Interviews With Equestrians

by Jmaster49

Subject 56: Can't Suffocate My Spirit

I lost all forms of consciousness for a moment. I felt like I was back in someplace familiar. Wait, that voice. I knew just who it was.

“Sombra? Hey! What’s going on?! Are you in my head again? What’s with the cryptic message?!” I looked around. I saw nothing, felt nothing, heard nothing. Just what happened to me?

“...You were lucky…” the voice said again. From faded darkness, the gray unicorn with the red scarf appeared once more. “From the limbo realm, this is the only method I have to speak.”

Wait a second, he had somehow invaded my mind again? I thought the effects of the Umbral Shard wore off a long time ago! “Just what’s happening, Sombra? Why are you here?”

The stallion looked at me. “...This is...all I have left before I finally pass on. I foresaw complications just such as these. Are you capable of reigning in your personal feelings in order to be honest?”

I looked down, unable to face him properly. “I...I don’t know. Corkscrew could be dead. I know her family died in the battle but...that doesn’t give her the right to force her will upon someone completely innocent...it makes her no better than those she wants to rally against.”

“And what about you? Can you truly bring yourself to kill her if necessary?”

My eyes drifted left, then right. “I’d like to avoid it if possible but…”

Sombra sat down, and exhaled. “There are times when a king must make difficult decisions for the better of his subjects. I failed to do any of the sort, because I thought only of myself. In the end...I was no king. I was a piece of filth who brought pain and suffering to all…”

I understood what he was saying. In life, there were no absolutes. Morals, desires, conflict, ideologies. It was all based on those who opposed each other. Not a law written in some book or on a scroll. But in this instance...I was unsure. “I...I’m not a king. How can I be so sure?”

“It is not merely our actions that define who we are,” the former king replied, “if you are certain within yourself, then that is all that matters. It is as I said: Be the king of your own throne. I just wanted you to be aware of what I told you regarding your ideals.”

I felt distraught. I knew damn well that my persistence had pushed me this far, and Sombra was telling me just how destructive the situation had become. Now I had enemies all over the place and my best friend was burned half to death. If he died trying to save me, I would never forgive myself. “I know...you told me not to go too far...you’re right. I should’ve back down when I had the chance...now everything is…”

But what he said next quite frankly surprised me. “I said to be moderate in your passions. Not to abandon your ideas. Hold your head high, young stallion. Look at me.”

With no response, I raised my head up, and focused directly on Sombra with unease in my heart. His eyes were cold, unwavering, yet the neutral facial expression on his lips was determined to motivate me.

“Whether or not I, your friends, or the country approve of your actions is only a small part of a larger whole,” he pointed a hoof at me, “that whole, dear Pale, is you. Only you can make things right. Live for what you believe in, above all else. Unlock your hidden potential, and use it for what you desire.”

He was right. I couldn’t stand idle worrying about what others thought. Just like Adagio said. But at the same time, I knew the decisions I would have to make wouldn’t be easy. Chiefly among of them was the nirik mare who fought me to a standstill and charred Corkscrew. Someone who abuses their power in such ways cannot be allowed to roam freely. Cozy was a child when she committed her atrocities, and was completely unaware of what she was capable of alongside the other villains.

But this? This mare knew exactly what she was doing. Her family would be absolutely ashamed of her actions as a kirin. Above all else, I couldn’t let her do whatever she wanted. This world was a place filled with peaceful, loving creatures. But also corruption and unjust suffering. One could not live without the other.

And so, I would come to terms with my doubts. Whether they were right or wrong were no longer relevant. All that mattered was following my brain and my heart in this moment. The laws don’t dictate what should and shouldn’t be done. The ponies that make those laws dictate what should and shouldn’t be done.

That’s the whole reason I founded this agency in the first place. It didn’t have a name, though. I knew what it was for. It didn’t need a label. Also, our enemies would likely find out who we were much easily if we had a proper moniker. But that was besides the point.

With newfound resolve, I looked at Sombra. “Alright...I’m ready to go back. Wait, how long has it been?” I questioned with a raise of my hoof.

“Not long. You will wake up in a few moments…this entire vision I conjured up only lasts for about two minutes in real life time.” He shut his eyes, “Farewell, Mr. Vestige. I do hope that if we meet again...it will be on much better terms.”

Huh. That was awfully convenient. But magic had strange ways of operating in this world. Just like that, Sombra had disappeared from my mind. Was he actually there? Was it an illusion? Was I just crazy? I didn’t know. All I could do was put faith in the fact that he could pass on to be with Radiant Hope in the afterlife.

My consciousness returned within a few moments. I blinked, and felt my eyes open. Everything was as it had been. As it turned out, she had created a thick cloud of smoke that caused me to nearly suffocate.

But not anymore. I was ready to do whatever necessary to put an end to this foolish mare and her antics.

“What? You mean that didn’t knock you out?” she asked with a frustrated scowl, “Gah! What am I going to do with you? Why can’t you just stay down like a good boy and let me have my fun?!”

I rubbed my eyes and stood up. I felt my blood boil with newfound determination. I wasn’t going to fall so easily. Not here, not now. “Fun? You shame yourself and your entire family. You’re a disgrace to the kirin race. Your parents and sisters died in that battle with honor because they chose to. Nopony forced them to do so. But you…” I stepped towards her. My eyes were like daggers as they attempted to cut through her with frozen contempt. “You’re so arrogant and self-absorbed that you wish to put words in the mouths of the dead and claim to do something on their behalf. I am almost certain that they would be happy knowing their lives went towards peace for the entire world. And you refuse to accept that while forcing yourself onto others and abusing your power to cause bodily harm towards other ponies. What do you have to say for yourself?”

The reason why I didn’t immediately come out swinging is because I wanted to talk some sense into her. This would be my final attempt to resolve this conflict in a diplomatic fashion. If not, then all bets would be off. She would have to go.

The nirik snarled at me. “How dare you?! Praising their deaths as if it is something good?! Something necessary?!” She grew furious, her flames burned at what I could only assume to be maximum capacity with flares that reached the sky. “No more words. One of us lives, one of us dies.”

While I didn’t desire it, that is exactly what I was prepared to hear. Someone like this simply can’t be allowed to roam freely if she is going to misuse her abilities for the sake of doing harm to others. So this was the final stand I would make.

I knew how good she was at fighting from afar, so I made expressly sure to close that gap between us. I charged at the nirik mare, but before I could make a move, I was stopped in my tracks.

With a savage growl, she erected a dome of fire in front of her that expanded and tried to push me away. I knew it. This was an attempt to create distance between us once more. But I had to be stalwart.

This would be difficult. But I was ready. My hooves stretched out in front of me so that I could hold the dome off. It burned like hell, but I felt nothing. My sense of pain had taken a backseat in that moment. Why? So that I could focus. I still took damage from the attacks, but I redirected my natural earth pony durability towards my brain so that I could remain focused from this point on. Unflinching even when faced with the most painful burns. Though I did notice my skin flay and peel somewhat.

Heh. I suppose you could say that this is one of those bits of hidden potential Sombra mentioned. But I used it for what I believed in.

She was shocked that her spell didn’t work immediately like she thought it would have. I could tell because of the slight amount of desperation in those solid white nirik eyes. She ground her teeth together, and focused harder. Her horn lit up even more and the dome was slowly transformed into a flaming wall that would try and force me backwards.

Well, I had an ace up my sleeve.

My hooves were already burned to a crisp, but by routing most of my durability to my brain, my process of thought became much clearer. I could not only sense the nirik’s magical aura, but I could see it clear as day, even through the barrier she created. I took a deep breath, and put all my strength into my hooves. “REEAGH!”

I broke through the wall of flames and punched the nirik with a viscous uppercut to her chin which sent her flying upwards.

“GAH!” she yelped and fired off several fireballs from the air. They moved fast, and I wasn't able to dodge them all. But luckily none of them struck my face. My tail and flank were struck but I could deal with the aftermath of that later.

An important thing to note was that nirik abilities, like any active magic, don’t last forever. One does get tired eventually. I knew that Freeze Flame had to be conservative with the rest of the usage of her abilities from this point.

Too bad I wouldn’t let her have the chance of using any more

She glared at me with her hooves pointed downwards. The mare fell towards me with intent to perform a dive bomb attack, but I didn’t move.

From behind my back, I readied my gun. As soon as she got close, I swerved and fired off a blast of air from it which knocked her away from me and towards the edge of the cloud city we stood on.

WHOOSH!

In hindsight, that wasn’t the smartest idea. The gale force created by the compressed air blast from my gun, combined with her flames resulted in a backdraft that blew up in my face. “SHIT!” Thankfully, the flames didn’t consume my entire body like they did with Corkscrew. As a pegasus, he was naturally more frail, but since I was an earth pony, I could at least somewhat walk away from the fiery explosion with injuries that weren’t fatal.

“Ack! Ugh…” I coughed as I emerged from the smoke. Burns all over my body and parts of my flesh consumed by the flames. I’d be in loads of pain later, but for the moment, I needed to focus. I dashed over to the nirik who had transformed back into a kirin.

She was at the very edge of the cloud city. Due to being hundreds of feet in the air, a drop from Las Pegasus was guaranteed to be fatal. Thankfully, most ponies were smart enough to stay near each other where they could be seen by pegasus rescue teams if they did fall.

But this kirin isn’t going to get that luxury.

I grabbed her neck with my hoof and held her near the edge. “This...is the final straw. Cease your actions...and you can still have a chance to live…”

The kirin chuckled breathlessly. She too was tired from exertion of her abilities. “Heh...no way...I can’t go back at this point. You’ll turn me in, and I’ll have to expose everything about Svengallop. And that’s...not gonna happen.”

Her horn lit up once more, and I prepared myself. Unfortunately, I didn’t expect what came next.

“HRK!” A jagged piece of wood impaled my torso. It must have been from the buildings that our battle caused unintentional damage to. “GHH!” I grit my teeth. Her sharp, dragon-like fangs had sunk into my hoof in a final attempt to spite me.

My patience had run out. I would no longer withstand someone so insufferable and allow them to live. Her parents and clan would be ashamed of her actions and would disown her for allying herself with such a sick-minded stallion. If she had the capacity to burn my best friend alive, then who knows what else she had done in the past?

Call it excuses, call it justification. I don’t care. She would leave this world here and now.

“DIE!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I delivered one final punch to the kirin’s face, which knocked some of her teeth out. I watched with cold eyes as she fell off the cloud city.

She stayed completely silent. Because of that, the rescue crews didn’t even notice her drop from this side of the city. It was a long, fast drop that I watched her take the whole way down until...

SPLAT!

I winced at what I saw. That mare was loyal to the very end, even in her death.

“Shit...shit…piece of shit...” To make matters worse, the pain from all the attacks I had endured began to set in. I felt delirious. My heart rate slowed down. My body was uneasy. I was going to take a fall next unless--

I was saved. “I gotcha buddy…” A familiar brown earth pony mare came to my rescue, and pulled me away from the edge. “You ain’t dyin’ here.” She loaded me onto her back and walked back towards the city.

I could barely mutter her name. “B...ba...babs…?” My eyelids felt heavy. As soon as I was turned around, I could have sworn I saw almost all of the hotelgoers that had formed a crowd. As they tried to watch the aftermath.

Flim and Flam did their best to make a path for us and usher everyone out of the way.

Babs carried me through, and I knew for sure that I heard and saw cameras flashing as well as members of the crowd yelling about what they had just witnessed the kirin do.

After that...I blacked out. Hopefully things would make sense once I woke up.

Comments

[Neo4K]

😞 Stubborn kirin to the end even in death. Pale was right. Her parents would be ashamed of what she became. I wouldn't be surprised if she was excommunicated from the village as a result of her behavior and actions. Damn her for pushing Pale to this.

😟 Thanks to Sombra, Pale had to endure all of that to save lives. And thanks to Babs, he didn't suffer the same fate as that kirin. Hope he recovers in the hospital in better spirits.

[WildDancer101]

People that throw away second chances and cross the line with no remorse many times don't deserve to live. Certain heroes that believe otherwise should get a wake up call on that piece of reality.

[Jmaster49]

10470657
Yeah. But now one has to wonder. How does a kirin end up with one of the most disgusting ponies around? Hm...

Sombra was giving Pale advice so he didn't fly off in complete rage. He was angry, but gave her plenty of chances to be reasonable. Since she didn't take them, he had no choice but to bring her down. Hopefully this (yet another) hospital visit goes better for him.

[Jmaster49]

10470661
Exactly. He wants Cozy Glow to redeem herself, but if she acted the same way as the kirin, Pale would do the same thing. Threats this large and dangerous to the livelihood of others cannot be allowed to roam free.

[GamePlayer64]

On the upside; Pale stop that crazy ass Kirin from planning to kill Cozy, Svengallop’s black market business and save Cozy’s life but on the downsize; creatures witness Pale dropping that Kirin and some of them might be Neighsay’s minions who will use Pale’s actions against him on Neighsay’s Tiral.

[Jmaster49]

10470853
Well Svengallop is still at large, unfortunately.

But yeah, who knows how the press will alter this story...