Interviews With Equestrians

by Jmaster49

Subject 278: The Ram's Future

“Hmhmhm…” Grogar chuckled to himself, but it was strange. It wasn’t really a sarcastic one--more like a chuckle of reverence that your father would let out after a hard workday. “I fully expected you to offer one last bout to me, but on your own? Listen to your friends. Even I know that’s a bit unfair.”

“Yeah mate,” Neon said, “You don’t need to do this. We’re all here right with ye.”

Corkscrew also chimed in. “Come on, Pale. Please…”

I shook my head. I was adamant about this for a reason. “I appreciate it, guys...however, I want to make a point: That even the most lowly of individuals can counteract, and change their fates outside of what some god wants,” then I smirked, “Besides...I’m gonna need you guys’ help regardless…”

Through the ground, I could feel something headed their direction. Quick Draw must have been able to sense it as well, because she was the first to react.

“Move, people!” she shouted, and dove out of the way of something that came up through the ground, and sent old sediment from the castle in all directions.

BLAM!

Various roots from the Tree of Harmony had taken up a mind of its own and started to scramble towards them all. Quick started to punch, kick, and cut them with her trusty knifle.

Flash Drive would cast various curses to drive the roots back, and nullify their magical signature. “Don’t let ‘em hold you down!” he cried out, “They’re trying to suck us in!”

“Wait what?!” Corkscrew yelled as he flew into the air, “It can do that?! Since when?!”

“Old Grog’s chaotic will…” Guts stated as she fought off the roots with micromissiles, “Guess he really can’t help it, huh?”

Curiously though, the roots of the Tree didn’t attack me or Cozy. I had to wonder why exactly that was…

Cozy was first to point this out. “...They’re not going for us?” I wonder why…”

Grogar looked at her. “...Your blood. It resonates with my magic since you were the one to retrieve my bell originally. Still can’t believe you managed to find it…where is it now, by the way?”

“Discord had it,” Cozy replied, “Once he impersonated you, he, Celestia, and Luna took it away and held onto it. I guess that’s why you needed me, huh? To get your full power back?”

The ram scoffed, and rolled his eyes. “If this was another generic ‘take over the world’ plan, then maybe…but no...I want you to see just what I intend to accomplish. After all, actions speak louder than words, do they not?”

Before long, the roots would overwhelm my friends despite their best efforts to keep the limbs of the tree at bay. Each of them surrounded by, and captured by the limbs of the tree until they were all turned into stone…

“What?! GUYS, NO!” I screamed, and tried to leap into action to save them, but…

PLINK!

“Ow! What the hell…” I was knocked down by an invisible wall and hit the floor. When I looked up, all five of my comrades had been turned into helpless statues of themselves. “...I’ll kill you…” I rose to my hooves, and turned to face Grogar. I could have sworn that I was about to pop a blood vessel.. “What did you do?! Answer me!”

Grogar simply sighed and shook his head. “...I can show you better than I can tell you.”

With a flash of magic, Grogar would create an astral projection that would showcase what really happened to my allies. The good news was that they were alive--sort of?

The bad news was that I had no way of getting through to them in this state.

Cozy had to hold me back. “...Pops. Calm down. Let’s at least hear what he has to say before we try to attack him.”

With a grumble, I reluctantly looked up at the projections. “...Fine.”

Neon’s was first. From what I could see, he had been placed into a new version of the same world he had always grown up in. Except something was vastly different....he was treated as an equal. None of the ponies at his school bullied him, and as a result, he never needed to get that artificial limb of his. Because of that, he would be able to live out a stable life with the mare of his dreams in Trottingham.

Flash Drive was next. The unicorn-zebra hybrid would be born in South Zebrica with zero prejudice or malice directed towards him or his family. In fact, his birth would be so influential that it caused South Zebrica to accept all ponies and other races into their lands so that they could all live peacefully.

“...Wait a minute...how does any of this work?” I asked with a tremble in my voice--a mix of both amazement and horror.

Grogar would explain to me the fine details. “...This is my ultimate goal. Your friends would live out new lives in their ideal, peaceful worlds in 100% real time. I am merely showing what lies ahead in their dream worlds.”

“...That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Cozy mumbled, “But I think I get it now. You want to lock everypony in a state of dream-like consciousness where they can live their own personal happily-ever-after without fear of the issues that plague the real world.”

“...precisely,” Grogar said.

I had to force myself to watch the next ones.

For Guttersnipe, her ideal world was a world in which she never lost her wings. One where she was able to live normally among her friends. As a result, she would adapt to life as a regular pegasus and become a member of Ponyville’s buckball team alongside her friends.

Corkscrew’s was next. His ideal life was a world in which he was accepted by his family. Treated with just as much adoration as the rest of his siblings to the point where he never left home. He was so closely-knit with his family that he never bothered to venture outside of Cloudsdale and settled as a member of the weather team.

And perhaps most strange of all was Quick Draw’s. From her projection, I watched as she grew up and lived a normal life by herself as a delivery mare. Other than that, it was fairly uneventful. Which was the strange part. Quick was never a stagnant mare…

In fact, none of my friends were this stagnant.

“...What is your response to what I have shown you, Pale?” Grogar asked.

My response was simple. “...This is fake.”

Comments

[Neo4K]

I'll withhold my comments until the next chapter. I like to know where this is going.

[Frazikar]

My response was simple. “...This is fake.”

Well, yea, like all dreams, it's not reality ...

[Jmaster49]

10843428
Exactly. As much as Grogar may insist that this is the best option...it's not.