//------------------------------// // Justice or Vengeance? // Story: TiM: Best of Intentions, Worst of Results // by Twidashforever //------------------------------// Ruins of Ponyville Rainbow screamed to the heavens as the energy of the golden light left her body, it conversed straight up in a column of energy so bright that it overpowered the light of the sun. Once it left her body, she collapsed on the ground next to the corpse of Tartarus. Rainbow’s body was taken to the edge of even her legendary endurance both physically and mentally. Cadance stood up. Pain shooting through her body from the many bruises and scars she suffered from Tartarus’s attacks. Her wing hung uselessly to her side; with the bones broken in it, she was unable to lift it from the dirt. Princess Cadance walked over to the mare that saved them all from Tartarus, then paused as the column of energy Rainbow released temporarily blinded her. “What was that?” Ataxia’s sight left her as well; she was blinded by the same energy that claimed Cadance’s sight. “I don’t know.” After a few minutes, they were both able to see again. Rainbow lay next to the corpse of Tartarus, unmoving. Her fur once more returned to the cyan blue it was known for. The only sign of the golden energy left in her was that of her wings from all those years ago. Ataxia walked over to Cadance and they both looked at each other, with one glance they each conveyed their feelings about Rainbow Dash’s condition. There were no need for words as they each had the same thought. Only one word described the mare in front of them, only one word now fit. In every meaning of the word, Rainbow Dash was broken. Cadance went over to Rainbow, that mare was amazing this day. Even after suffering more pain than most ponies would know in several lifetimes, Rainbow tapped into a deep reservoir of power. She caused more damage to the God then Cadance even believed to be possible. Rainbow Dash was the one who delivered the final deathblow. The wider repercussions were unknown to Cadance at this time. However, right this second, Cadance did not care. Rainbow had and deserved her full-undivided attention. “Take me to my wife.” Rainbow whispered the words as Cadance got closer. They were the weakest Cadance ever heard the cyan mare. Every syllable seemed to cause her more agony. The act of breathing seemed painful to her. “Anything you want, Rainbow.” Slowly, Cadance lifted the mare up with her magic and began taking her to Twilight Sparkle. As soon as she turned around Cadance almost dropped her from the surprise in front of them. All three of them stared on in shock, as standing next to Twilight’s body was a small golden pegasus filly. Rainbow shot up to her hooves, however; she was unable to leave the magic energy Cadance wrapped her up in. “Leave her alone!” Rainbow shouted at the top of her lungs. It barely reached the level of a normal conversation. Ataxia jumped in front of both Rainbow and Cadance. She spread out her wings in a protective and threatening gesture. “Who are you?” She asked the filly in front of them. Rainbow fought tooth and hoof to get out of the magic Cadance held her in. She barely had the strength to stand, much less break an alicorn’s magic. They were all forced to watch as the golden filly lay down next to Twilight’s body and touched noses with her . Golden energy transferred to the mare’s body from the filly and surrounded her corpse in its light. When the golden light finally faded, the wounds in Twilight’s neck were gone. The blood that covered the ground from her wounds disappeared as well. “Twilight?” Rainbow asked, hope rising in her voice. The golden filly stood up and shook her head. In a voice that spoke with one of pure innocence she answered the unasked question from the three of them. “I’m sorry, healing her body is all I can do. The sickles power is absolute, the essence in Twilight’s body was erased.” Rainbow collapsed in Cadance’s magic grip. “Who are you?” Ataxia asked, as she felt an unusual strong magical pull from the filly. A pull the others did not seem to know. “Dear brother and sister, my name is Gaia. It is a pleasure to meet you again.” Gaia smiled at the two, a warm greeting that left no doubt to her intent in being here. “But, Gaia’s dead. She died with Twilight. Tartarus said as much.” Rainbow looked on in shock at the filly that claimed to be the impossible. “Rainbow.” Gaia dismissed Cadance’s power and took Rainbow in her own. She levitated the mare next to her. Then in a move that surprised everyone, she jumped up and hugged Rainbow around her neck, crying into her coat as she did. “I’m so sorry. I owe Twilight my life; she saved me from death at the hooves of my brother. She sent me to you, though the connection you two shared. I... I didn’t even know that was possible.” Her tears on Rainbow’s coat restored the energy the cyan mare used in the battle with Tartarus. Those that ran off and hit the dirt caused new life to form on the planet. Flowers grew from that liquid. Sprouting out in beautiful patterns in all the colors in of the rainbow. “That was you, wasn’t it? You were the one I was talking too. You were the one who convinced me to come back and fight Tartarus, weren’t you? The one that convinced me to help my friends.” The filly squeezed tighter, never wanting to let go. “Yes, I’m sorry I tricked you like that. That message was not from me though. Those where the last words Twilight wanted you to know, if you do not believe anything else I tell you, please believe that.” Rainbow wrapped a hoof around the golden filly and with a shove pushed her off of her. “Why… why do you live and not her?” Tears fell from Rainbow's eyes. “Rainbow I told you…” “Why do you get to live… did she not deserve to? Was she not worthy enough?” “Rainbow.” Rainbow walked over to her wife and broke down. It did not matter that she had just killed a God, it did not matter to her that one of the strongest beings in the Universe just offered her an apology. It changed nothing. Twilight was still dead and she still had to face an existence without her: One that would carry her on, for the rest of her life, an existence without her wife, one without Twilight in it. Sensing that for the moment Rainbow needed to be left alone, Gaia walked over to her brother’s corpse. It was not his actual body. As Gods, they did not actually have things like bodies or sexes or anything of that nature. However, the forms they took were real, or real enough for the sickle to do its job. “I do want to ask, if you were in Rainbow after what happened to Twilight, why didn’t you come out and fight Tartarus yourself?” Cadance asked. “Your victory came from his overconfidence. It was his arrogance that caused him not to fight you at full power, not to take you seriously. Even with the energy increase you three had, he was still well beyond your power to defeat. Had I come out, Had I engaged my brother, he would have been infinitely more dangerous a foe. Only twice before have Gods dueled. Both times it caused more damage then you can possibly imagine. As awful it is to say,” Gaia looked at Rainbow lying by her wife’s corpse. Tears were falling from Gaia’s face as she watched the mare she grew to love alongside Twilight suffering so. “This is the best result we could have hoped for.” Gaia reached out and pulled the sickle from Tartarus’s brain. She bit down on the sickle's handle, hard. It shattered into its component atoms in her mouth. “I never should have made that cursed weapon. I should have destroyed it after the Titan issue was resolved.” Gaia looked down at her brother’s corpse lying in the dirt. “Then again, it was you who convinced me not to, wasn’t it? Was this your plan all along dear brother? How many years did you spend setting this up I wonder.” Gaia lay down next to the corpse of Tartarus. She touched noses with her brother’s body. “What are you doing?!” both Cadance and Ataxia yelled at the same time, while that action did not bring back Twilight, they had no idea what the effect would be on a God. “Relax, I could not bring back Tartarus if I wanted to, he suffered the same fate as Twilight, and despite him being my brother, I definitely do not want to. However, there are issues that need to be addressed. These events change everything in ways you two cannot even fathom right now. So for now, I need to converse with the other two. Do come out, Chaos and Eros. We need to talk.” Gaia stared at each of them in turn as she made the comment. A large pink alicorn seemed to step out of Cadance’s body, the alicorn’s purple and pink mane flowing in a wind that did not exist. Cadance stared at her in shock. The feeling of her leaving was not unpleasant, but it did leave a chill down her spine. Almost as if, with her departure something was missing, it felt like something fundamental that Cadance had always had was now gone. It left her with the departure of this mare. Eros turned around and smiled at her, the God rubbed muzzles with the princess. An action she was more than happy to reciprocate. Cadance could feel the power this pony radiated, it was a mirror image of her own multiplied several thousand times over. “Cadance, I've watched you live and grow into the mare you have become, I've never been more proud.” “You know me? Who are you?” “Yes dear one. I know you, I'm a part of you, and my name is Eros, the God of Love. It is my honor to meet you for the first time.” Eros bowed before the princess in a gesture of gratitude. “You have served as my Avatar for these past years. But you have become so much more than that. I cannot thank you enough. Always remember that. You and your son have brought me such happiness that I cannot even began to describe.” After saying that, Eros looked slightly distracted at something in the distance, she sent a small suggestion to somepony on the receiving end before turning back and smiling to the princess. Cadance had several more questions for the God, including asking what that was all about, but those would have to wait. Ataxia loudly grunted as a draconequus pulled itself out of her mouth in pieces. The process did not appear to cause the dragacorn pain, per se, but it was obviously an uncomfortable experience for her all around. Discord seemed to enjoy it as much as he did everything else. What he did not enjoy was Ataxia lighting his ass on fire afterwards. When chocolate rain from a cotton candy raincloud failed to put him out, Gaia went over and extinguished the flames with a wave of her hoof. “You’re no fun.” Discord poked her on the forehead. Ataxia reached up and bit his hand off. “Depends on your point of view.” Spoke the dragacorn. “Yes, I suppose that's true.” Discord spoke as he regrew another hand. “It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ataxia. My name is Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony.” “Uh-huh, what's your real name?” Ataxia was not convinced of that explanation at all. They were dealing with Gods, and while she did not know what a spirit was, she was convinced that this creature was far more than what he said we was. “Oh, you caught me red handed. Yes, I guess you deserve to know. A pleasure to meet you, I'm the Primordial Deity Chaos and I have to say, you have been the most fun I have had in several million years.” “Fun. Fun. What part of this has been fun?! I… After everything that has happened you say fun? What the buck is wrong with you?” “But don’t you see, dear Ataxia, that’s what makes it fun. Normal is so boring, excitement is excitement regardless what form it takes.” Ataxia reared up and readied to have toasted draconequus. Discord barely managed to dodge her blast as she came close to frying him alive for the second time that day. “She is a fun one isn’t she, brother?” “Gaia, it's been so long dear sister. Tell me, how have you been?” A glance from Gaia back to Twilight’s corpse and the cyan mare lying next it told Discord the answer to that particular question. “Yes, I know, our dear brother’s plan seems to have done some damage after all. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I tried to warn them but he knew it was coming and unlike you, I cannot leave my Avatar at will.” “I don’t blame you, Chaos. For once this problem was not your doing.” She laughed a little. “I even tried helping you experience what life was like as a mortal. You were not the easiest to deal with.” “What the bucking hell are you two talking about!” Ataxia screamed, still unsure what was going on or how a Draconequus pulled itself out of her mouth. “Dearest Ataxia. This here is my brother, Chaos. You have served as his Avatar for all your life. In fact it was his magic that caused you to be born at all. Dragons and ponies cannot interbreed.” Gaia replied to Ataxia's vulgar comment. “Wait, so I am nothing more than a creation of his?” “That’s one way to look at it little one.” Eros filed this question, as the first amongst them to create an Avatar she was by far the most qualified to answer it. “But that is no more true than saying you are only a creation of your parents. When we create an Avatar we merely use it as a vessel to experience a new life. We do nothing to interfere with that life. You are your own pony. You are the daughter of your parents. You simply are an Avatar as well. This knowledge does not take away anything that you are, it simply adds to it. Every decision you have ever made over the years has been your own. Chaos simply went along for the ride.” “So I shouldn’t even exist. What about the dragon legend I heard back in Warclaw? How did they know what I was when I don't even know?” “Well, I won't say I didn’t take a little liberties with my Avatar.” Both Eros and Gaia turned and stared daggers into their brother. “What did you do?” they spoke in union. “What? I didn’t do anything. I just didn’t exactly cast the spell you taught me is all. See like I said, I didn’t do anything.” “Chaos, explain that, now.” Eros looked pissed. “Fine, fine. Look I always knew that you would, one day, eventually teach me how to do it, and I had so much fun with some of the other races. I knew with how powerful the dragons were they would eventually make something special. So with a little help from yours truly, I implanted a legend in their history of a half-breed dragon one day coming to their ranks. When you taught me that spell and little Spiky-wikey finally got his love to bed him. It was just too perfect an opportunity to pass up.” “Eros calm down. It's just our brothers nature.” Gaia did her best to prevent yet another fight from breaking out. It was well known that Eros’s temper could easily get the better of the God when someone plays with love. Even if it was just what that love would create. “Besides, it's not like I created my own offspring, again.” Chaos glared at the little golden pegasus filly. “What? Who? Do I know them?” Eros glared at her sister, unsure if this was good or bad news. “I hope so, you fillysit for her after all.” “Wait, Shimmering Night? She's yours? I thought Twilight found a way to…” “Nope. She's mine, well ours, I should say.” Gaia’s mood went from happy to sad in an instant. Her, Rainbow, and Twilight were the birth parents of Shimmering Night and one of them was dead. It was not a time to be happy. Discord climbed out of Gaia’s ear and poked his head over her's to stare at his sister’s eye. “Well Gaia, while I love our family get togethers as much as the rest of us. I have to ask why you called us all out of our happy homes. Tartarus is gone, his threat no longer looms over our heads, and you did deal with the sickle after all.” “Yes Chaos, but another issue looms over us now. Tartarus had a job to do after all, and now that he is gone we have to find another to perform the duties of the reaper.” Eros walked over to the pieces of the scythe and levitated them both out of the dirt. In a flash of light she connected both pieces, restoring the scythe to its former glory, much to the disgust of the mortals watching who just fought against that very same weapon. “Do you have to bring that ‘thing’ back?” Ataxia looked on in disgust at the scythe. The wounds it left on her wings and chest a testament to the damage it inflicted on her during the fight. It was obvious that she hated the thing just from the look she gave it. Eros levitated the scythe over to the others and walked to the dragacorn. “Young one, I'm sorry but it must be done. That scythe allows for the continuation of life and death on this planet. Without it, new life cannot be born and old life cannot pass on. Don't worry though, without its master around it will not harm anypony again.” “I think it did enough of that already.” “On that you and I agree.” Eros leaned down and kissed the dragacorn on the forehead. The effect was instantaneous; pink light enveloped her form and healed all the damage she took over the fight. Ataxia stretched her wings. “I... I feel great. Thanks.” “It is us that should thank you, all of you.” Eros looked over to her Avatar. Cadance was staring at the two mares lying in the dirt. Every fiber of her being wanted her to comfort Rainbow. To walk over and give anything she could to help the mare that refused to leave her dead wife’s side. Something told her not to, an instinct screamed at her that right this moment Rainbow Dash needed to be left alone. To do otherwise would simply be courting a new disaster. Cadance was so engulfed in her feelings that she failed to notice Eros walking over to her. Her surprise came when she felt a kiss on her forehead, one that caused a similar event to that which Ataxia just went though. Cadance did not care, all she wanted was to end Rainbow’s suffering, an event she largely considered impossible at this time. “Can... can you help her?” Cadance whispered the words to Eros. She merely shook her head. “I’m sorry, what’s done is done. It is beyond my ability to do anything for her.” “Will she be ok?” “No.” Eros reply was blunt and honest. There was finality to her words that ended the conversation and broke Cadance’s heart all at once. Eros walked over and rejoined her siblings. “I hope you two aren’t expecting me to carry that thing.” Discord stared at it with disgust on his face, the prospect of having responsibility more frightening than anything else he could think of. “Dear brother, I could not imagine a worse idea in the Universe. I would rather destroy the thing once and for all then entrust you to take on that responsibility.” “Thank you Eros, I take that as a complement.” “I know you do, and that's the reason why I won't let you do it.” Discord simply smiled at his sister, a cocksure grin on his face, as he slithered around the scythe. “So then, who do you suggest carry this burden for all eternity?” “I see no reason why it must change.” Gaia spoke, matter-of-factly. “Sister, you don’t mean…” “I think she does.” Discord’s smile grew ten-fold; he giggled at the thought of what is to come. “What are you three talked about, how can it not change?” Ataxia ran up, tired of being separated from the conversation and waiting to know what the buck is going on. “Relax young one. Wait and see what happens next, trust me on this, it'll be good.” Eros raised a hoof and implanted a suggestion that calmed down the dragacorn. “So you're going to do it then?” “Unless you have a better idea brother. I will need both of your agreement first though.” “Oh, no. I'm game for this, I just can’t believe that you came up with something this mean.” Discord gave his approval “It is a fitting punishment, if I do say so.” Eros gave hers. “Indeed.” Gaia replied. Discord watched as Gaia walked up to the corpse of their dear departed brother. She reached out a hoof and placed it on his head. Her golden energy engulfed the dead body with its light; slowly, it stripped away Tartarus’s skin. His muscles left next, followed by his internal organs. Until, at last there was nothing left of Tartarus save his skeleton. “Tartarus, brother: For that which you gave everything to stop, for that which you tried to kill us all to prevent. For the rest of eternity, that will be your fate. Your body will exist for the rest of all time as the Reaper of Souls. For now until eternity your corpse will do in death that which you refused to do in life.” Gaia increased the power flowing into the skeleton several times over. Imbuing the bones with new life and purpose. The skeleton began moving on its own after a few minutes. Seeking their purpose in this new life. “Reaper, this is your tool, this is your purpose in life. Go, sever the souls of the dead, send them to their afterlife so new souls can be born.” Gaia levitated the scythe up to the reaper. Attaching it to his back. Cadance did not know how, but the scythe actually looked pleased at this, as soon as it attached itself. The reaper’s form was covered in a macabre cloak that wrapped itself around him. The reaper nodded to the small golden filly and turned around. Walking off into the distance it disappeared in a flash of power, taking the scythe with it. Discord laughed at that. “If I didn't know better, dear sister, I would say you enjoyed that. Tell me, was that justice or vengeance?” “I did enjoy it, and why must those two things be mutually exclusive?” “Say that again.” Discord could not stop the grin from spreading across his face. “It was a fitting punishment for his crimes. I only wish it was his consciousness that was forced to serve out that sentence. After what Tartarus did he deserves a lot more than the fate he was dealt. His bones will have a new purpose in life, a new existence to fulfill. I agree wholeheartedly with your decision Gaia.” Eros commented, much to the surprise of both of them. “Thank you Eros, I would like to say it was a hard decision, but truthfully it was the easiest thing I have ever done.” The venom in Gaia’s voice was a testament to how she felt about her actions. This was more than simple duty. This was her revenge for the pain Tartarus caused her, for Twilight, and the mare she grew to love. “So we don’t have to worry about him trying anything again?” Cadance asked, uncertainty at what she saw radiating in her voice. “No, Tartarus no longer exists, I have merely recommissioned his corpse to fulfill the function he did not wish to do in life. However, I should warn you. There will be other issues from this.” “What other issues?” “Tartarus did not merely act as the reaper, he also served as the prison for some of the most dangerous creatures that have ever lived. You have seen a few of these over the years.” Memories of beings the likes of Tirek and worse flashed before Cadance’s eyes. “You mean they are all free?” “I'm afraid so.” “Can you do anything about them?” “I'm afraid not, they are part of the mortal realm now, trust me when I say our involvement only makes things worse, the events of today should conform that too you.” “Kill me.” All five of them turned to look at the mare that just spoke. Rainbow Dash was still laying next to her wife’s corpse. She was unwilling and unable to get up from that spot. However, she was staring right at all three of the Gods. Cadance spoke up. “Rainbow, no.” “Please, I don’t want to live in a world without her, I don’t want to face this existence without Twilight in it. Let me be with her, let me join her in Elysium. Please kill me.” Tears were falling down Rainbow’s face as she said those words. Eros started to move closer to her, Gaia held up a hoof and blocked her path. “Rainbow, if that would ease your suffering for even a second. I would do it in a heartbeat. But it wont. In much the same way that Elysium is unable to duplicate an immortal. It's also unable to duplicate someone who does not exist. Twilight Sparkle is not waiting for you in Elysium. She will not be there when you die. I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do for her, or for you.” For the first time in her life, Rainbow felt what it is like when your last shred of hope, dies.