendigos' influence, he struggled not to choke up. "The fact you still feel more than just hate, but fear and sorrow are proof enough there's a small part of you that wants to be saved. To believe what you call lies. Regardless, I cannot stand by and allow you to enact your revenge on the rest of a world that condemns the vile acts that brought us here today. Especially if there is still any compassion in your heart for any specific ones. Please, ask? Ask and you'll have another chance." Jason composed himself. "... What if that chance goes to waste because others wasted theirs?" "You're the new 'Spirit of Chaos', your chance is as long as you want it to be. And if the worst looks like it's about to happen on either side, I can pull you out until you're ready to go back. If you want to that is." "What if I want to kill them all still? Every. Last. One. Indiscriminately. What if I truly believe that the only peace possible for anyone is through silence?" "You would have peace either way, but you'd be throwing away any possibility of happiness if you follow through with your original plan. Either you stop and get the help that's long overdue, or you continue, and I guide your soul to the Great Beyond." Jason took a deep breath as he stared at his copy of Ea. He felt as though something was clutching his heart as hard as he was the weapon in his hand. He looked between it and all parties present. Those who weren't broken beyond repair, the Mane Six, had more hope or fear than anything. No one looked at him with disgust, not even anger. Not even the ones who he just tried to kill. Half of him said it was because their Goddess was here in the flesh and believed they were safe either way. The other half that was no longer silenced by the Wendigos said it was because they genuinely wanted him to turn. Half of him wanted to finish what the ponies, the Wendigos, and Discord started. The other half no longer suppressed, desperately wanted to stop, but didn't know how, it was afraid to. "... I-I... I want-"