Interviews With Equestrians

by Jmaster49

Subject 279: Fate Of The Ram

“Hm? What do you mean, detective?” Grogar asked again, “Surely you of all ponies shouldn’t want to argue evidence that’s presented to you right in front of your face.”

I felt tears roll down the side of my face as I turned to meet the gaze of the stoic ram. “You lie!” I shouted, “All this is...is a projection of what their ideal life may be according to your magic! It speaks nothing of what my allies truly want!”

Grogar sighed, his tone unchanged even as I glared at his soul. “Hm...think beyond just them, young man. If I can harness the power of every Tree of Harmony, and bind everyone to it, there would be no more of this. No more fighting, no more Chaos vs. Harmony, and no more hatred to spread around. Wouldn’t you rather a world of endless peace instead of one with endless conflict? Wouldn’t you rather have a world where your job wasn’t necessary?”

“Of course I would!” I shouted back with a break in my voice, “Part of me hates this job! I wake up every day and pray that I don’t die in some horrible accident against some magical being I can’t properly fight against!”

Cozy tried to console me as she whispered my name. “...Pale…”

“But you know what?! I-I deal with that shit regardless!” I pulled Cozy in closer to me for a tight hug, “Everything from my friends to my new family--I fight this battle daily for their safety!”

Unimpressed, Grogar would ask me another question. “...And just how do you think everyone else feels? Do you truly know your friends well enough to justify your reasoning?”

“I don’t have to,” I replied, having calmed down a bit and released Cozy from my grip, “I know for a fact that each and every one of my allies fight their fight because it’s something they choose to do. Don’t you get it? That’s what separates us mortals from godly beings like you that were put on this planet to serve some higher power.”

The ram looked down, and started to cough again. “Augh! Ahem...no. Admittedly, I wish I could know what that feels like. To be able to think for myself beyond what I’ve always been spoonfed. Unfortunately for me, no matter how hard you try, or whatever you say…” he looked up at me once more, “I will always desire to overturn this world and make it my own. Is that something you want to allow to come to pass, Pale?”

“...No. Absolutely not!” I said as I grit my teeth, “While I do feel a bit of sympathy for your situation, I won’t let that cloud my judgement. You are not going to take control of this world. Nor will any of those higher powers you speak of. Because our lives are our own. And nothing will change that.” I turned my head to Cozy, “Right, kid?”

Cozy nodded, and spoke up for herself. “That’s right...Pale chose to defy fate by bringing me back into existence. If he can manage to do that for me, then I’m going to do the same,” she proclaimed with a confident grin. “No one can take my life away from me. Not you, not Tirek, not Chrysalis--nobody. The problem you have, Grogar, is something that you can’t fix. You can’t just bulldoze over everyone else’s lives just because someone bulldozed over yours!”

...I felt utterly inept because I didn’t think of that earlier in the conversation. It was a rather piercing point because as soon as she said that, Grogar stood up and approached us.

“What...what did you say?” he asked with an unstable glare in his eyes.

Cozy took another step towards him, her stance unwavered as she continued. “Think. Think hard about what you’re doing. Taking away everybody’s free will and sense of self, trapping them in what you claim to be the ideal world--that’s more or less what happened to you, isn’t it?”

Grogar huffed so hard that steam was released from his nostrils. As if he was insulted by the very idea that he had become just like those who he desperately wanted to lash out against. “Rrgh...no...you’re wrong. You couldn’t possibly understand what it’s like to be dealt a horrible set of cards by the wheel of fate.”

The kid refused to back down. She stomped her hoof, and raised her voice. “That was literally what I went through!” she shouted, “My parents never loved me and left me to die out in the unforgiving world! I had to figure out how to survive on my own, and thought I could control the world in whatever way I pleased! But you know the worst part? I was a child. A child that didn’t know any better. Yes, looking back I wish I could’ve stopped myself, but that’s how things ended up. Now I’m grateful that I was able to grow out of it thanks to Pale, Flurry Heart, and the others. But it was ultimately me who decided to change me. Not anyone else. Do you understand now?”

Silence. The ram continued to stare at Cozy intently. The two of them were locked in, and actively bored into each other’s souls with their eyes.

Until finally…

“...Then prove me wrong and stake your claim to the future...” Grogar snarled, “by killing me.”

Comments

[Neo4K]

The kid refused to back down. She stomped her hoof and raised her voice. “That was literally what I went through!” she shouted, “My parents never loved me and left me to die out in the unforgiving world! I had to figure out how to survive on my own, and thought I could control the world in whatever way I pleased! But you know the worst part? I was a child. A child that didn’t know any better. Yes, looking back I wish I could’ve stopped myself, but that’s how things ended up. Now I’m grateful that I was able to grow out of it thanks to Pale, Flurry Heart, and the others. But it was ultimately me who decided to change me. Not anyone else. Do you understand now?”

😁 That's telling him, Cozy!

“...Then prove me wrong and stake your claim to the future...” Grogar snarled, “by killing me.”

...Dude...what the hell? Is this some sort of trap to get her down a dark path again? I mean, I can understand baiting Pale with this, but Cozy? Yeah, I think this smells like a trap.