Interviews With Equestrians

by Jmaster49

Subject 253: Heated Debate

“Isn’t this what you are also trying to accomplish, Vestige? Don’t you want everypony to become strong enough to decide their own fates? To not have to default to destroying the entire world just to prove a point? Isn’t that what you’re trying to do for Cozy Glow now?!”

So it was true. Even while resurrected by Grogar, Neighsay still fought against his influence as much as possible in order to further his own goals. I had to respect his drive. The ability to resist such a strong power that could corrupt an entire Changeling Queen was impressive.

But even so, his ideals and my own simply did not align.

“The way you’re going about it...it’s wrong,” I spat back, “True motivation comes from inspiration, not augmentation. Forcing everyone’s weaknesses out of their bodies does nothing to help them truly understand why they were weak in the first place!” I sighed, and went on. “We need to build each other up. It’s far more difficult than breaking each other down. But it’s doable. We just have to find ways to show it.”

My words must have registered on some level, because Neighsay was curious enough to pry further. “Is that why you’ve been fighting so hard all this time? Just to try and show others that they can rise up for themselves? What makes you think your efforts are going to last? Celestia couldn’t manage to rally her people, nor could the so-called Pillars of Equestria, and Princess Sparkle herself. Time and time and time again, some other new superpower rises from the mistakes of our own kind. Only by throttling these conflicts before they can gain power will we start to finally move forward. Think about it. You may have managed to get everypony on your side to fight for themselves today. But what about the next world-ending cataclysm. And the next one? And the next one? Can you guarantee that the public will be there, ready to go at a moment’s notice in the future?”

“Absolutely not,” I replied sternly, “I’m not stupid. I know that there’s no way to know for sure if what I’m doing here is gonna help or not.”

He approached me once more, his voice boomed from how irritated he had become. “Then why are you so hung up about taking that risk?! Why not put solace in a method that is guaranteed to work?!”

“...You can’t deal in absolutes. You either force everyone to conform one way, or allow complete and utter chaos to reign supreme. There is no ‘method that is guaranteed to work’. That’s how life operates. And if you truly believe that you can really quell every single possible problem before it comes into existence, then you’re--quite frankly--unwise to the nth degree.” I gave him a cold stare to signify how ashamed I was. If I hadn’t been restrained to the floor, I’d have tackled him by this point. “I have no pity for someone like you…”

Neighsay simply ignored me, and shook his head. “Hmph...I don’t want your pity. I want you to watch my greatness unfold. Just as your mother did when she was alive. Pity is for fools that don’t understand anything!”

My eyes shot wide open. Was there more that I hadn’t yet comprehended? “Wait, what all did she say to you?!”

CRASH!

Before I could get an answer, Cheerilee made her grand entrance. With an almost impossible amount of force, she dropped from the ceiling, and dive-bombed headfirst into that magical containment square that the mares had been kept in.

And wouldn’t you know it? She destroyed it. Instantly smashed to various shards of glass-like material with nothing but the force of her body. The mares were still unconscious, though, we were still on our own.

But before Neighsay could react, Cheerilee charged at him with a snarl. Akin to a beast that had not eaten for months. She was seeing red, utterly pissed that one of her old students had been put in captivity.

“You…!” she growled in his face as she kept him pinned to the floor, “You don’t know what true suffering is. Talking about how you’re going to change the world when you refuse to change yourself!”

From the corner of my eye, I could see one of those barrier shards levitated off the floor. My eyes shifted back across the room in a widespread state of horror. “Cheerilee! MOVE!”

But she didn’t listen. She was so consumed by her rage against Neighsay’s actions, that she merely continued to rattle off insults at his expense. It was like she had gone deaf with tunnel vision, unable to hear me scream her name. Neighsay had managed to dim his horn’s aura to the point where it was practically invisible.

“I’m going to make sure that you never set hoof back in this world or that shithole of Tartarus! You’re a stain to all existence and don’t deserve any mercy! Any last words before I erase your pathetic existence?!” she screamed so loudly that the windows started to crack from the force of her voice.

Along with my own. “CHEERILEE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

But there was nothing that I could do. My voice didn’t reach her ears. It was too late. The dagger-sized shard of magic zoomed through the air, straight towards the back of her head!

Comments

[Neo4K]

Along with my own. “CHEERILEE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

But there was nothing that I could do. My voice didn’t reach her ears. It was too late. The dagger-sized shard of magic zoomed through the air, straight towards the back of her head!

Damn it, Cheerilee! Listen to him, and MOVE!